J-Tech Case Study | Verity IQ

This story starts where many other Higher Ed stories start: with a talented, driven team that’s held back by outdated software.

Such was the case for J-Tech Institute in Jacksonville, Florida.

Founded in 2013, J-Tech is a nonprofit trade school offering associate degree programs such as automotive, diesel, HVAC and refrigeration, commercial truck driving, and more.

They are a career-driven institution, offering only programs for roles with a high demand for qualified graduates.

This mission served as a north star for the J-Tech team, including Aimee Hammond, Vice President, and Lori Stowers, Director of Compliance, who have both worked at the school for many years and believe deeply in the valuable degrees they offered to their students.

However, there was a problem: their software couldn’t keep up with their operational needs.

Aimee, Lori, and the rest of the leadership team at J-Tech were looking for ways to streamline their operations and increase efficiency, but they were handcuffed by outdated software that limited their productivity, profitability, and scalability. This left their team to spend a tremendous amount of time on manual, repetitive tasks that were time-consuming.

They were determined to level up their software solution and find a partner that could help them streamline, scale, and modernize.

That’s when they found Verity.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced so many schools to rapidly digitize and modernize their operations to survive in the new remote reality. But Bonds was already aware that CMVC needed a new CRM even before the pandemic hit.

“Everything we did was on paper,” Bonds explained. “Our applications, attendance tracking, job placement, you name it.”

The fact that the whole school relied on paper documents created many issues: they were easy to misplace, they were prone to errors, and the manual processes across the institution were very time-consuming.

The software that the school did have didn’t integrate with other technology, which severely limited the school’s ability to modernize and meet the evolving needs of its student body.

It was not a profitable or scalable model. Something had to change.

“We were losing money every month,” said Bonds. “We knew that if we wanted to scale we had to fix this.”

That’s where Verity came in.

Provides no safeguards against duplicate scheduling…

Is prone to human error…

Is not able to track attendance...

That's 750% growth in just 3.5 years!

Is provided with very little support, with some support tickets going unresolved for 6+ months…

…then it creates increasing frustration for a team that was striving to become more efficient and profitable.

When Aimee, a software expert who oversees operations at J-Tech, took a deep dive into the software and the problems it was creating for her staff, she realized that there were a few recurring themes that needed to be addressed immediately.

Systems that didn't talk to each other

Specifically: the SIS and financial aid processing system. They were both quite old and required manual input. In fact, Every financial aid disbursement was done by hand, which created many opportunities for human error.

Scalability issues

As cumbersome as the software was, the team was able to make it work—for the time being. However, as the leadership team at J-Tech knew, the school had growth goals for revenue, operations, and the student population. To reach those goals, they needed software that would scale with them.

Very high cost of ownership

The work needed to operate this software required a high labor cost, not only because of the manual data entry but also because the team had to commit a tremendous amount of time and energy to double-check everything.

Limited to no reporting

The software offered no ability to have accurate accounts receivable or deferred revenue reports. Lori noted that it was a major struggle getting this important information to their Accounting department, which left them vulnerable when they got audited.

When Aimee and Lori recognized that it was time for a change, they did their due diligence to find the right SIS and CRM software and looked into several different options.

What they were looking for was simple: they wanted a solution that had all the features they needed and integrated with other critical systems such as Campus Ivy.

That’s what they found in Verity. In fact, Verity and CampusIvy collaborated and even pitched together on the J-Tech campus. That’s when Aimee and her team knew that they had found the solution they were looking for.

The first thing that the Verity and J-Tech team set out to accomplish was creating a plan to transfer their CRM, SIS, and financial aid system onto Verity’s platform. The goal was to get the CRM up and running first, then get onboarded to CampusIvy, and then finally the SIS.

Of course, this wouldn’t be an overnight process, but the J-Tech team was motivated to get this lift-and-shift done as quickly as possible.

Aimee and her team understood that Verity’s software is not a one-size-fits-all solution—it’s highly customizable. They took immediate ownership and worked with Verity to configure the tools to match their needs, workflows, and team structure.

“There was definitely a lot of pressure,” said Aimee, “But also a lot of pride because we knew we were creating a solution that was going to be built specifically for us. It was very exciting.”

Once they were able to set up the syncs between their systems, J-Tech saw the benefits immediately. Lori recalled when the first large financial aid batch came through CampusIvy and was instantly imported to the students’ ledgers in Verity.

Like with any large change in operational systems, there was a learning curve and it took some time to get everybody on board. However, once each team member got a chance to see how Verity could increase their efficiency and reduce the repetitive, manual work, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

Aimee, Lori, and other members of the leadership team were able to see visualizations of productivity in real time. Features like the ability to text or dial students directly in the software seamlessly without picking up the phone were instantly popular and increased operational efficiency.

“What I loved most about the process was that Verity did not shy away from having in-person meetings on our campus and actually working together in the same room,” said Aimee. “The way Verity stepped up with the onboarding and development, it made 100% of the difference.”

So, how did J-Tech benefit from this digital transformation?

The short answer: they have a happier and more productive team.

The longer answer: keep reading!

Streamlined operations

Improving organizational efficiency manifests itself in many ways: in the amount of work the team is able to get done, how easy it is to schedule students, the quickness in which financial aid information is processed, and the increased satisfaction of the team, to name a few.

The J-Tech team was recently audited and the process was so smooth that it was completely night and day compared to before they had Verity. There were no accounting or compliance findings flagged by the auditor, who remarked to them how much easier it was than previous years.

The software has even changed student behavior, who are now able to start their applications, upload their personal information, track their own attendance, see their schedule, and check their own grades. On their legacy software, all of these actions would have required the time and manual effort of a J-Tech staff member.

“We used to have to schedule entire days to hand out student schedules or grades!” said Aimee.

Reduced labor costs

One of the most important benefits that J-Tech has seen since onboarding with Verity is the dramatic decrease in labor costs. Even with 11% student growth year-over-year, they haven’t had to hire a second registrar.

The unifying thread that helped make this transformation as seamless and impactful as possible was Verity’s support.

Aimee and Lori both shared that J-Tech and Verity have a special relationship built on trust. When the J-Tech team identifies needs in the software or potential improvements, they know that bringing it to Verity means they are almost always implemented—and quickly.

When compared to the prior vendor who left tickets outstanding for months and months, this is a night and day difference.

Verity shares newsletters with their clients to announce product updates, bug fixes, and words of wisdom. Each time, the J-Tech team sees the implementation of features that they requested, which just builds increased trust in their partnership well into the future.

“You just don’t see that very often in our world, " said Aimee. “It’s really unique.”