- Student support is at the heart of the online education experience that OES offers.
- Support services are available from 8am-9pm on weekdays and 10am-6pm on weekends and public holidays.
Providing support for 10,000 plus students is a mammoth effort. This is why our support staff are available 362 days a year and empowered to offer first-contact resolution.
Whether by live chat, email, phone or social media, online students know how to reach out when they need any help with administrative, academic or technical queries. Manager Ligia Iturbe says the Student Support Team is well equipped to handle high volumes.
“A rough report shows we’ve handled approximately 270,000+ student queries since July 2013. This ranges from advice on how to research and setting up a student email to managing course load and navigating learning management systems.
“Our team are available for students from 8am-9pm on weekdays and 10am-6pm on weekends and public holidays and students can email us anytime no matter how big or small the query.”
The team use sophisticated technology to make sure every query is logged, which ensures students receive optimal support. But it is a penchant for team building that keeps the support team performing at such high levels.
“Our commitment to team motivation activities really help bond our staff. We have done it all including holding our own Student Support Survivor, a week of school yard games, karaoke and we host the most enthusiastic game of bingo you’d ever see!
“Of course, we go all out for every birthday, baby shower, engagements and anything else that warrants cake – we have quite a few talented bakers on staff,” Ligia says.
It is this focus on motivation and team building that helped the support team achieve an outstanding 100 per cent engagement for 2016.
“We are proud that we were able to help every student that reached out to us and really this is because we have a tight knit team. We know when it’s time to have fun and when it’s time to work hard, and that balance is one of the keys to our success,” Ligia says.
“We often receive emails from students we have helped thanking us for the support, and for us, that’s just the icing on the cake and another reason to celebrate.”
