She elaborated that people often seek answers to questions that some offices aren’t equipped to answer. “Students and parents don’t always perceive a difference between a billing office and a financial aid office, and so they’ll leave one office with some unanswered questions.” She added that Alabama doesn’t have a One Stop operation, and as part of her search for solutions, she was interested in methods to improve customer service in a more comprehensive way.
As it relates to access, Pritchett noted that “students communicate at different hours relative to when we work. They may be asleep in the earlier part of the day, and in class after that, so they often communicate late at night when we aren’t available.” She went on to note that the COVID-19 pandemic further complicated the matter. “Our office moved to a remote operation for a time, and we’ll likely continue that at least on a rotational basis, but our phone system wasn’t accessible remotely for our staff.”
