Submitted by:
Julia Kelly Accessibility Specialist - Disability Services
University of Richmond
Experience before using Clockwork:
What challenges were you experiencing prior to purchasing Clockwork?
Prior to purchasing ClockWork our office was experiencing the challenges of patching together seven different software programs in order to run our Testing Center. Only two of these programs had the ability to sync with each other so our processes involved a lot of manual work which were time-consuming and occasionally resulted in human error.
We were also experiencing the challenges of reverse engineering our University’s student conduct software to serve as our Disability Services data and case management solution. Workflows of student conduct management and Disability Services case management differ greatly and, therefore, we knew this could not be a long-term solution.
What made our product or service stand out against our competitors?
ClockWork stood out against its competitors because it strikes a really good balance of being user-friendly on both the administrator/staff side and the student/professor side. We also appreciated that we could purchase licenses to certain features a-la-carte during a time when our budget was extremely tight and could opt to add on at later dates.
What did your decision-making process look like?
Our decision-making process was very easy. We compared ClockWork to two of their leading competitors, participated in a demo with Mary and George who provided a comprehensive and honest overview of ClockWork, and reach out to several schools who were using ClockWork in ways similar to what we were hoping to achieve. Deciding on ClockWork was not a difficult decision at all.
Experience using our product/service:
How long did it take to get up and running? Did that meet your expectations? Who was involved in the process?
Getting ClockWork up and running took about a year and a half. The main reason for this duration is that our wonderful Information Services department DOES NOT PLAY when it comes to protecting student data. ClockWork shared that the University of Richmond has the strictest information security procedures of any school they had worked with to date. I am very appreciative of their diligence and of ClockWork for respecting this priority of our University. Our office of Disability Services, Clockwork’s implementation team (shout out to Roshawn!), and our Information Services department were involved in this process.
What is your favorite feature? Why?
My favorite feature of ClockWork is what we refer to as the, “Disability Services Student Portal,” in which students can log in simply using their single sign-on information and interface with our office in a variety of ways including but not limited to booking a test in our Testing Center, schedule a meeting with a Disability Services staff member, or sending their Disability Accommodation Notice to their professors. Students live busy lives and having convenient access to these action items that aid in fostering their ability to self-advocate is brilliant.
Results:
How have you benefited from using Clockwork?
One of the main ways in which we have benefited from using ClockWork is how it has increased our office’s professionalism which assists us in garnering instant respect from professors and students. When professors see that their classes are pre-populated for them in their Disability Services Professor Portal it signals to them that we are doing all we can to make the accommodation implementation process as smooth for them as possible. I really appreciate that students can take a look at the main menu of our Disability Services Student Portal without having to log in. This beautifully illustrates that registering and interacting with our office is streamlined, efficient, and without the burden of having to physically come to our office to complete forms and make appointments.
How is the product helping you save time and increase productivity?
I am a big believer in documenting ALL THE THINGS. ClockWork allows me to seamlessly do this in a number of ways, the most important being the ability to create a point of contact (POC) from Outlook emails by simply dragging and dropping them to the blank space in the ClockWork ribbon bar.
Support (Post Implementation):
Please describe your experience with ClockWork Support Team?
The ClockWork Support Team is amazing! Even when I mark tickets as not urgent they respond in a timely and polite manner. When we are working through a more complex configuration they are patient and have quick ways to get in touch with their support teammates when another perspective is helpful. Having access to the Knowledge Base, Community Forum, Knowledge Sharing Session videos, and newsletters is also very helpful.
Recommendation:
What is the single biggest reason you would recommend ClockWork?
The single biggest reason I would recommend ClockWork is that it benefits all Disability Services constituents whether it is the student completing an online form for information to be released to their parent or service provider, a professor having a streamlined way to interface with the Testing Center, or our staff having the benefit of efficient data entry, just to name a few.