University of the West of Scotland

How the university’s IT Services department changed its culture, adopted a new tool and increased customer satisfaction

In 2017, the University of the West of Scotland launched a bold new initiative called the Hub: the first port of call location for students. One particularly unique aspect was the use of TOPdesk to power this.

Prioritizing student experience

The University of the West of Scotland’s (UWS) IT service management system was in need of an update, there was no system in place for services for students. Services for students were decentralized, with non-distinct points of contact for enquiries from staff or students spread out over five campuses.

The university wanted to put student experience first, and a plan for a physical location at the Paisley Campus and a new virtual hub to serve all campuses was made. This hub would be responsible for transferring all requests to relevant departments, whether they came from face to face enquiries, online portal, phone or email. Students would no longer have to know the email address for the target of their enquiry, or have to visit a remote department.

Creating the HUB

Transformational technology was put in place that allowed for self-service, helping students to access support services including funding advice, disability support, international student support, counselling and career planning. As well as this, front line teams help students with a range of non-academic services and student administration enquiries, from ID cards to requests for student status letters.

The virtual provision was matched with a physical student Hub space; a triaged information desk that offers provision for all key information and referral to support that students and staff need for everyday life.

Adding value through TOPdesk

TOPdesk’s unique subscription structure meant that UWS could support their student services with no further license costs to the university, meaning it provides them with excellent value.

The opportunity came from the straightforward insight that you could manage students as a request, use track and trace, and make use of a knowledge base. This does not pose any difficulties to staff members using TOPdesk: the portal can be tailored to display services appropriate to the person who signs in; i.e. a student sees services relevant to themselves, whereas an employee will have access to staff-related information.

The outcome

A student feedback survey was carried out in March 2018 and found that 97% of students asked were very satisfied or satisfied with the service they received from the Hub and 96% agreed or strongly agreed that they had received accurate information or guidance.

Since its launch, further services have come on board; Student Administration (Registry) and the Library Service have adopted TOPdesk. The Timetabling team are currently investigating the possible adoption of TOPdesk to manage room booking requests.

In addition, the University has extended its Hub model to its new innovative Lanarkshire Campus, which opened in June 2018; staff in the newly created Hub/Library are now using TOPdesk to support the implementation of this new integrated team.