Case Study: Penn Engineering Online streamlines student support with Waitwhile

Penn Engineering Online streamlines student support with Waitwhile

Penn Engineering Online, part of the University of Pennsylvania, needed a better way to manage virtual TA office hours across up to 22 courses each semester. Students lacked visibility into wait times, and TAs and program leadership needed a more transparent, scalable system with better communication and reporting. They turned to Waitwhile to help streamline student support and queue management.

Waitwhile implemented dedicated queues for each course, allowing students to join from Canvas, see their place in line, and receive SMS or email notifications when they were next up. Penn Engineering Online also used Waitwhile’s bookable appointments, SSO, bulk import tools, and analytics to improve scheduling and staffing decisions. The results included 100% visibility into TA queues for students and staff, improved student satisfaction, easier TA management, and actionable data on attendance, wait times, and TA activity.

Penn Engineering

Alex Savoth

Associate Director of Instructional Technology