Case Study: Pepperdine University achieves 24/7 student IT support and accelerated IT innovation with Ellucian Help Desk Services

Outsourced and expanded help desk services at Pepperdine University enable IT innovation

Pepperdine University, which serves approximately 7,700 students across multiple U.S. and international campuses, faced rising demand and complexity in IT support as students used more devices and campus systems. Meeting expectations for 24/7 service strained campus IT resources and postponed innovation, so in 2008 Pepperdine partnered with Ellucian and implemented Ellucian Help Desk Services to provide a 24/7/365 call center while maintaining a hybrid face-to-face and remote support model.

Ellucian operated the around-the-clock help desk, and in 2017 Pepperdine and Ellucian integrated their ticketing systems to enable instant data sharing and analytics. The partnership reduced face-to-face visits, improved overall close rates and responsiveness, and freed IT staff to pursue projects—such as a new content management system, multi-factor authentication, Wi‑Fi upgrades, an Applications Management team and a robotics pilot—demonstrating measurable gains in support efficiency and capacity for innovation.

Pepperdine University

Abrash Khanmalek

Associate Director of Client Services in Information Technology