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INtELLIGENt

CoMMuNICAtIoNSIN EduCAtIoNREINVENTING THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE


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Forward-looking leaders today have a revolutionary opportunity to increasetheir organizations performance through Intelligent Communications whether it be for competitive advantage, enhanced public service,or improved patient care.

Intelligent Communications is not just about a set of new technologies orimproved products. Its about changing the way you think about the power ofcommunications, and its ability to make a difference in how your organizationachieves its strategic objectives.

This publication is meant to begin to uncover some of the revolutionarypossibilities with Intelligent Communications, speci c to the education sector.Across the globe, many leading educational institutions have already begun torealize these possibilities.

As a CEO in a competitive industry myself, I understand the pressure tond every possible advantage for your organization. After reading these

pages, youll see that Intelligent Communications is one that absolutelycannot be ignored.

Sincerely yours,

Louis J. DAmbrosio

President and Chief Executive Of cerAvaya Inc.

LEttER FRoM tHE PRESIdENt ANd CEo


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CONTENTS

1 IntroductIon

2 EducAtIon InduStrY oVErVIEW

3 EducAtIon cHALLEnGESAnd oPPortunItIES

5 IncrEASInG IMPortAncE oF tEcHnoLoGYto drIVE StrAtEGIc cHAnGE

7 coMMunIcAtIonS IS BEcoMInGIncrEASInGLY StrAtEGIc

9 IntELLIGEnt coMMunIcAtIonS EnABLES

IncrEASEd EducAtIonAL SuccESS

22 concLuSIon And SuMMArY


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1 I ellige c mm i a i s i E a i

When institutions think strategicallyabout leveraging communications,there are almost limitless possibilities.Consider the example of the cell phone.Nearly universal cell phone adoption by

students has had a clear, dramatic impacton campus communications. Revenuefrom dormitory phones has virtuallydisappeared, and students may be dif cultto reach because cell phone numbersarent integrated with student directories.With Intelligent Communications, however,cell phones and increasingly IP-enabledwireless phones can dramaticallyenhance the academic experienceand increase the value of the campusnetwork. Avaya solutions seamlesslyroute calls from the institutional voice

network to any cell phone, making surestudents do not miss important callsand allowing faculty and administratorsto notify students about class eventsor emergencies. Moreover, wirelessdevices can become virtual blue lightphones with one-button access to publicsafety. Combined with global positioningsystem (GPS) capabilities, students andfaculty alike can be located quickly andautomatically if and when an emergencysituation develops. Faculty can createvirtual teams where students collaboratevia voice, messaging and blogs. Many

of these applications are purchased bystudents (or their parents) to enhancetheir educational experience, creating newsources of revenue.

As you read through this document,imagine how your institution can leveragethe power of Intelligent Communications.

In a world where technology isbringing people closer together andknowledge is becoming ubiquitous,the education sector faces a numberof signi cant challenges. Thougheducation is not a typical pro t-driven industry, the marketplace is stillhighly competitive with organizationsdevoted to maximizing value tostudents their customers. Due torecent developments in technology such as IP telephony, Web services,and service-oriented architecture(SOA) communications can play

a pivotal role in the strategieseducational institutions pursue. Weare moving from a period in whichcommunications was merely a utility,with cost as the most importantcriteria, into an era of IntelligentCommunications.

Intelligent Communications is theresult of embedding communicationsapplications inside critical processesin the learning environment. Thisincludes everything from deliveringvideoconferencing to support

collaboration, to integrating wirelessvoice and information devices witha converged network so incomingcalls can be routed to the appropriateadministrator, wherever he or she maybe. By embedding communicationsapplications within key processes,Intelligent Communications candeliver its increasingly bene cial and ultimately transformative value in three fundamental (andinterrelated) dimensions: the studentand faculty experience, productivity,and process ef ciency/continuity. Inturn, educators are able to create arich academic experience that can settheir institution apart.

In the pages to come, we will discussthe importance of technology tosuccessful educational institutionstrategies and the integral rolecommunications can play in enabling

these strategies. We will address thespeci c business challenges facingtodays educational institutions,highlight how leading innovativeinstitutions are leveraging IntelligentCommunications today, and share avision of what is possible inthe years to come.

INtRoduCtIoN


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I ellige c mm i a i s i E a i 2

At a high level, education can bedivided into three segments: highereducation, primary/secondaryeducation and corporate education.These three segments are inturn each comprised of multiplesubsegments respectively, theseinclude universities and colleges;public and private school systems;and training and distributed learningorganizations.

Globally education is a multi-trilliondollar industry. In North America,Europe and parts of the Asia-Paci c region, it is second only tohealthcare in terms of contributionto gross domestic product (GDP).Though large and diverse, educationcan be broadly categorized intononpro t (universities, four-yearcolleges, public education, etc.)and for-pro t (corporate education,private education, some two yearcolleges, vocational colleges, etc.).While educators are generallybudget-constrained and cost-conscious, they are highly motivated

to create collaborative learningenvironments that lower thebarriers to communication betweenfaculty and students. To this end,educators tend to be highly creativein their use of technology. The riseof distributed learning in the late1990s is one obvious example, aseducators recognized the possibilityof interacting with students andteachers in new ways. They were ableto enrich academic programs andef ciently reach new students. Morerecently, universities across the globe from the United States and UnitedKingdom to Eastern Europe and the

Middle East have begun tocreate open course curricula wherelectures and all relevant coursematerials are made available online,free to anyone with a high-speedconnection. These universities aresending a clear message that thevalue in their educational programsis less about static content andmore about creating an immersiveeducational experience, whereteachers and students focus onthe process of learning itself as akey component of the education

experience.

EduCAtIoN INduStRy ovERvIEW


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EduCAtIoN CHALLENGES ANd oPPoRtuNItIES

Clearly there are signi cant differencesacross the diverse spectrum ofeducational institutions. On the surface,the concerns of a rural primary school in adeveloping country stand in stark contrastto those of a globally-renowned privateuniversity. Though the opportunities andlimitations each faces may have littlein common, their educational missionremains the same. That means commonissues can be identi ed at a high level. Thefollowing are the key challenges facing theindustry today:

Addressing the Gr ing Demand f rC ntinu us Educati nIn a global economy with growingtechnical complexity and requirementsfor new knowledge workers, the needfor specialization and certi cation isincreasingly important, with educationviewed as the best path to prosperity andsuccess. Consequently, education is nolonger seen as a discrete event, but as alifelong process, resulting in an increasingaverage age for higher educationstudents. In Europe, the largest age groupparticipating in higher education is now

21-24, versus 18-21 in the United States.China recently lifted the restriction onhigher education examinees above age25. Further, this expansion has causedsome universities to begin to rival the sizeand complexity of cities. For example, theAnatolian University in Turkey currentlyserves more than one million students.Institutions now must address the needsof student communities that not only spannew age groups, but also are growingin sheer numbers.

Management f

Rising De iver C stsMany primary/secondary school systemsare under severe budget pressure, forcingeducators to reduce services, increasethe burden on local communities throughtaxes or donations, or increase tuition fees.At the same time, delivery costs continueto rise including pensions, teacher


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I ellige c mm i a i s i E a i

healthcare, employee unions, specialeducation and basic educationalinfrastructure. Similarly, maintainingantiquated voice and data networks typically not converged and withoutIP telephony adds to delivery costs.This combination means educatorsare being forced to do more with less.

C ntinu us Pr gram Impr vement Competition is intensifying amongeducational institutions to not onlyattract the best students, but alsoto maintain or grow enrollmentbases. Simultaneously, public policyinitiatives to raise standards areputting pressure on both public andprivate education around the globe.For example, in India standardizedtesting largely determines a studentsacademic track and the careerthat follows. This puts tremendouspressure on institutions to delivereffective student preparation.Similarly, in the United States theNo Child Left Behind Act mandatesstandardized testing and ties schoolfunding to outcomes. As a result

of these trends, institutions havean increasing need to develop newprograms and improve those thatalready exist. Their funding, whetherprivate or public, depends on it.

Educat r and Student SafetIn a world where school violenceand natural disasters have becomeregrettably common, educatorsmust consider issues that extendfar beyond classroom curriculaand into basic personal safety andsecurity. In many cases, educators are

entrusted with the safety of entirefamilies, sometimes across multiplegenerations; this responsibility cannotbe taken lightly. Moreover, in todaysglobal environment, a school canseem less a safe haven and morea potential target for anyone with a

radical political agenda. Institutionsmust create a safe learningenvironment by taking the measuresnecessary to ensure emergency plansand capabilities are in place.

Risk Management and Securit In a connected world, a student-created virus in Russia can takedown an entire university networkin Brazil. As converged networksmeet the divergent needs ofdifferent user groups from studentsdownloading videos to researchersstoring data information security isincreasingly critical in the academicworld. Student records must besecure, including sensitive personalinformation like healthcare recordsand credit card numbers. Similarly,the threat from natural disasters andother emergencies means continuityof educational operations is clearly animportant issue for administrators.

Educators are looking for ways toaddress these challenges, creatingrich, immersive academic programsto better serve student customersand differentiating their institutionsamong an increasing number ofeducational options.


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Increasing costs of delivery and growingrequirements for educational servicesmean educators need every advantagethey can nd to enrich programs anddifferentiate their institutions. Moreover,an ever more complicated range ofnecessary technologies underpinsthe services educational institutionsprovide from cellular technology toconverged IP networks. As a result ofthese trends, educators can no longerafford to consider their educationalstrategies in isolation from the technologyinfrastructure and applications required todeliver those strategies.

But are todays technology solutionscost-effective and practical foreducational institutions? Many educatorsrecognize the potential value of newtechnology, but cannot afford the timeand expense needed to implementcomplicated solutions. Here is wherenew developments such as Web servicesand service-oriented architecture (SOA)make a difference. Developments in theseareas minimize the need for custom code,

making it much easier to tie togetherdisparate systems and applicationsand reducing the specialized skillsand time required for implementation.Furthermore, administrative costs involvedin selecting and managing technologyimplementations are streamlined. Thesechanges dramatically lower the costsassociated with many technology projects,making cost-effective and repeatablesolutions affordable for both large andsmall institutions, public and private.

Given their increasing cost-effectiveness,

how can technology solutions addressthe leading challenges facing educationalinstitutions? The following tablesummarizes but a few of the manytechnology initiatives that educationalinstitutions are deploying.

INCREASING IMPoRtANCE oF tECHNoLoGyto dRIvE StRAtEGIC CHANGE


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EDUCATIoNAl CHAllENGE TECHNoloGy RESPoNSE

Addressing the Gr ing Demandf r C ntinu us Educati n

Converged voice, data and video networks to expand the reach ofeducational programs.

Consistent experience for students and faculty as they interact withdisparate applications to make systems intuitive and easy to use,increasing user satisfaction

Management f Rising De iver C sts IP telephony to link facilities together across a shared network.

Web services and SOA to s implify integration.

Cost-effective distributed learning applications to scale educationprograms.

C ntinu us Pr gram Impr vement Integrated customer relationship management (CRM) applications tofacilitate recruiting and fundraising efforts.

Intelligent call routing to reduce wait time for students and response timefor administrators.

Student self-service capabilities via Web and interactive voice response(IVR) systems to improve process ef ciency.

Educat r and Student Safet Improved integration with public emergency services (e.g. 911) andintelligent routing of emergency calls to decrease response time andimprove outcomes.

Integration of wireless devices with converged networks to allow rapidnoti cation and response in an emergency.

Remote monitoring to increase the reach of institutional security.

Risk Management and Securit Virtual private networks and encryption to secure networks and keepstudent records and information private.

Role-based access and privileges to control access and make surecon dential information is available only to appropriate administrators.

Remote systems monitoring and con guration to assure educationalcontinuity of operations.

This list is by no means comprehensive, and technology is certainly not the only wayto address these challenges. But it can and does play a critical role in overcomingsuch daunting challenges. Taking a more detailed look at the list of technologyresponses, one can see that many of them involve communications. As we will see inthe next section, its not just technology in general, but speci cally communicationstechnology that is critical to enabling institutions educational strategies.


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Historically, communications has beenviewed by educators as a utility and aslittle more than a part of an institutionscost of operation. In recent years,administrators have welcomed theplummeting prices of long distanceand other telecommunications services,as well as incremental improvementsin functionality. Rarely, though, hascommunications been viewed as astrategic business lever.

However, recent fundamental changesare enabling revolutionary newopportunities to use communicationsto enrich academic life anddifferentiate educational programs.Communications is becoming trulystrategic and shattering its old utilityimage. By making communicationsmore intelligent, its value extendsbeyond merely providing more (andmore sophisticated) devices for voiceand data communications. This shift inperception and reality is well underwayin leading educational institutions.

In short, we have entered the era ofIntelligent Communications. What isIntelligent Communications? Quitesimply, it is the result of embeddingcommunications applications insideeducational processes to deliver abetter student experience. Leveragingintelligence in communications meanseducational institutions can differentiatecommunications based upon user,environment or other requirements.They can deliver appropriatecommunications to student, facultyand administrator groups with greatly

differing needs. And institutions canleverage end-user devices that run thegamut from smart to simple from thelatest IP-enabled mobile phones andPDAs to dumb landline phones and56K dialup Internet connections tocreate richer academic environmentsand increase the value of their network.

Intelligent Communications is not afuturistic vision of what can be achievedwhen an institution spends lavishlyon IP telephony infrastructure. Rather,Intelligent Communications usesopen, standard software technologiesthat enable affordable, cost-effectivecompetitive advances in the real world.The reality is that todays technologyinfrastructure is mixed. Institutionalnetworks are large and distributed,but need to ll the diverse needsof different user groups. So they

feature a patchwork of disparate,legacy systems that can make theintegration of new applications bothpainful and expensive. Moreover,educational IT budgets are typicallyconstrained, with a need to continuallytrain IT staff and retain talent, while

justifying expenditures throughdemonstrable returns on investment.With Intelligent Communications, theexplosion of devices and diversityof communications media can bemanaged within a uniform, coherent,central communications infrastructure.This enables Intelligent Communicationsto deliver its increasingly bene cial and ultimately transformative valuein three fundamental (and interrelated)dimensions:

Student and Facu t Experience For students and faculty, convergednetworks with wireless accessenable seamless voice and datacommunications and access toinformation resources from any device,anywhere. Collaboration tools create adiverse educational environment whereteachers, guest lecturers, special tutorsand students can be brought together,even if all are at remote locations.Intelligent contact solutions enablestaff to deliver ef cient, personalizedexperiences to students in everyinteraction.

CoMMuNICAtIoNS IS bECoMINGINCREASINGLy StRAtEGIC


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STAKEHolDERS BENEFITS

Quicker and more effective student access to information andservices wait times are minimized, fewer calls are required, andthe right person can be engaged on the rst call

Better-tailored experiences with the institution, as staff havegreater student context from the start

Ability to engage with the insti tution through the use of anydevice or modality (voice, web, etc.)

Access to full campus or school communication capabilities fromany location, even while mobil

More effective prioriti zation/management of communications colleagues can be reached immediately when needed, whileunnecessary interruptions are minimized

Greater exibility in development of customized communication-related applications/systems, leveraging web services and SOA

Reduced maintenance and support requirements

Improved overall continuity of operations

Higher faculty, staff and student satisfaction

Improved faculty and staff productivity and moreef cient institution

Greater agility in decision-making and responsiveness

Improved institution performance: greater opportunities for betterstudent experience, at lower cost

True, hard-to-replicate competitive advantage better studentexperience, productivity, and ef ciency

Staff Pr ductivit Administrators, faculty and other staffare able to collaborate virtually and

connect to business and educationalapplications through a variety ofxed and mobile devices. Faculty stay

connected to institutional resourceswhile traveling. Administrators dontget interrupted by trivial calls whendealing with critical issues, nor do theymiss an urgent message because theywere momentarily unavailable.

Pr cess Ef cienc ,C ntinuit and Securit Students and faculty have full accessto advanced safety and security

systems that can overcome the

traditional dif culty of pinpointingcaller locations on a campus.Intelligent systems automatically

notify the right person, right away,when a process or function breaksdown and if that person doesntrespond, the next person in line iscontacted, and then the next, until theproblem is addressed. Communicationcapabilities can be recon guredremotely in the case of severedisruption. Faculty, administratorsand students enjoy secure accessto communication capabilities,regardless of location or device, andinformation is protected from threatsthat originate within or outside theeducational environment.

INTEllIGENT CoMMUNICATIoNS PRoVIDES PowERFUl IMPACT AT EVERy lEVEl

Students

Teachers, Facu t , Staff

Inf rmati nTechn g

DepartmentManager

Instituti nleadership


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To this point, we have discussedIntelligent Communications primarilyfrom a general perspective. Butwhat does it mean speci cally withineducational organizations? We will nowexplain how Intelligent Communicationscan transform education and describeexamples of leading institutionsthat have already undergone suchtransformations.

Educational institutions have faceda lengthy list of challenges in recentyears, including retaining the best

students, ef ciently expanding thedepth and reach of programs, andensuring the security and safety ofevery individual on campus. IntelligentCommunications can address thesechallenges in the following ways:

1. Attracting Excepti na Students.Intense competition means a myriadof choices for students in todayseducational marketplace, and educatorsare striving to differentiate theirprograms to attract and retain thebest and brightest. Given the inherentbene ts of diversity and strong athleticprograms, educators are looking forways to attract minorities and topathletes. Additionally, student prospectsare evaluating the diversity of a campus,its athletic programs, test scoresand student satisfaction all criticalevaluation criteria. Less than favorableresults can damage an institutionsapplicant pipeline for years to come.

Intelligent Communications canimprove overall student satisfactionby integrating prospective studentsdirectly into the academic experience.

How is this accomplished? From therst time prospective students make

contact, they are connected with theappropriate admissions of cer orcounselor who best meets their needs.Incoming calls are selectively routedbased on caller-ID. After identifyingthe prospective student and associated

history, the system steers that studentto the individual best able to handle thecall. This could be an administrator whopreviously interacted with the studentor an individual with a speci c areaof expertise. Follow-up conversationsintelligently build on these initialcontacts to establish relationshipswith prospective students. Tours andinterviews are ef ciently scheduledand expose prospective students tothe depth and breadth of the academicexperience. In short, via IntelligentCommunications, the recruiting process

becomes a seamless demonstration ofthe connected academic experience aprospect can expect when enrolled atthe institution.

2. Expanding Depth, Reach, andEnr ment thr ugh Distributedlearning. Early in its evolution, distance learningwas characterized by broadcast(one-to-many) models. This approachallowed educators to overcome greatdistances to provide educationalprograms to working adults and those

with families opening up new revenueopportunities. However, as applicationshave improved and bandwidth costshave decreased, distance learning hasincreasingly moved to a true distributedlearning environment. With distributedlearning, the broadcast model isreplaced with a collaborative (many-to-many) model. Faculty and studentscan actively work together to reachacademic goals, and learning becomesboth immersive and interactive.

Intelligent Communications enhances

distributed learning. Visiting professorsor guest lecturers can be contacted andscheduled automatically includingintelligent noti cation of schedule andlesson plan changes to add depth to acurriculum. Students can communicateacross distances, helping homeboundstudents feel less isolated. Student

INtELLIGENt CoMMuNICAtIoNSENAbLES INCREASEd EduCAtIoNAL SuCCESS


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CASE EXAMPlE

H a Midd e Eastern Sp rts AcademDep ed Capabi ities t MatchIts leading-Edge Educati na Appr achThis extraordinary sports academy has a vision to mold the best young sportingtalent from the region into world-class athletes and role models.

The academy offers the highest standards in sport and educational facilities toits handpicked students, and is committed to supporting these facilities with thebest technology available. The student database has been connected to a broadrange of other systems such as training and medical equipment to make theinformation accessible from anywhere on campus. And the key to the academyshigh-tech environment is a robust, exible communication infrastructure.

A critical requirement for the academy was a solution to support its unique TalentIdenti cation Program, used to evaluate the 3,000+ students vying for 50 slotsat the academy. For its voice and data requirements, the academy chose anAvaya IP telephony solution to provide network exibility, extended applications,educational continuity of operations, increased productivity and cost savings.The Avaya solution, including Avaya Extension to Cellular, integrates the voiceand data network with wireless devices so prospective and current students,faculty and administrators can seamlessly communicate with each other andinteract with the full resources of the institution.


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groups distributed across remotelocations can collaborate effectively.Intelligent Communications enriches

distributed learning by leveragingIP telephony to seamlessly integratethe applications people use tocommunicate within a collaborativeenvironment.

In addition, IP systems offer otherbene ts. IP telephony makes it easierfor students to make requests andcommunicate with administrators andfaculty. Administrators can accessvoice and data communications fromstudents, add new information andforward messages to the appropriate

faculty member or administrator.For example, a homebound studentinterested in getting extra help from aremote tutor could make the request,and the system would ensure thestudents teacher and appropriate tutorwere noti ed. To the extent the initialrequest identi ed other issues, thesystem also could automatically issuemessages to interested parties, such asparents and counselors.

3. Enhancing Administrative Pr ductivit . In recent years, educational institutions

have invested in upgrading voice anddata network infrastructure and basiccommunications applications. Now theyare shifting their focus to how they canleverage these technology investmentsto improve administrative productivity.Doing so is critical because ef cientadministrators have more time to focuson not only current and prospectivestudents but also on alumni, whocan be vital to the well-being of theinstitution. Responsive, effectiveadministrators can help institutionstruly differentiate themselves in theeducation marketplace.

Access Faculty members tend to travelconstantly, and whether en routeor at their destination, they needaccess to institutional resources tobe productive. Instructors also tend

to be email-centric, which createsspecial challenges. For example, itcan be dif cult to type a group email

responding to a grant question whilerunning through an airport. WithIntelligent Communications, email canbe accessed by voice, and voicemail canbe accessed by computer. Calendarscan be viewed, appointmentsscheduled and notices sent via avoice interface. Conference calls canbe coordinated and attended on the

y. When traveling, faculty memberscan access the same communicationscapabilities as in the of ce, makingthem instantly productive regardlessof their location. One of the goals

of Intelligent Communication is tofacilitate the way people work, ratherthan forcing them to work in anunfamiliar and ultimatelyunproductive way.

Vide App icati ns andRicher C ab rati nIP networks can cost-effectivelysupport the video applications thatare critical to collaboration andpower inexpensive cameras throughthe network. In comparison to theexpensive and cumbersome videoteleconferencing systems of the 1990s,features have improved and costs havedecreased dramatically. Combiningvideoconferencing with co-browsingcapabilities allows students andfaculty in remote locations to viewthe same material, ef ciently bringingan assortment of rich media to theeducational experience.

M bi it Converged voice and data networksallow number portability, so users canlog onto any phone on the network oraccess the network remotely throughcomputers. Such mobility applicationshelp associate of ce phone numberswith an individual rather than a location.This enables greater productivity andfaster response to callers, whether anadministrator is in or out of the of ce.


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CASE EXAMPlE

H Pa m Beach C unt Sch Districtleverages Distributed learning t ReachSpecia Needs StudentsPalm Beach County is the tenth largest school district in the United States,serving more than 176,000 students in 164 primary, secondary and special interestschools. The District has received nationwide acclaim for its school safety andcultural programs, as well as recognition for its small, ef cient administrationand maximum dollars spent in classrooms.

Within the school district are 300 homebound and hospitalized special educationstudents (SPED) with unique needs, who participate in 30 different classes.The challenge the District faced was to deliver the school curriculum to thesestudents effectively and ef ciently, providing the rich educational opportunitiesthey deserve.

The District chose an Avaya IP telephony solution with Meeting Exchange thatsupports a number of innovative applications. SPED teachers can create a singlevirtual classroom ef ciently, allowing students from across the District to worktogether in an inclusive environment. Students can meet with special tutorswho ordinarily would be unavailable if individual trips were necessary. Guestswith expert knowledge can be integrated easily into the learning environmentto enhance curricula. Parent-teacher conferences can be scheduled andconducted ef ciently, allowing busy families to focus on their children, ratherthan accommodating inconvenient appointment times. Virtual eldtrips can bearranged for homebound and hospitalized students, transporting these typicallyisolated students to places that come alive through rich multimedia. The resulthas been a four-fold increase in the number of homebound and hospitalizedSPED students dialing-in for continued learning.


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C st Ef ciencies Geographically distributed locations canoperate on a single network at less cost.

As educational institutions grow, movingadministrators and faculty from currentfacilities to new (and often temporary)facilities is a laborious exercise incomplex logistics. Traditionally, ITtechnicians were required to recon gurecommunications systems manually,which is time-consuming and expensive.Furthermore, educational institutionstend to grow organically and frequentlyhave disparate systems and applicationswith duplicative cabling and servicecontracts. IP networks eliminate theseissues through a centrally managed

solution that supports number portabilityand other new applications and usesvoice over IP (VoIP) switches to reducemaintenance and support costs. Thesebasic savings can be the justi cationfor implementing IP telephony, whilealso opening up options for the evengreater ef ciencies that IntelligentCommunications can provide.

4. Ef cient Extending the Reach fAcademic Pr grams. In an effort to meet the evolving needsof students and faculty, educators areunder pressure to increase the ef cientreach of educational programs. This canbe a frustrating experience. Educators

nd themselves working with anever-increasing number of specializedcommunications solutions cell phones,wireless PDAs, videoconferencing, voicenetwork services, collaboration tools andmore. While these dedicated solutionsmeet speci c communications needs,the dif culty of integrating them intoa single, cohesive solution hampersef cient collaboration and limits the

reach of academic programs.Intelligent Communication solutionscan take these individual pointsolutions and cross traditional networkboundaries to integrate them into asingle, logical, distributed network. Ascollaboration tools are re ned, small

group collaboration and cross-institutioncurricula become possible. Students,faculty and administrators have better

access not only to each other, but to thefull resources of the institution allowingeducators to increase the reach ofacademic programs ef ciently.

Sma Gr up C ab rati n Todays educational institutions areoften spread across multiple campuses.In the current IP-enabled world ofIntelligent Communications, small groupsof students can ef ciently collaborateacross geographically-dispersedlocations. Students and faculty haveaccess to information resources across

the institution. This allows educatorsto increase the reach of educationalprograms more effectively, extendingenrollment and making educationconvenient for students, working peopleand seniors.

Cr ss-Instituti n C ab rati n As educational programs and studentneeds become increasingly specialized,the cost of delivering specializedcurricula to students can be prohibitive.Indeed, in some cases, students areencouraged to take speci c classes at

other institutions. Through IP-enabledcollaboration, institutions can worktogether to provide such specializedcurricula. Classes can be offered jointly,sharing faculty and other resourcesand making special tutors available.As a result, institutions can ef cientlyincrease the reach and richness of theireducational programs.

5. Ensuring Pers na Safet and Securit fStudents, Facu t , and Administrat rs. Educators must consider a range ofpersonal safety and security issues

that extend far beyond classroomcurricula. The stakes are high one well-publicized failure to provide a safe andsecure learning environment can havea devastating impact on the institution.When key communications infrastructureis literally under water or inside a


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CASE EXAMPlE

H a Universit Expanded its Educati naPr grams and Increased Student Satisfacti nOne of the oldest historically black educational institutions in the United States,this universitys primary mission is to maintain excellence in research and inacademic programs that foster intellectual enhancement, technological skills andcharacter development.

In addition to its main campus, the University operates nine satellite campusesproviding adult and professional education. The University also sends instructorsto other remote locations, including state prisons where they offer inmates achance to earn degrees.

The Universitys communications system was complicated, with disparate voice

systems, multiple local and long-distance carriers, and myriad data and Internetservice providers. Even worse, calls to the admissions or nancial aid of ces werefrequently met by busy signals, which crippled productivity and lowered studentsatisfaction.

The University chose an Avaya communications solution to connect its variouscampuses. Since the solution was implemented, distance learning enrollment forremote campuses has increased by 20 percent. Not only can students acrossthe state use videoconferencing to take advantage of the free tutoring offeredby the University, but they can participate in a course from any center, just as ifthey were in the same room as an instructor. Students can ask questions throughaudio conferencing or by sending email to the instructors assistant if the lectureis still in progress. Furthermore, the University plans to pro t from its new IPnetworks by becoming a videoconferencing provider for the towns surrounding

the satellite campuses, where such services are hard to come by.


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collapsed building, it can be dif cult forpeople to simply get through, much lesspinpoint the exact location of victims or

coordinate relief efforts.Intelligent Communications solvesmany of the problems that currentlyconfront educators trying to create safeand secure learning environments. IPtelephony can locate callers and assurethat calls are ef ciently routed to theappropriate responder. Wireless devicescan be integrated with the campusnetwork into a single solution allowingstudents and faculty to immediatelyaccess emergency services. Families canquickly locate loved ones in the case of

an emergency. Furthermore, IP networkscan support inexpensive remote videocameras that allow security personnelto effectively monitor multiple locations.Doors can be remotely locked oropened to contain a security threat orlet remen into a burning building. Fire,carbon monoxide, tornado and otheremergency systems are integrated intothe communications network allowingquick noti cation through multiple voiceand data channels for those affected.With Intelligent Communicationsdisparate systems and applicationsbecome a seamless solution with asingle goal: providing a safe and secureacademic experience for students,faculty, and administrators.

6. Making Educati naNet rks Secure. Many educational institutions havevoice and data networks that needto satisfy multiple user groups, andthis creates a dilemma. Hackers arefrequently students themselves andrepresent a major threat from withinan institutions rewalls. However,university researchers, for example, needto be able to collaborate effectivelyand seamlessly across that sameinfrastructure. Moreover, researchersworking in particularly sensitive areas

from biotech to national security have specialized security requirements.Educational institutions are also

responsible for sensitive personalinformation that needs to be secure,including social security numbers,personal contact information, academicand healthcare records, andcredit card numbers.

In the past, educators simply had to livewith many of the security issues createdby students and researchers workingon the same network, and piecemealsecurity solutions meant foregoing manyof the potential bene ts of convergence.However, Intelligent Communications

technology makes it possible today toensure against threats both within andoutside the network, while still realizingproductivity and ef ciency bene ts.Enterprise risk management, securityand authentication can be deployed inan integrated and consistent manner.End-to-end security can be provided in alayered approach, with secure signalingand encrypted communications whetherinside the rewall or extending outsideto other educational institutions,research labs, government agencies orcorporate partners. Because standardsremain unspeci c and all institutionsapproach security somewhat differently,solutions can be tailored to t thespeci c needs of individual institutions.

7. Impr ving C ntinuit fEducati na operati ns.In In a world where a natural disastercan shut down a network in seconds,educators must increasingly buildcontinuity of operations into theirvoice and data infrastructure. This canbe a dif cult task. While faculty andadministrative use of a network peaksduring the day, student usage tends topeak late at night or in the early hoursof the morning. Students return fromevening activities and reach out tofamilies, signi cant others or each other.


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CASE EXAMPlE

H an Inn vative Universit Createda Ne Academic ParadigmThis University has an enrollment of approximately 1,400 undergraduate andgraduate students on its main campus, plus an additional 15 branch sites in thecentral United States. The University was one of the rst schools to equip itsentire faculty with desktop computers, and in 2000, the University built the rsttruly wireless community in the nation. Today, the University provides studentswith their own notebook computers and wireless Internet access, allowing themto go online at any time, from anywhere on campus.

Though well-equipped with an Avaya wireless network and a convergence-readyAvaya data infrastructure, the schools voice network was obsolete andnot keeping pace.

By implementing Intelligent Communications, the University was able to usevoice, data and conferencing applications to link all 15 branch sites seamlesslyand provide collaborative learning opportunities to small groups of students atmultiple campus locations. Wireless everywhere access to an integrated voice

and data network gives students, faculty and administrators access to each otherand to the full resources of the institution anytime, everywhere.

By making communications intelligent, the University has created an even morepowerful new educational paradigm. The classroom has become simply anotherfacet of an immersive educational continuum, rather than the focal point ofthe academic experience. Instead of concentrating on the logistics of gettinginformation to students traditionally in the classroom the University providesubiquitous access to voice and data. This means rather than simply assimilatinginformation, students can focus on converting data into knowledge. Faculty cansigni cantly enhance the educational experience, linking students together invirtual teams where they are free to collaborate and reach mutual academic goals.Perhaps the best testament to the educational paradigm shift the University haseffected is that despite being extremely isolated geographically, the University

has been ooded with applications from both students and faculty who want towork in this unique educational environment.


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This distributed load means networksneed to operate continually at 100%,and it becomes dif cult to schedule

downtime for upgrades or testing.Moreover, continuity of operationsis frequently required in the worstcircumstances. During natural disastersor other troubling events, the basiccommunications infrastructure is notonly under duress, but ooded with callsfrom victims, families and emergencyresponders all trying to assess themagnitude of the threat, muster theappropriate response, and locate andnotify those affected.

Intelligent Communication

solutions can help educators assurecontinuity of operations in a numberof ways. Advanced contact centersolutions allow intelligent routingof calls to help students, faculty,administrators and concerned familymembers get answers right away,rather than calling back numeroustimes. Voicemail solutions allowschools to set up programs wherestudents can call in after an eventto let administrators know theyare okay allowing emergencyresponders to focus on those whoare missing. As call volumes spikeimmediately after a disaster, traf ccan be distributed intelligentlyand seamlessly to unaffectedlocations. Communications systemscan be remotely monitored andrecon gured to reduce downtime.New technology also enablescommunication across disparatedevices and networks, includingmobile radios and IP-enableddevices, to facilitate emergencyresponse. In these and other

ways, Intelligent Communicationsis paving the way toward bettercontinuity of operations and isenabling educational institutions torespond to the threats of the future.


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Pr ductivit Faculty and staff are not

interrupted by trivial calls duringimportant tasks, nor do they missurgent calls while out of the of ce

Calls and messages can bedirected to/ retrieved fromany device

Faculty and staff can virtuallycollaborate and connect tobusiness applications through avariety of devices

Pr cess Ef cienc / C ntinuitf operati ns

Business processes automaticallynotify the right person, rightaway, when somethingbreaks down

Communications are secureoutside and inside the networkon every device

Communications are tracked,archived and available forauditing

Networks are resilient withbackup capabilities andcontingency plans in case ofoutages or disasters

Student Experience Students call and always reach

whom they need to reach

Students can receive customizedaccount/ transaction informationfrom any location and throughany medium

Staff can dynamically connectexperts to an interaction todeliver rst-call resolution ofstudent issues

Institutions deliver personalizedinteractions to studentsevery time

INTEllIGENT CoMMUNICATIoNS KEy BENEFITS

Inte igent C mmunicati ns F undati ns

Service oriented Midd e are

Sessi n Initiati n Pr t c (SIP)

Net rk C mmunicati ns Infrastructure


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CASE EXAMPlE

H Big Bend C mmunit C egeCreate a Safer learning Envir nmentBig Bend is a comprehensive, two-year community college in the Paci c Northwestregion of the United States. With an enrollment of 1,600 students, Big Bend is thesmallest community college in the state of Washington, though it serves a ruralcommunity spanning 4,600 miles and 92,000 people.

Big Bends northeast Washington campus had voice and data communicationssystems that were out-of-date having devolved into a hold your breath andhope it works situation. One of the biggest issues was the inability to alertemergency workers quickly via calls to 911.

Big Bend Community College chose to transform its campus with an Avaya IPtelephony solution that combined a number of safety and security features, aswell as tools for remote monitoring and problem resolution. As a result, networkdowntime has been signi cantly reduced and the system is always on, assuringadministrators that the institution has the communication tools it needs to respond

to threats. More importantly, safety and security has been greatly enhanced withincreased emergency support including software that forwards speci c callerinformation to local police, re and EMT squads to reduce both response timeand potential confusion in the event of an on-campus emergency.


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Students &A umni

Facu t

M bi e w rkers

Rem te Experts

AdministrativeStaff

Students/A umniAna tics/

Hist r

A umniDatabase

Admissi nsInf rmati n

CentraSchedu ing

S stem

StaffSpecia izati n

Invent r

ExpertSki s

Database

Presence &l cati n inf rmati n

App icati ns/ Inf rmati n S stems

Inte igentC mmunicati ns

INTEllIGENT CoMMUNICATIoNS CoNNECTSTHE RIGHT PEoPlE AT THE RIGHT TIME wITH THE RIGHT INFoRMATIoN

Students &

A umni

Partners


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CASE EXAMPlE

H a Universit Medica Center AssuresNet rk Securit and C ntinuit f operati nsThis University Medical Center provides world-class leadership in scienti c research,health and medical education, and patient care. Faculty members from the Centercarry out the schools core mission of educating and training future generations ofhealthcare professionals.

As one of the top research facilities internationally, the Center needs secure,

reliable communications to link leading researchers to colleagues, partners andcritical data. Downtime, especially if signi cant, can mean millions of dollars worthof research and years of work wasted from ruined experiments.

The Center selected Avaya IP telephony to transform its operations with a highmeasure of security and reliable service. The system has built-in redundancy toensure adequate disaster recovery capabilities to suit the Centers zero-tolerancefor downtime. In addition, satellite of ces now have the same level of functionalityoffered by the main campus communications system, making them feel less isolated.Secure compatibility with the Universitys student voice and data system createsa single, converged network supporting new feature functionality for productivityimprovements such as on-demand conferencing and intuitive administration andmanagement tools. Global researchers can now work remotely with secure accessto institutional resources from any Internet connection. Finally, the system supports

remote monitoring and con guration, assuring continuity of operations in the faceof threat.


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CoNCLuSIoN ANd SuMMARy

As an educator, can you afford to ignore

the strategic possibilities IntelligentCommunications can offer yourinstitution? Technology is a critical factorin an institutions effectiveness anddifferentiation, and communication can nolonger be regarded as a mere utility. As wehave shown, Intelligent Communicationsenables educators to enrich educationalprograms ef ciently, creating a moresatisfying, immersive experience forstudents, faculty and administrators.

Though one may be tempted to thinkIntelligent Communications capabilitieshave existed for years through technologiessuch as computer-telephony integration(CTI), the reality is that recent technologydevelopments such as IP telephony, Webservices and service-oriented architecture are making Intelligent Communicationsmore affordable and practical foreducational institutions. Now, not only aretruly innovative communications solutionsaffordable and repeatable, but they can bemore effectively integrated directly intoeducational processes.

Who will be the leaders in educationwho fully capitalize on the revolutionarycapabilities of Intelligent Communications?Many educational institutions are layingthe groundwork through adoption of IPtelephony on cost-improvement grounds,and the possibilities from there torevolutionize an institutions effectivenessand differentiation are nearly endless.

Can your institution afford to fall behind?


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Avaya enables businesses to achievesuperior results by designing, buildingand managing their communicationsinfrastructure and solutions. For over onemillion businesses worldwide, includingmore than 90 percent of the FORTUNE500, Avayas embedded solutionshelp businesses enhance value, improveproductivity and create competitiveadvantage by allowing people to be moreproductive and create more intelligentprocesses that satisfy customers.

For businesses large and small, Avaya is aworld leader in secure, reliable IP telephonysystems, communications applicationsand full life-cycle services. Driving the

convergence of embedded voice and datacommunications with business applications,Avaya is distinguished by its combination ofcomprehensive, world-class products andservices. Avaya helps customers across theglobe leverage existing and new networksto achieve superior business results.

About AvAyA

INtELLIGENt CoMMuNICAtIoNSIN EduCAtIoNFor more information,visit: http://www.avaya.com/education

2006 Avaya Inc.All Rights Reserved. Avaya and the Avaya Logo are trademarks of Avaya Inc. and may be registered incertain jurisdictions. All trademarks identi ed by the , SM or TM are registered trademarks, service marks ortrademarks, respectively, of Avaya Inc., with the exception of FORTUNE 500 which is a registered trademark ofTime Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.08/06 IND3125

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