University Texting Service Helps Schools and Students
By Lee Simonson
Universities are including texting as part of their campus wide communication programs that enable schools to send alerts and notices to students, while at the same time giving students an opportunity to interact and receive on-demand information regarding a variety of functions, events and student centered activities.
While texting may be a new way for administrators to communicate with students, it is far from new for the students themselves. In fact, it is the preferred method for students to send and receive messages. While text usage is skyrocketing, cell phone voice calls are actually declining. Researchers have found that the while the average voice conversation on a cell phone has gone down to 2.3 minutes, while the average teen is sending more than 2000 text messages per month.
Texting is not only simple, but it's also a discreet way to communicate without being overheard. Moreover, with the introduction of smart phones and the full QWERTY keyboards that are now included on the interfaces, texting has become faster. Parents are also using texting the majority of the time to reach out to their children.
Because students think email is too cumbersome and slow, and because many don't even bother checking their voicemail or even answering the phone, texting is becoming the ideal way for universities and institutions to send messages, notices, alerts, reminders and updates, with more confidence that their messages will be received and read.
Fact is, texting is the easiest, least expensive and most convenient way for universities and colleges to communicate with students. There are many applications. Here are just a few:
-- a university finance department needed a way to remind incoming students about payment deadlines for tuition. The department simply uploaded a list of mobile phone numbers and texted, "University payment due Tuesday."
-- a college cafeteria manager thought too much time was being spent trying to relay information regarding what the week's menu was going to be. A program was developed where students could text a keyword to instantly receive the menus, and a discount code they could show at the check out to take advantage of special promotions.
-- the admissions department at a university advertised a keyword prospective students could text to learn more about the school. Information was automatically sent to inquiries and those with web-enabled smart phones were able to go directly to the appropriate website. (Schools can have any number of keywords for any number of automated responses.)
-- a university athletics department wanted to remind students about a big game so the morning of the game, campus students were sent a small reminder, "Go Hawks! Stadium, 7pm, tonight!"
American colleges and universities are now playing catch up while they embrace texting technology. The texting craze first started in Europe and Asia when it used to be much cheaper to text SMS (short message service) messages than talk on the phone. Cell phone users in Europe are still "dinged" roaming charges between countries and texting is the least expensive way to communicate. In the United States, mobile cell carriers are competitively reducing text message pricing and offering unlimited usage packages which have fueled text usage even more.
Another reason why universities and colleges and using text is because of the improvements in reliability and the ease of use. Administrators can simply log online and can manage their text programs without the need of any special hardware or software. Lists can be easily maintained and messages and auto responses can be modified at anytime, from any location with an Internet connection.
Overall, university texting services will take on greater significance in the months and years ahead, while other forms of communication take a back seat.
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