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Florida SouthWestern State College assists over 10,000 students with Olark
Technology Category
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - API Integration & Management
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration
Applicable Industries
- Education
Applicable Functions
- Business Operation
- Facility Management
Use Cases
- Remote Collaboration
Services
- Software Design & Engineering Services
- System Integration
The Challenge
Because FSW was forced to halt its operations in the middle of an academic year, the IT professionals at FSW had to act fast to find a technology solution that would continue to provide students and faculty the best academic experience, even while the offices and campus remained completely closed. COVID-19 presented an unprecedented challenge, but the FSW IT team remained committed to their goal of ensuring that FSW students are learning, excelling, and receiving top-tier education.
About The Customer
In 1962, FSW was founded as Edison Junior College before being renamed to Florida SouthWestern State College in 2014. During the 2019 - 2020 academic year, FSW served over 22,000 students. This was the academic year (like many other higher education institutions in the United States) when FSW had to shut down its campus and send everyone home on March 13, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Solution
Immediately after FSW’s campus was shut down, the IT department was tasked with finding a live chat software to adapt to the situation. Daniel Ramos, Director of Application Development and Integration, and Ted Tramote, Coordinator of Web Design and Content, wasted no time and swiftly found Olark. Within a week, Ted and Daniel had implemented Olark and trained the FSW staff on how to use the new chat system. Daniel and Ted ultimately selected Olark as FSW’s chat solution because of Olark’s extensive API. One of the questions the IT department needed to address was, “How are advisors and staff members going to authenticate students’ identities and have students’ information pulled up when a chat is initiated?” With Olark’s API, the IT team built a custom integration between Olark and FSW’s student portal, CAS, so that when a student wants to chat, FSW’s SSO authentication prompts the student to log in to verify him or herself. Not only did this allow Student Services Support Staff and chat agents to easily identify students on chat, but this also allowed students a familiar way of logging in.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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