The Georgetown University McDonough School of Business Amplifies Academic Advising through Text Messaging

How undergraduate academic advisors use Modern Campus Message to drive student success

 

 

1,200+

undergraduate students

 

100+

full-time faculty

 

8

undergraduate academic majors among two degree programs

Lauren Wagoner Associate Director, Undergraduate Program Office McDonough School of Business  Nick Russo Associate Director, Undergraduate Program Office McDonough School of Business  Justin C. Smith Assistant Dean for Student Success, Undergraduate Program Office McDonough School of Business

Texting works. It’s another way for us to let students know that we care and are thinking about them. Whether it is reminding them about their upcoming appointments, helping them decide which classes to take, or simply checking-in—It's a great supplement to our other communication tools.

Nick Russo

The Challenge

Georgetown's McDonough School of Business has long prided itself on its world-class reputation. Students enroll with the expectation that they’ll receive highly personalized support, propelling them to excel inside and outside of the classroom. 

But emails weren’t resonating with today’s modern learners, and as a result, essential information was frequently ignored. Students literally weren’t receiving the messages they needed to guide their success.

Students are overwhelmed with the amount of information that hits their inboxes, and we needed a way to really push degree-critical information—things that require students to take action that are key to their success.

Lauren Wagoner

The Solution & Result

Georgetown's McDonough School of Business realized that texting could be a great alternative strategy for capturing students’ attention. But making their text messages personal and tailored to the needs of hundreds of unique learners, seemed much harder. 

Fortunately, Modern Campus Message brought those worries to an end. With the platform’s patented Blended Messaging® approach, the Undergraduate Program Office has sent thousands of targeted messages to segmented populations and engaged in one-on-one conversations with the vast majority of students

The student feedback has been clear and instant, as text recipients frequently respond to Message with words of gratitude and celebratory emojis. Opt-out rates have also been extremely minimal. 

Beyond the specific information students receive via texts—such as course registration deadlines, add/drop dates and in-person advising session reminders—the communication shift sends a wider message: we care about you. Students know that the staff are invested in each learner as an unique individual and will be readily available through the student’s phone throughout every step of the academic journey.

We're very relational at Georgetown. However, technology can be thought of as incredibly impersonal and cold. By using Modern Campus Message, we have a communication tool that still feels personable while creating meaningful connections with students. Honestly, it blows people's minds when we tell them this. It’s not just one more piece of technology you have to manage; it’s a necessary tool for student success.

Justin C. Smith

 


 
Discover additional ways you can use text messaging to connect students with campus resources, extend staff resources and boost retention—and how doing so fits into the entire learner journey—in our free guide:

 

How Text Messaging Supports Every Stage of the Higher Education Journey - download now


 

 

 The McDonough School of Business’ Favorite Features

Text Scheduling

Personalization  

Multimedia Messaging

By planning out texts for the entire semester, you can strike the perfect balance of engaging students without over-texting.

Pull in relevant student data, such as each learner's preferred name, advisor's name and class year. By sending messages that are tailored to each student, you can limit opt-out rates and improve response rates.

Take your texts to the next level—with images, videos, links and even GIFs. However you want to get your message out, we have the tools to do it.

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About Modern Campus

Modern Campus empowers 1,700+ higher education institutions to attract, engage, and retain learners for life with software solutions that enable a modern student experience. 

The Modern Campus learner-to-earner lifecycle platform powers solutions for web content managementconversational text messagingcatalog and curriculum managementcareer pathwaysstudent engagement and development, and non-traditional student management. The result: innovative institutions engage their modern learners for life, while providing modern administrators with the tools needed to streamline workflows and drive high efficiency.  

Learn how Modern Campus is leading the modern learner-to-earner movement at moderncampus.com and follow us on LinkedIn.