{"id":111220,"date":"2020-07-21T18:51:29","date_gmt":"2020-07-21T22:51:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=111220"},"modified":"2020-09-30T10:22:29","modified_gmt":"2020-09-30T14:22:29","slug":"knight-line-student-run-calling-center-focuses-on-caring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/knight-line-student-run-calling-center-focuses-on-caring\/","title":{"rendered":"Knight Line Student-Run Calling Center Focuses on Caring"},"content":{"rendered":"
For more than a decade, Âé¶¹Ó³»´«Ã½ student fundraisers have called on alumni<\/a> and parents from a lively call center housed just slightly off-campus in Research Park. Known as Knight Line, the center employs around 35 full-time Âé¶¹Ó³»´«Ã½ students each semester whose goal is to engage with donors and potential donors and provide an insider view on the great things that are happening at Âé¶¹Ó³»´«Ã½. Their efforts have raised as much as $400,000 annually for student scholarships and vital programs at the university.<\/p>\n When the pandemic came calling, the on-site engagement center went remote. Getting new software to keep information secure and allow calling from personal computers was the easy part. But with training and feedback being crucial to the student fundraisers\u2019 success, this new format presented some challenges.<\/p>\n As is typical of Knights, they rose to the challenge and have excelled.<\/p>\n \u201c[We] had to change up how we interact during shifts, since we aren\u2019t together in person; it\u2019s more difficult to ask a question or provide feedback,\u201d says Alexander F. Pribil, engagement center manager at Ruffalo Noel Levitz (RNL), the organization that partners with The Âé¶¹Ó³»´«Ã½ Fund in managing call center operations.<\/p>\n Although COVID-19<\/a> has changed some of the logistics of student calling, the focus remains the same: staying in touch.<\/p>\n \u201cOur goal is to let [alumni] know we still care about them, wanting to know how they\u2019re doing after graduating and letting them know about things going on at Âé¶¹Ó³»´«Ã½,\u201d says student supervisor Ilyssa Appleman, an event management\u00a0major<\/a> who has worked at Knight Line for two years.<\/p>\n Now, the student fundraisers focus on \u2018care calling,\u2019 rather than on raising funds for university students and programs. Since the pandemic hit, callers have made about 16,000 care calls.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we got started with our care calling, we spent some time working on active listening, and taking cues from our alumni,\u201d says Pribil.\u00a0 \u201cMost calls average around the three-minute mark but we have [had] some great conversations that went on for 25-30 minutes \u2014 the callers were really connecting with our alumni.\u201d<\/p>\n Appleman agrees that everyone has adapted well off-site. She has found the transition to care calls very successful and says that most alumni seem to enjoy them.<\/p>\n \u201cThey feel appreciated that we called to check in during these challenging times. A lot of them like to talk because they have been cooped up inside.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c[The alumni] feel appreciated that we called to check in during these challenging times. A lot of them like to talk because they have been cooped up inside.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n