IT Launches Automated Phone Directory

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Information Technology has implemented a new Automated Phone Directory for Northwestern University.

The Automated Phone Directory, which uses speech recognition technology, complements the existing University Call Center Representatives who answer phone calls to the University's main phone numbers.

The new service will provide 24-hour automated University directory assistance seven days per week by accessing information from the Online Directory.

Callers will say the name or the department of the Northwestern community member they wish to call and the spoken information will be understood by the automated speech attendant. Prefixes, such as doctor and professor, first names, last names, nicknames, and individual departments and schools throughout the University will be recognized.

Faculty, staff, and students may review their current information in the Online Directory <http://directory.northwestern.edu/> for accuracy. Any update made to the online directory will become effective 24 hours from the time the update occurred.

It may be possible that the system could mispronounce a name or incorrectly route a call to the wrong number. In these rare instances, users can contact 847-491-HELP (4357) during business hours of the IT Support Center <http://www.it.northwestern.edu/supportcenter/index.html> to report the problem.

University Call Center Representatives will be available to route calls from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. During non-working hours or when University Call Center Representatives are occupied, the auto-attendant will route the calls to the individual's primary office phone number listed in the Northwestern University Online Directory.

Information about the Automated Phone Directory is available at <http://www.it.northwestern.edu/telephone/autoattendant.html>

Questions can be directed to the NUIT Support Center at 847-491-HELP (4357) or consultant@northwestern.edu.