CourseStorm helped a library program increase registrations by 25% in just one week. Before they’d hit their second month with CourseStorm, they were up 35%!
“Ease of use, friendly customer support, and lack of design clutter are my three favorite things about using this program.”
— Glory Benacka, CLASS Program Coordinator
The Background
Salina Public Library’s mission is to connect people to information, learning, and culture. Serving a city of 50,000, the library has been a trendsetter in its investment in community education. The Library “enriches lives by providing accessible information, learning resources and services to meet the evolving needs of a dynamic and diverse community.”
Their Community Learning and Skill Sharing (CLASS) program connects skilled community members with people eager to learn something new. Every semester is full of informative and fun courses on topics like cooking, art, language, and wellness.
The Challenge
Imagine it’s the opening day of registration. People are calling, they’re logging onto the internet, and they’re visiting in person to register for classes! It should be a day of excitement, but instead, it’s complicated and exhausting. After trying to register online without success, they’d call the busy office, and finally, just come in person to the office. To prevent “duplicate” transactions, your credit card processor requires three minutes between registrations using the same credit card, so crowds of people are lined up with multiple credit cards at the ready to make the process go just a little faster. And think, all this to register for one class.
That was opening day for CLASS at Salina Public Library.
The program used by the library was not keeping up with the times. While their software served them as a room scheduling program (and still does), its registration capabilities were not providing a good experience for the staff or people trying to register. It was cumbersome, had a complicated waitlist system, and worst of all —that long wait between card transactions. The work required by support staff for each registration meant wasted time and money.
The Solution
After conferring with the department director, Salina’s CLASS staff looked at trends in online registration. They needed something affordable that still met their needs. They wanted the experience to be exceptional for its community of learners. After reviewing several solutions, Salina Public Library found CourseStorm.
They liked what they saw, especially with no annual fee —an essential factor for a budget-constrained library. The simplicity and carefully designed interface meant that it was easy for staff to learn, and the learning community found it to be a comfortable and convenient match.
The Results
“CourseStorm empowered our staff to focus on more important aspects of the program. It’s a really nice, slick program, and I enjoy being able to let that take care of the housekeeping of the program,” said CLASS Program Coordinator Glory Benaka. “I have trained several coworkers to use Courestorm and always emphasize that as long as you follow the prompts, you will get where you need to go in this program. It’s incredibly user-friendly and logically designed,” Benacka observed.
And their patrons love it too. Since moving to CourseStorm, registrants have commented on how much easier it is to use than the prior system. They like that student accounts can save credit cards to make the next registrations easier, and that if they’re waitlisted, their cards are only charged when they enroll in the class.
They found that CourseStorm’s world-class personal support has helped to make the process smooth and simple for patrons and staff alike. The increased efficiency also dramatically changed their schedule for planning, enabling them to get more done in a shorter period.
“I think the best thing we have going now is that it’s a 24/7 system and students can do it themselves and do it from home, 24/7. It allows us to be here as a point of contact for support…but it really empowers students to manage their own classes and accounts.”
—Glory Benacka
More registrations and more time to plan? Sounds impossible! (But it’s the truth!)
To see how we might help your program or more information, email contact@coursestorm.com or call us at (207) 866-0328.
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.