(WEST WINDSOR, NJ) When COVID-19 forced Mercer County Community College to close its campus and switch to online learning, staff members responsible for admissions, financial aid, registration, tuition payments, advising and other key areas were no longer able to connect with current or prospective students. So they shifted into high gear and quickly created a virtual version of the College’s OneStop Center for Student Services.

The project has been so successful that MCCC was invited to give a national online presentation on it for the Institute for Higher Education Policy on Dec. 9.

The physical version of the OneStop Center on Mercer’s West Windsor campus was to be launched this past spring, envisioned as a central hub for students: providing a single location for assistance with everything from admissions applications to course registrations, from filing financial aid forms to making tuition payments, even to helping students explore academic programs that can lead them to their desired careers. Because the COVID-19 pandemic forced the school to close its campus, the center’s leadership had to pivot, moving rapidly to convert the facility’s services to an online operation.

And it is working far beyond expectations. Office hours on the Zoom videoconferencing platform began in April, and the full virtual center was launched on August 28. Since then, more than 1,300 students have been served, with each one surveyed afterward on their experience. The result is a perfect satisfaction rate of 100%, with 95% of students saying they are highly satisfied with both their interactions and results. And not a single unmet need has been noted by participants. Examples of some of the survey responses include: “Very speedy. Helped me with my registration, so I'm all set!” “COVID has been hard for me, but the OneStop has a friendly team that made my experience really special!” and “Very helpful and kind as always. Keep up the great work!”

According to Savita Bambhrolia, dean of Enrollment Management and Student Experience, an extraordinary amount of work went into developing a project that has been so successful, and in a very short amount of time.

“Most of all, the technology ramp-up was extensive, with staff having to develop expertise in Zoom and other online platforms,” she said. “They went through a lot of training, and in the end, even those who were initially apprehensive came away with a real sense of empowerment.”

The center created 35 breakout rooms where students talk face-to-face with staff members representing services such as admissions, financial aid, enrollment services and student records. The system also offers a chat feature.

Bambhrolia says the key to the center’s success was moving from a process-centered approach to a fully student-centered one, with a top focus of providing a consistently high level of service and support.

“For both the physical and virtual centers, we wanted to minimize student frustration, improve satisfaction, and help them spend more time on their academics and less time waiting in lines,” she said. “A vital component was removing typical organizational silos and making sure every staff member was cross-trained on each of the center’s services.”

And that staff has been one of the major factors in the students’ positive response to the new system, according to Lucia Brown-Joseph, the center’s interim director and the college’s bursar. “They are friendly, knowledgeable and skilled, and they work with each individual student to get them what they need, always with a smile” she said. “It wasn’t easy to shift from in-person assistance to all-online services. But they went through extensive training and have done an incredible job essentially becoming the face of the college for these students.”

That sentiment is echoed by Gina Migliacco, administrative specialist for the center. “The one thing we hear over and over from the students is that it’s so great to be dealing with a real person,” she said. “It’s a face—not an automated response—they see, and students realize right away that the staff member genuinely cares about them and about meeting their needs.”

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