Case Studies
CourseStorm Case Study: Shasta College Community Education and Business Training Center
CourseStorm helped a diverse not-for-credit education program improve its students’ registration experience and customer satisfaction, and free up staff time to focus on growth.
The Background
Shasta College was founded in 1950 in Redding, California and is committed to serving its community through education. Its Community Education and Business Training Center offers educational opportunities for personal enrichment, professional development, and career training. The business training center provides workforce training to businesses while Shasta’s enrichment classes range from finance, health and fitness, computers, cooking, creative arts, parenting, and day trips to regional events. Shasta College not-for-credit programs not only provide lifelong learning to the region but also help keep California’s workforce competitive in an increasingly competitive global market.
The Challenge
Managing not-for-credit class registration is a challenge for many organizations. Shasta College’s diverse catalog of community courses made it difficult to offer efficient registration. The solution they had been using for several years provided no quick ways for learners to find classes —students just scrolled and scrolled until they found a class that was of interest. Additionally, with no way to add images to pique a student’s attention, it felt plain, uninspiring, and unwelcoming – precisely the opposite of what Shasta College’s programs were! And worst of all were complaints from customers as they called in to register out of frustration, which was time-consuming, and disheartening, to staff.
“Last year I had one customer call and complain that our registration system was so difficult to use that she said, ‘now I remember why I quit taking your classes,’ which wasn’t the only complaint and is what prompted me to seek out a new system.”
—Lorrie E. Berry, M.Ed., Program Coordinator, Community Education and The Business Training Center
The situation was no better from an administrative perspective. Instructors had to rely on program staff for access to information, and the software’s per-seat user charge limited the number of people who could help. Data entry wasn’t as smooth, and with so many people requiring manual registration, the old system ultimately was not serving its purpose.
The Solution
“I feel very attended to and feel that our success using this system is a priority for CourseStorm, which I greatly appreciate.”
Shasta College decided that a new solution was needed and selected CourseStorm as the software that would best meet the needs of students and staff alike. The new system has helped streamline everything associated with class registration. CourseStorm’s image-rich online catalog allows students to browse and find classes of interest effortlessly, and its three-click registration is quick and straightforward, so fewer students call with issues. Unlimited admin user accounts, improved data entry, and instructor accounts are just a few of the things making life easier. And CourseStorm’s customer success team is available to answer questions and provide assistance whenever it is needed.
The Results
“We have received so much feedback from our customers/students, staff, and instructors. Everyone LOVES this new system. We have received so many compliments on this new system for its ease of use and the professional image it provides us. It is totally next level for us!”
Within the first few months, Shasta College Community Education and Business Training Center noticed a big difference in the amount of time they weren’t spending helping students with registration via phone and manually entered registrations! Students had a better customer experience using CourseStorm’s online registration tools. Time savings became a theme. Instructors self-managing their classes freed program staff from the laborious task so they could complete other work benefiting the program.
On the admin side, managing registrations, classes, and students is less complicated, allowing space to focus on more significant projects, like program growth and innovation.
“I am so thankful we switched to CourseStorm. Our work life is so much easier and happier now! Though it is more expensive than our old system, it is worth every penny in the staff time we save and the customer satisfaction we are experiencing with our community. Given the staff time we save with this system, we are money ahead —it pays for itself!”
Download the case study here: Shasta Community College – CourseStorm.
To see how we might help your program or more information, email contact@coursestorm.com or call us at 888-235-6028.
Nic Lyons
Nic is skilled in scaling start-up edtech and education organizations to growth-stage success through innovative marketing. A former journalist and copywriter, Nic holds a postgraduate certificate in digital and print publishing from Columbia University School of Journalism's publishing course.