Zoom Video Communications: What a Modern Phone Solution Can Do for Your Connected Campus

What a modern phone solution can do for your connected campus

For schools and universities that want to create a connected campus, communication plays a major role. Communication via video, phone, and chat can enable a variety of impactful connections within your community – how schools and universities interact with faculty and staff, keep parents informed, build relationships with students, and deliver instruction , in particular blended learning options.

Telephony is often the most difficult part to integrate into a connected campus. Existing phone systems typically require faculty and staff to be at their desks, making it difficult to stay connected in a mobile world.

A cloud telephony solution like Zoom Phone can integrate seamlessly into your connected campus ecosystem. Find out how three institutions adopted Zoom Phone as an essential part of their communications platform and connected their communities in new ways.

Cut the cord of desk phones

At Western Iowa Tech Community College (WITCC), where the shift to flexible mobile learning had been underway for years, campus closures during the pandemic prevented faculty and staff from accessing their desk phones. “We left our phones sitting at our desks,” said Mike Logan, dean of information technology at WITCC.

To increase emergency distance education, the college introduced Zoom Phone, providing employees with Apple AirPods to ease the transition to using a softphone. “Our employees can be where they need to be, when they need to be there. They are no longer chained to their desks,” Logan said.

One number, any device

Zoom Phone makes it easy to call someone and put them online, whether they are working from home or on campus. As Lauren Erardi, director of academic technology at Quinnipiac University, said, “Zoom Phone allows me to receive my office calls from any location, anywhere I’m logged into Zoom – whether it’s my device. mobile or my laptop at home. ”

A unique communication platform

For teachers and staff, one of the biggest benefits of using Zoom Phone is that it is part of the Zoom platform. That means using an app to connect with a coworker or parent via chat, phone, or video – and being able to switch communication methods on the fly. “I don’t need to go get a [printed] phone book. I pick up my phone and go to the Zoom directory, type in a name and log in, ”said Steven Ramos, director of information services and technology at the Solano County office of education. “Being able to convert a phone call into a meeting so I can do screen sharing is huge.”

Access to support for all users

Streamlined communications, combined with powerful functionality, support accessibility for faculty, staff, and students with diverse needs. At WITCC, a deaf IT help desk employee uses Zoom Phone’s voicemail transcription feature to be able to read and understand her customers’ issues, then communicate through Zoom Chat to help them resolve issues.

“Her phone is configured to immediately access voicemail so that she can receive the transcript by email. Then she goes to Zoom Chat to send a message to the customer. She can also send an SMS. [using Zoom Phone] if the client doesn’t have Zoom, “Logan said.” She can interact with the client in a way she’s never been able to do before – and that’s pretty amazing. ”

Easy to deploy and manage

If your school is already using the Zoom platform, adding Zoom Phone is easy. According to Ramos, the Solano County Office of Education replaced an outdated on-site telephone system, and “it didn’t take a huge army of technicians. Everything went very well. We don’t need an engineer to run our phone system now, which is great for schools.

Zoom’s Professional Services Organization (PSO) team can make the migration even easier. WITCC worked with the Zoom PSO team to deploy Zoom Phone amid the pandemic while working remotely. “I’ve worked with a lot of implementation teams, vendor-vendor partner projects, and this was probably the most enjoyable project I’ve been on,” Logan said. “And we did it without any disruption in service to the college.”

A final grade on campus security and E911 compliance

When you migrate to a cloud telephony solution, Zoom Phone’s Nomadic E911 service helps support compliance with several Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations, including:

• Kari’s law, which requires multiline telephone systems (MLTS) to support direct dialing of 911 without any prefix or access code, and requires designated personnel to be alerted in the event of an emergency call.
• RAY BAUM’s act, which requires that information such as mailing address, building number, floor number and suite be included in the sendable location information provided to Public Safety when a 911 call is made.

Zoom Phone’s Nomadic E911 service supports direct emergency dialing, alerts designated campus security personnel, and provides the ability to dynamically track the location of users as they move around your campus and transmit this information emergency responders.

This is particularly important for schools and universities which must comply with the FCC deadline for RAY BAUM’S Act January 6, 2022, which requires organizations with non-landline phone devices (such as cloud telephony services) to provide the “sending location” of the caller to 911 so that emergency personnel can more accurately locate them.

Sign up for this November 30 webinar to find out how Zoom Phone can help you stay compliant with FCC regulations.

Want to know more about connecting your campus to the Zoom platform? Watch our “Building a Connected Campus Experience” webinar or speak to a Zoom Education Specialist.