Delgado Community College Selects Presidium Learning to Make Student Service Top Priority

Launch of Unified Service Desk, DCCLive! Demonstrates College's Leadership Across Higher Education


ORLANDO, FL--(Marketwire - October 28, 2008) - EDUCAUSE 2008 Annual Conference -- Delgado Community College (DCC) announced today it is expanding its relationship with Presidium Learning, an Education Services Management (ESM) company, to provide a unified service desk for IT services, Financial Aid, Bursar's Office and Registration. DCCLive! -- the name of Delgado strategic new approach to servicing campus constituents -- provides students, faculty and staff a single place to turn with questions and issues about all of the critical services provided by these departments.

Delgado is the oldest multi-campus community college in Louisiana, serving more than 14,000 students, in and around the Greater New Orleans area, including an active and growing online user population of more than 3,400 students.

"The core competency of our institution is and always will be focused on teaching and learning. We want to give our students every opportunity to succeed," said Arnel Cosey, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs at Delgado Community College. "We've already seen transformational results in what Presidium can help deliver for IT support. We look forward to translating the power of this partnership into results throughout our student body to provide the best experience and help our students succeed."

Through this expanded partnership with Presidium, Delgado will provide 24/7/365 unified support services available via phone, Web, chat and a variety of robust self-help tools. This streamlined approach resolves the ambiguity of who students should call with questions related to financial aid applications, Blackboard, course registration, and the myriad of questions that arise throughout the student experience. DCCLive! will also offer faster and more accurate resolution of questions with fewer transfers and repeat calls.

Delgado first began working with Presidium in 2006 following Hurricane Katrina to ensure consistent, reliable support for their core academic technologies. The recent expansion of this relationship enables Delgado to focus on strategic priorities, and rely on Presidium to manage critical campus services such as responding to frequently asked questions, educating students on the basics of financial aid processes, and other critical service issues.

Thomas Lovince, CIO of Delgado Community College who managed the original service desk relationship with Presidium, reports that, "based on the best practices born in the IT service desk, we are able to bring the power of a co-managed solution throughout the College. To be successful, it is not enough to keep the lights on and servers running -- success is about providing excellent service and acting as a positive example for the college as a whole. DCCLive! is a game changer, and Presidium has been invaluable in facilitating this transformation."

"Delgado Community College is setting a new standard in higher education with a unified approach to Education Services Management," said James Rianhard, co-founder and Managing Director for Presidium Learning. "It is well documented that providing exceptional service is fundamental to student recruitment and retention, and by working closely with the Delgado team we've developed an innovative strategy to address the changing needs in the community. We look forward to expanding this model to help other academic institutions more effectively and efficiently serve their communities."

Presidium Learning works with more than 650 colleges and universities to ensure students and faculty have consistent and reliable access to the services and technologies they rely on every day.

About Delgado Community College

Founded in 1921, Delgado Community College is Louisiana's oldest community college and serves students throughout a ten parish region. Delgado's core mission centers around providing a learning centered environment in which to prepare students from diverse backgrounds to attain their educational, career, and personal goals, to think critically, to demonstrate leadership and to be productive and responsible citizens.

About Presidium Learning

Presidium Learning pioneered Education Services Management (ESM) and provides outstanding support and services for postsecondary education. Over 650 colleges, universities and institutions rely on Presidium to deliver 24/7 interaction management solutions including -- multi-channel contact center; software, outsourcing, multi-sourcing. Presidium ESM solutions include help desk and IT support, in addition to comprehensive student services in interaction areas that include financial aid, admissions, registrar, enrollment management.

Contact Information: Media Contact for Delgado Community College Molly Jahncke Assistant Director Public Affairs and Information Delgado Community College (504) 671-5478 MJAHNC@dcc.edu Press Contact Melissa Chotiner DBC PR+New Media 1-202-292-4572 melissa@dbcpr.com