OAR Front Line Services See an Increase in Weeks Surrounding February 1 Deadline

The Front Line Services Team in the Office of Admissions and Recruitment is fully remote, including both student and professional staff. The Front Line Services Team continues to see steep increases in email and a slight decline in phone calls. When comparing similar weeks surrounding our February 1 (or the following business day if on a weekend) deadline, 2021 saw significant increases in calls and emails. From January 27, 2020, through February 9, 2020, to January 25, 2021, through February 9, 2021, we saw a total of 6,320 new cases, an increase of 1,332, or over 20%, of cases from 2020*. Cases include all emails to our office and escalated phone calls. Despite the steep increase in new cases, the team continues to close more and more cases, closing 4% more cases compared to this time last year. The number of calls decreased slightly, dropping from 2,578 answered calls in this time period in 2020 to 2,370 calls (-9%) in 2021. The average call length increased from four minutes and three seconds to four minutes and twenty-seven seconds. Additionally, the number of unanswered calls decreased significantly in 2021 from 429 calls to 204 calls (-53%). This is undoubtedly in part to our admissions counselor support and our incredibly dedicated student staff and professional team in serving our students, their families, and their counselors. Our phone lines are open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday to ensure all calls that are in by 4:00 are answered. Our phones are fully operational during these hours. Please feel free to share our email (onwisconsin@admissions.wisc.edu) with your teams or with anyone who contacts your offices regarding admissions-related questions. * Cases from Credit Evaluations Service were included in total numbers in 2020 and not in 2021.