12 Jan Inbound SMS Workflows – Education Sector Case Study

Streamlining Student Communication and Administration with Edgility’s Inbound SMS Workflows

In the education sector, effective communication is crucial for the success of student engagement, attendance, and administrative efficiency. One mid-sized Australian education provider, offering vocational training across multiple campuses, found itself overwhelmed by fragmented communication channels and inconsistent response times between students, faculty, and administrative staff.

By deploying Edgility’s inbound SMS workflows, the institution streamlined student communication, automated administrative tasks, and built an engagement model that was both personal and scalable. The result was faster response times, reduced manual workload, and a measurable boost in attendance and satisfaction rates.

 

Business Background

The institution delivers a range of certificate and diploma-level programs to approximately 4,000 students annually, both domestic and international. It employs over 80 administrative and teaching staff across three campuses.

Before adopting Edgility, student communications were handled manually via email, phone, and printed notices. These methods were slow, difficult to track, and poorly suited to a generation of students accustomed to instant, mobile-first communication.

Typical issues included:

• Missed or unread emails about class changes or enrolment updates.
• Overloaded reception and student services phone lines.
• Poor visibility of which staff member had responded to which query.

With intakes occurring every month, the administrative team struggled to manage student enquiries efficiently and maintain consistent messaging across departments.

 

The Challenge

The institution faced four main communication challenges:

Missed or Delayed Student Responses

Emails and voicemails were often ignored, leading to missed enrolment steps, delayed fee payments, or poor attendance.

Inefficient Enquiry Handling

When students had questions about timetables or support services, they were routed manually between departments. Staff often duplicated efforts or missed follow-ups.

Manual Task Allocation

Enquiries were logged into spreadsheets and assigned manually to staff, creating bottlenecks during peak periods.

Fragmented Communication Channels

Each department used different tools, making it difficult for management to track service levels or measure student engagement outcomes.

The institution wanted a solution that could unify communication, automate administrative processes, and support two-way student engagement, while using a simple, familiar channel.

 

The Inbound SMS Workflow in Action

The education provider developed a suite of inbound SMS workflows to handle the majority of student interactions.

1. Enrolment Confirmation and Orientation

When new students completed their online application, they received an automated message:

“Welcome! Reply ‘CONFIRM’ to finalise your enrolment or ‘HELP’ if you need assistance.”

If the student replied CONFIRM, Edgility marked them as enrolled in the CRM and sent a link to orientation materials.

If they replied HELP, the system routed their message to the Admissions team queue for personalised follow-up.

This reduced manual enrolment confirmation calls by 70% during the first intake period.

2. Attendance and Absence Notifications

Each morning, students who missed class received a message:

“You were marked absent today. Reply ‘RETURN’ if you’ll be back tomorrow or ‘CALL’ if you’d like to discuss.”

When a student replied RETURN, Edgility updated the attendance system automatically. If they replied CALL, the message was routed to Student Services for pastoral contact.

This workflow significantly improved attendance recovery rates, and many absentees re-engaged without further intervention.

3. Fee Payment Reminders

Finance used inbound SMS to manage overdue accounts:

“Your next payment is due. Reply ‘PAID’ once complete or ‘PLAN’ to discuss a payment plan.”

PAID updated the finance database automatically.

PLAN created a task for the finance officer to call the student.

Automated routing prevented dozens of phone calls per week, reducing workload and improving compliance.

4. Student Support and General Enquiries

Students could text queries like “library hours” or “course change”.

Edgility recognised keywords such as library, transfer, or results, and either sent an instant automated response or directed the message to the correct support team.

Complex enquiries were categorised and queued for follow-up.

Each inbound message became a trackable case, ensuring accountability and visibility across departments.

5. Automation and Task Allocation

Edgility’s inbound workflow engine used conditional routing logic to assign and prioritise messages automatically:

Messages containing “urgent” or “help” were prioritised.

Keyword-based routing sent academic queries to the Teaching team and admin queries to Student Services.

Time-based rules ensured messages received after hours were acknowledged automatically and queued for morning review.

Supervisors accessed dashboards showing message status, unresolved cases, and staff response times. This transparency helped managers identify bottlenecks and optimise workloads.

Within two months, the system was processing over 5,000 inbound SMS messages monthly with a 98% first-response rate within 10 minutes.

 

Impact on Efficiency and Engagement

Reduced Administrative Load

Front-line staff reported a 40% reduction in daily phone calls. Most common requests were attendance checks, timetable questions, and fee reminders, which were all handled automatically via SMS.

Improved Response Consistency

Automated templates ensured accurate, uniform messaging, reducing the risk of misinformation.

Increased Student Engagement

Students interacted more often and more quickly via SMS than email, leading to improved attendance and retention.

Better Visibility and Reporting

Managers could view engagement metrics across campuses, identifying trends and gaps in service delivery.

 

Measurable Outcomes

 

Metric	Before Workflows	After Workflows	Result
Average student enquiry response time	6.2 hours	7 mins	↓ 98%
Missed enrolment confirmations	23%	5%	↓ 78%
Daily incoming calls	180	95	↓ 45%
Staff time spent on admin tasks	6 hours/day	3 hours/day	↓ 50%
Student satisfaction (communication)	72%	91%	↓ 26%

Key Takeaway

Educational institutions handle thousands of repetitive interactions every week, making it perfect for automation; inbound SMS workflows provide instant engagement with minimal setup.

Inbound SMS workflows are an affordable, high-impact communication tool for schools, training providers, and universities.

Integration options make it easy to connect to existing CRM and LMS systems.

Demonstrated ROI in both administrative savings and improved student engagement.

 

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