Leveraging Communication to Empower Student Services

Faster communication can prove critical to getting students access to the services they need when they need them.

Not all students know that they need services ahead of time. Sometimes, they need that information immediately. They may need to connect with the scholarship department quickly when they have a vital question about tuition or a problem that has cropped up, or they may need to connect with tutoring services abruptly when they realize that they have not achieved their goals in another area. When mental health issues crop up, students may need immediate access to campus mental health services–especially if they have a mental health emergency.

Faster communication options can empower student services to offer the support that students really need. Suppose, for example, that a student needs to speak with a counselor about a mental health emergency. Getting in for an appointment could create a serious barrier to a student who might not want to make that important phone call or who might not have time to wait for that appointment. With Pronto, on the other hand, that student can connect directly to a counselor, either through video chat or live text chat, and share the problems they’re having immediately–and get the support they need on the spot.

Students may prefer text chat options to phone calls.

Many of today’s college students struggle with high levels of anxiety, including social anxiety. They may have a hard time picking up the phone to make a call, especially if they aren’t sure of exactly who they need to get in touch with and fear that they may need to go through multiple transfers before eventually reaching the person they need to talk to. They don’t mind text chats as much, since they may not trigger the same high levels of anxiety. 

Pronto can put the communication option in students’ hands, allowing them to choose the solutions that best fit their needs. Often, that simple strategy can overcome many of the barriers that prevent students from taking advantage of those available services.

Better student communication can help students get a better idea of what services are available.

Many of the students on your campus may not actually know what options you have available, how they will benefit them–or how those services work.

Suppose, for example, that you offer a student mental health clinic. Students may have a lot of questions about how that clinic actually works and what they can expect when they interact with it. They may want to know, for example, how much it will cost. Are those mental health services free, or will students need to pay when they visit? If they’re not free, how much should they expect those services to cost? What about students with insurance: do you work with those services?

Next, students may want to know whether your mental health clinic can prescribe medications or offer solutions, or if they will need to go to an external provider for those services. If they will need to utilize other options, they may need to know whether the clinic can refer them or even put them in direct contact with those other clinics and services.

Better student communication can allow you to share that information with students. With an app like Pronto, not only can you send those communications out to the student body as a whole, you can allow students to easily go back and access that information later.

Connecting via a communication app can make services more accessible to non-traditional students.

Some college students live on campus and have only part-time jobs, which means that they can easily access the services available across your organization.

Others, however, do not have the same level of convenience when it comes to accessing those services, especially during traditional hours. Some students may live off-campus, which means that it’s not convenient for them to come in when they’re not in class. Others may have other responsibilities, including spouses, children, and full-time jobs, that prevent them from accessing student services during normal hours.

Communication apps can help empower those services to reach students who might not otherwise be able to use them. Students can connect virtually, which may enable them to take advantage of student services during regular hours when they have a break or a short time off. By leveraging student communication apps, you can also make those services accessible at non-traditional hours, allowing students to take advantage of them when they need them most. 

Do you have the right student communication solution for your school: one that will make it easier for students to connect with the services they need and provide student services with a wider reach and more power? Contact us today for a free demonstration of Pronto and more information about how it will work for you.