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Lakeview State University transformed their student services operation, cutting response times by 60% and handling 3x the inquiry volume without adding staff.
Faster Student Service Response Times
Lakeview's student services challenges were rooted in fragmented systems and manual processes. The university ran separate systems for student information (Banner), learning management (Canvas), financial aid (PeopleSoft), housing (StarRez), and student accounts (TouchNet) — none of which communicated with each other automatically. When a student called to ask about their financial aid status, the service representative had to log into three different systems to piece together a complete answer.
This fragmentation turned simple inquiries into complex, time-consuming interactions. A question like "Why haven't I received my refund?" might require checking enrollment status in Banner, aid disbursement in PeopleSoft, and account balance in TouchNet. Representatives spent an average of 8 minutes per call, most of it navigating between systems. During peak periods, students waited 25+ minutes to reach a representative, and many simply hung up — the call abandonment rate during enrollment week exceeded 40%.
SofMatic's Integration Hub was deployed first, creating a unified data layer that pulls real-time information from all five of Lakeview's student systems. This foundation enabled every downstream automation to access accurate, complete student data without manual system hopping.
AI Voice Agents were then deployed on Lakeview's student services phone lines. The agents authenticate students via ID number and date of birth, then answer questions about enrollment status, financial aid awards, account balances, housing assignments, and registration holds by querying the unified data layer in real time. For complex situations — appeals, exceptions, or emotional distress — calls are warm-transferred to a human counselor with full context. Process Automation workflows handle multi-step operations like enrollment verification letters, financial aid repackaging when credits change, and housing assignment notifications, reducing what were previously multi-day manual processes to hours.
Measurable impact from day one.
Average student inquiry response time dropped from 8 minutes to just over 3 minutes across all channels
Student services now handles triple the inquiry volume during peak periods without additional temporary staff
Call abandonment during peak enrollment dropped from 40% to 15% with faster resolution and AI handling
SIS, LMS, financial aid, housing, and student accounts unified into a single real-time data layer
Lakeview State University is a public research university with 28,000 students, serving a diverse population that includes traditional undergraduates, graduate researchers, online learners, and international students. The university's student services division — encompassing admissions, financial aid, registrar, housing, and student accounts — handles over 400,000 inquiries per year through phone, email, and walk-in visits.
Peak periods were particularly painful. During enrollment, financial aid deadlines, and housing selection windows, call volumes would triple, email response times would stretch to five or more business days, and walk-in lines would wrap around the building. Students complained, staff burned out, and critical deadlines were missed because students could not get timely answers to straightforward questions.
SofMatic helped Lakeview deploy a comprehensive automation strategy across their student services operation. AI Voice Agents handle routine phone inquiries, Process Automation streamlines multi-department workflows like enrollment verification and financial aid packaging, and the Integration Hub connects the university's disparate systems — SIS, LMS, financial aid platform, and housing portal — into a unified data layer that powers accurate, real-time responses.
See how SofMatic can transform your operations with a custom automation plan.