How Dutchess Community College Scales Student Support with Mongoose

For many institutions, sending a text is just another communication task. For Dutchess Community College (DCC), it’s how they keep 4,500 students connected, supported, and moving forward, without overwhelming staff or inboxes.

In 2023, DCC set out to centralize student communications across departments. Their goal: reduce silos, reach students with purpose, and build a model that scales as enrollment grows. Enter Mongoose.

Now, Admissions, Advising, Financial Services, and Student Activities all use one coordinated Conversation Intelligence Platform to communicate clearly, quickly, and consistently, with results to prove it.

We don’t have 4,500 staff members. But with Mongoose, we’re giving 4,500 students the experience of someone who cares.

Brian Sondey, Associate VP for Enrollment and Student Success at DCC

One Platform, Four Core Teams

Before Mongoose, DCC’s communications were disjointed. Teams relied on email, Slate’s built-in texting, or Starfish alerts—tools that didn’t talk to each other and didn’t give students a clear experience.

With Mongoose’s Conversation Intelligence Platform, DCC built a shared infrastructure that works across:

• Admissions: Engaging prospects from inquiry to enrollment
• Advising: Following up on flags, missed appointments, and course planning
• Student Activities: Sharing weekly events and building campus life connection
• Financial Services: Nudging students to meet critical deadlines

Each team has their own strategy, but they’re working from the same playbook—tracking replies, minimizing overlap, and learning from student behavior.

Mongoose helps us create a spider web of support. We’re reaching students with empathy and relevance, not just information.

Brian Sondey

What’s Working at Dutchess

Admissions: Funnel Movement Without the Spam

• 133% increase in message volume
• Up to 15% reply rate for targeted campaigns
• 0.5% decrease in opt-outs despite more sends

DCC’s admissions team uses Mongoose with Slate to send precisely-timed nudges—status updates, event invites, and FAFSA reminders. Instead of overwhelming students, they keep them moving.

We’ve moved from one big blast to thoughtful, weekly nudges. And we’re seeing students flow from ‘submitted’ to ‘accepted’ to RSVP’d.

Xavier Velasquez, Assistant Director of Admissions at DCC

Advising: Personal Check-Ins That Matter

• Reply rate increased from 6.5% to 7%
• Opt-outs dropped from 1.5% to under 1%

Rather than rely on broad messaging, DCC’s advisors use texting for intentional follow-ups: missed appointments, early disengagement signs, or support prompts.

We’re not looking to overwhelm students. When they get a text from an advisor, it means something.

Brian Sondey

Student Activities: Building Engagement, One Text at a Time

• 15,000+ texts sent in 90 days
• Steady engagement with a 1.6% opt-out rate

DCC’s activities team sends a weekly “Activities Informer” text with events and links—building opt-in trust, not noise. Fall plans include segmented kickoff messages for better relevance.

We want students to look forward to our texts, not ignore them.Matt Hanlon, Director of Student Activities at DCC

Financial Services: Texts That Trigger Action

• Notices for overdue accounts, residency documents, payment deadlines
• Students often follow up via phone or in person—but the text starts it

When we text, students respond. They may still call or walk in, but the text is what gets them moving.Cheryl Verdile, Director of Student Accounts at DCC

Smarter Outreach with AI Dashboards

DCC is also using Mongoose’s latest AI-powered Conversation Intelligence tools to:

• Monitor conversation volume and unresolved messages
• Surface sentiment (e.g., joy, anger, confusion)
• Track trending issues like holds or registration
• Prioritize high-risk students for follow-up

It’s real-time insight, without digging through dozens of threads.

What’s Next for DCC?

As Dutchess works toward its 2028 goal of 5,000 degree-seeking students, they’re planning to:

• Expand Smart Messages and segmentation
• Use reply data to fine-tune engagement strategies
• Build cross-team calendars to reduce communication overload
• Fully integrate texting into their retention workflows

Download the Full Case Study

Dutchess Community College is turning smart, timely texting into a full-circle engagement strategy that reaches students where they are—while keeping staff coordinated and supported.