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SMS notifications have reached a new peak, and universities are watching. American colleges are moving away from email notifications, and for good reason. On average, it takes a person 90 minutes to respond to an email. Texts, however, benefit from a 90-second response time.

Students are constantly on their devices, and they’re responding to SMS notifications at an alarming rate. Teens adults alike are citing text messages for information, and they’re making in-school choices prompted by in-phone information. Your automated SMS provider is targeting schools with instant offers, administrative notices student-centric options. Universities across the nation are hopping aboard the educational trend shift, and yours should, too.

Instant Date Announcements

Universities thrive on fast-paced atmospheres. On the campus green, in the classroom and even online, American colleges are matching the student’s need for quick response with real-time announcements. Sure, mobile devices aren’t always wanted in the classroom, but university administrators are finally appreciating their worth beyond classroom doors.

Drop/add reminders, sporting notifications and campus-wide events are being pushed through SMS notifications, bringing students to the university’s level. What used to be an email-centric step, now, is governed by text. SMS’s incredible open rates prompt the shift, and institutions are pumping out emergency alerts, campus store deals and class reminders every day.

Real-Time School Transit Schedules

Real-time SMS alerts serve safety and travel needs, too. For this reason, the U.S. Department of Education has instated legal requirements upon universities to stay in contact with students in case of emergency. Real-time SMS alerts are powering bus systems, bike return systems and even on-campus construction notifications. Students needn’t stash a bus schedule anymore. Now, they can tap their device to receive an instant SMS blast.

Instant College Admission Forms

Documentation is everything. Today’s students are prioritizing mobile over desktop to engage administrative requirements, and universities are using SMS to transfer important documents. In 2015, 60 percent of the world’s mobile owners used a smartphone as a primary Internet source. Universities are sending secure documents, now, through text—empowering busy students constantly facing time requirements and time-sensitive barriers.

A New Era of Financial Aid

Universities aren’t the only ones relying on SMS for real-time administrative blasts. Third-party financial aid providers are jumping into the mix. Financial aid requirement fulfillment has always been a problem for students. It’s periodic, it’s difficult to measure and it’s an all-around bulky process to complete. In offering SMS-supported financial aid solutions, universities keep the middle-man while reducing the student’s frustration with forms. Students can fulfill administrative requirements, enter information, check balances and transfer financial aid funds immediately—and with a single text.

SMS Surveys for Students and Faculty

If a text is worth a thousand words, a real-time survey is worth millions. In using SMS-based surveys, university administrators are keeping all relevant parties informed, updated and responsive. Today, America’s educational institutions are using SMS surveys to gain feedback and inform students about numerous school happenings, including:

• Outstanding fee requirements
  
  
• School events
  
  
• Teacher quality
  
  
• Sporting event times
  
  

Event feedback is incredibly important to a university, and it aligns school outreach activities with each student’s needs. Student polling, in essence, drives university evolution. It makes a campus responsive to its population's changing wants and needs.

The Announcement-Based University

Modern colleges are competing by displaying immersive atmospheres. Schools simply can’t keep up with mobilized student culture. The mobile revolution is impacting day-to-day activities, and universities need to offer instant bookstore announcements, job availability, class schedules and major requirements in real-time to stay up-to-date with students. Instant SMS access notifies students of exam timetables, term dates and other, vital class information.

From a purely administrative standpoint, SMS is being relied upon to prompt tutor appointments, provide grade links and handle course information. Text messaging APIs are indispensable to universities, and college boards are fully integrating SMS-based emergency alert systems to create unlimited access. Club membership, parental notifications and fraternity information, too, is being powered by mobile, benefiting both the educated and the educators. Get connected today, hop into the educational world’s newest options and redefine your outreach strategy with a two-way communicative platform created to connect students and administrators.