Fordham University Selects Nuance and Speech Technology Associates Team to Develop Advanced Voice Automation System for Students, Parents and Faculty

MENLO PARK, Calif. - The Fordham University Enrollment Group selected Nuance and its partner Speech Technology Associates, Inc. (STA) to develop the speech recognition and CTI-enabled auto-attendant solution, Automated Operator™.

Automated Operator™ for Education provides one number access to people, information and services, including frequently asked questions (FAQs). Complex inquiries are transferred to Fordham University Enrollment Services, accompanied by student data via computer telephony integration. Enrollment representatives can then automatically access screen-popped records and information when speaking with a caller.

Comprising the voice automation core of Fordham University's Automated Operator™ implementation is Nuance Voice Platform™ 3.0, a VoiceXML platform optimized for the deployment and operation of voice automation solutions. Nuance Voice Platform provides access to Nuance's speech recognition, voice authentication, and text-to-speech software.

"Fordham University Enrollment Services is committed to providing quick, complete, and courteous service to students, parents, faculty, and staff," said Gene Fein, senior associate director of technology. "Automated Operator™ for Education eliminates the frustration of phone trees, while providing immediate response to simple questions, thus freeing staff to respond to inquiries that are more complex. Fordham is pleased to be one of the first universities in the nation to integrate telephony, speech recognition, and the Web to serve the community. Fordham and STA share a commitment to superior service that has fostered an excellent working relationship between our organizations."