Universities Prepare for Clearing with Over 80,000 Students Expected
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 2 days ago
0mins
Source: Newsfilter
- Surge in Clearing Applicants: Over 80,000 students are expected to apply through Clearing this year, surpassing last year's 77,000, representing a potential £2 billion in tuition fees for universities, which significantly impacts their financial health.
- Call Response Efficiency Disparity: Universities supported by 8x8 experienced an average call wait time of just 8 seconds during Clearing, while non-supported institutions faced waits exceeding 18 minutes, highlighting the critical nature of efficient communication in maximizing revenue opportunities.
- Increased Operational Pressure on Universities: The number of calls during Clearing has been rising annually, with universities handling 3,325 calls last year and an average wait time of 32 seconds, indicating the intense operational demands and the necessity for rapid response capabilities during peak periods.
- Importance of Technical Support: The technology provided by 8x8 enhances call handling efficiency, ensuring that universities can quickly respond to student inquiries during critical times, thereby improving customer satisfaction and minimizing financial losses from missed calls.
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Analyst Views on EGHT
Wall Street analysts forecast EGHT stock price to rise
7 Analyst Rating
3 Buy
1 Hold
3 Sell
Hold
Current: 1.830
Low
1.50
Averages
2.30
High
3.00
Current: 1.830
Low
1.50
Averages
2.30
High
3.00
About EGHT
8x8, Inc. is a provider of software-as-a-service solutions for contact centers, voice communications, video meetings, employee collaboration, and embeddable communication application programming interfaces (API). The Company’s communications platform solutions comprise the 8x8 XCaaS platform, which is an integrated contact center, voice communications, video, chat, and SMS solution built on one global cloud communications platform. Its integrated technology platform includes 8x8 Work, 8x8 Contact Center, 8x8 Engage and 8x8 X Series. Its 8x8 Work is an end-to-end unified communications as a service solution that delivers enterprise-grade voice services, secure video meetings, and unified messaging including direct messages, public and private team messaging rooms, and peer-to-peer short and multimedia messaging, or SMS/MMS. 8x8 Contact Center is a cloud-based contact center as-a-service solution that includes omnichannel customer engagement, advanced analytics, and other features.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
Universities Prepare for Clearing with Over 80,000 Students Expected
- Surge in Clearing Applicants: Over 80,000 students are expected to apply through Clearing this year, surpassing last year's 77,000, representing a potential £2 billion in tuition fees for universities, which significantly impacts their financial health.
- Call Response Efficiency Disparity: Universities supported by 8x8 experienced an average call wait time of just 8 seconds during Clearing, while non-supported institutions faced waits exceeding 18 minutes, highlighting the critical nature of efficient communication in maximizing revenue opportunities.
- Increased Operational Pressure on Universities: The number of calls during Clearing has been rising annually, with universities handling 3,325 calls last year and an average wait time of 32 seconds, indicating the intense operational demands and the necessity for rapid response capabilities during peak periods.
- Importance of Technical Support: The technology provided by 8x8 enhances call handling efficiency, ensuring that universities can quickly respond to student inquiries during critical times, thereby improving customer satisfaction and minimizing financial losses from missed calls.
See More
8x8, Zeta Global, and Unity Stocks Surge Following Analyst Upgrades
- Analyst Upgrade Impact: Guggenheim's John DiFucci upgraded Salesforce and ServiceNow to Buy, arguing that the software sector's valuations had been excessively depressed, which led to a positive market reaction and a surge in related stocks.
- Significant Market Response: 8x8's stock rose by 8.5%, Zeta Global by 6.3%, and Unity by 7.1%, indicating a restoration of investor confidence in these companies, particularly after a period of AI-related market panic, suggesting strong demand for quality stocks.
- Volatility Analysis: 8x8 has experienced 57 moves greater than 5% in the past year, and while today's increase is seen as meaningful, it does not fundamentally alter market perceptions of the company, reflecting a cautious investor sentiment regarding its future prospects.
- Long-term Investment Returns: Despite an overall decline of 1.9% since the beginning of the year and trading 32.8% below its 52-week high, an investment of $1,000 in 8x8 five years ago would now yield only $67.36, highlighting the complexities of its investment risks and potential returns.
See More
8x8 Named 2026 MetriStar Top Provider for CPaaS
- Industry Recognition: 8x8, Inc. has been named a MetriStar Top Provider for CPaaS in Metrigy's 2026 awards, highlighting its leadership in the global business communications platform, particularly in customer experience and workplace collaboration.
- Customer Satisfaction Improvement: Metrigy's research indicates that 8x8 excels in customer satisfaction (CSAT) improvement, revenue growth, and platform reliability, demonstrating the positive impact of its solutions on business success.
- Integrated Communications Portfolio: 8x8's offerings of CPaaS, CCaaS, and UCaaS on a single platform make it one of the few vendors in the market to provide comprehensive services, thereby enhancing its competitive edge.
- Technological Innovation: The 8x8 platform supports customer interactions across various digital channels, including SMS, WhatsApp, and voice, leveraging AI and no-code/low-code tools to enhance customer engagement and drive business growth.
See More
Strong U.S. Jobs Data Triggers Stock Market Pullback
- Jobs Data Surprises: The U.S. economy added 172,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in May, significantly exceeding economists' expectations of 85,000, while the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.3%, indicating a robust labor market that diminishes the likelihood of near-term interest rate cuts.
- Tech Sector Pressure: The prolonged high-interest-rate environment creates headwinds for growth sectors like technology, leading to stock valuation pressures, as evidenced by declines of 5.8%, 6.2%, and 5.2% in stocks like 8x8, RingCentral, and Shopify, respectively.
- Market Overreaction: Despite significant stock price drops, analysts suggest this may present buying opportunities for high-quality stocks, particularly after the software sector's historic rebound, with the S&P 500 software and services sector falling approximately 3.78% on the day.
- Increased Volatility for RingCentral: RingCentral's shares have risen 49.2% year-to-date but remain 16.2% below their 52-week high, reflecting market caution regarding its future performance, especially as investors who bought five years ago would see only $162.59 in returns.
See More
8x8 Launches Conversational Intelligence Solution Pulse
- Conversational Intelligence Innovation: 8x8 Pulse, as a conversational intelligence solution, leverages a native conversational data foundation to capture and structure internal dialogue data in real-time, thereby providing reliable information sources for decision-making and enhancing operational efficiency and customer responsiveness.
- Customer Feedback Integration: According to Metrigy's research, 32.1% of customer experience leaders admit to failing to effectively utilize customer feedback; 8x8 Pulse addresses this by embedding intelligence within conversations, reducing information transfer delays and enabling quicker responses to customer needs, thereby improving service quality.
- Multi-Platform Adaptation: 8x8 Pulse serves not only as a standalone solution but also integrates seamlessly into Salesforce, Chrome, and 8x8 Work, ensuring users receive real-time insights within familiar tools, thus enhancing user experience and work efficiency.
- Security and Compliance Commitment: 8x8 emphasizes its platform's adherence to privacy-by-design principles and security standards, ensuring the safety and compliance of customer data, which further strengthens customer trust and reliance on its products.
See More
8x8 Launches Mobile-First Communication Solution for Deskless Workers
- Bridging Communication Gaps: 8x8's 8x8 Resolve is designed for deskless workers, enabling simultaneous alerts via SMS, voice, and WhatsApp to ensure that 70% of the global workforce receives timely notifications during critical events, thereby enhancing corporate emergency response capabilities.
- Automated Escalation Mechanism: The solution automatically escalates messages to the next channel if unread, ensuring acknowledgment from every employee, which significantly improves the efficiency and reliability of incident management.
- Comprehensive Audit Trail: Each event generates a detailed, exportable communication log, providing crisis management teams and compliance departments with a complete record of every interaction, thus supporting operational review and improvement post-incident.
- Wide Industry Applicability: 8x8 Resolve is suitable for incident and operations managers across various sectors, including healthcare and retail, effectively meeting documentation notification requirements in regulated industries and enhancing corporate risk management capabilities.
See More
Universities Prepare for Clearing with Over 80,000 Students Expected
- Surge in Clearing Applicants: Over 80,000 students are expected to apply through Clearing this year, surpassing last year's 77,000, representing a potential £2 billion in tuition fees for universities, which significantly impacts their financial health.
- Call Response Efficiency Disparity: Universities supported by 8x8 experienced an average call wait time of just 8 seconds during Clearing, while non-supported institutions faced waits exceeding 18 minutes, highlighting the critical nature of efficient communication in maximizing revenue opportunities.
- Increased Operational Pressure on Universities: The number of calls during Clearing has been rising annually, with universities handling 3,325 calls last year and an average wait time of 32 seconds, indicating the intense operational demands and the necessity for rapid response capabilities during peak periods.
- Importance of Technical Support: The technology provided by 8x8 enhances call handling efficiency, ensuring that universities can quickly respond to student inquiries during critical times, thereby improving customer satisfaction and minimizing financial losses from missed calls.
See More
8x8, Zeta Global, and Unity Stocks Surge Following Analyst Upgrades
- Analyst Upgrade Impact: Guggenheim's John DiFucci upgraded Salesforce and ServiceNow to Buy, arguing that the software sector's valuations had been excessively depressed, which led to a positive market reaction and a surge in related stocks.
- Significant Market Response: 8x8's stock rose by 8.5%, Zeta Global by 6.3%, and Unity by 7.1%, indicating a restoration of investor confidence in these companies, particularly after a period of AI-related market panic, suggesting strong demand for quality stocks.
- Volatility Analysis: 8x8 has experienced 57 moves greater than 5% in the past year, and while today's increase is seen as meaningful, it does not fundamentally alter market perceptions of the company, reflecting a cautious investor sentiment regarding its future prospects.
- Long-term Investment Returns: Despite an overall decline of 1.9% since the beginning of the year and trading 32.8% below its 52-week high, an investment of $1,000 in 8x8 five years ago would now yield only $67.36, highlighting the complexities of its investment risks and potential returns.
See More
8x8 Named 2026 MetriStar Top Provider for CPaaS
- Industry Recognition: 8x8, Inc. has been named a MetriStar Top Provider for CPaaS in Metrigy's 2026 awards, highlighting its leadership in the global business communications platform, particularly in customer experience and workplace collaboration.
- Customer Satisfaction Improvement: Metrigy's research indicates that 8x8 excels in customer satisfaction (CSAT) improvement, revenue growth, and platform reliability, demonstrating the positive impact of its solutions on business success.
- Integrated Communications Portfolio: 8x8's offerings of CPaaS, CCaaS, and UCaaS on a single platform make it one of the few vendors in the market to provide comprehensive services, thereby enhancing its competitive edge.
- Technological Innovation: The 8x8 platform supports customer interactions across various digital channels, including SMS, WhatsApp, and voice, leveraging AI and no-code/low-code tools to enhance customer engagement and drive business growth.
See More
Strong U.S. Jobs Data Triggers Stock Market Pullback
- Jobs Data Surprises: The U.S. economy added 172,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in May, significantly exceeding economists' expectations of 85,000, while the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.3%, indicating a robust labor market that diminishes the likelihood of near-term interest rate cuts.
- Tech Sector Pressure: The prolonged high-interest-rate environment creates headwinds for growth sectors like technology, leading to stock valuation pressures, as evidenced by declines of 5.8%, 6.2%, and 5.2% in stocks like 8x8, RingCentral, and Shopify, respectively.
- Market Overreaction: Despite significant stock price drops, analysts suggest this may present buying opportunities for high-quality stocks, particularly after the software sector's historic rebound, with the S&P 500 software and services sector falling approximately 3.78% on the day.
- Increased Volatility for RingCentral: RingCentral's shares have risen 49.2% year-to-date but remain 16.2% below their 52-week high, reflecting market caution regarding its future performance, especially as investors who bought five years ago would see only $162.59 in returns.
See More
8x8 Launches Conversational Intelligence Solution Pulse
- Conversational Intelligence Innovation: 8x8 Pulse, as a conversational intelligence solution, leverages a native conversational data foundation to capture and structure internal dialogue data in real-time, thereby providing reliable information sources for decision-making and enhancing operational efficiency and customer responsiveness.
- Customer Feedback Integration: According to Metrigy's research, 32.1% of customer experience leaders admit to failing to effectively utilize customer feedback; 8x8 Pulse addresses this by embedding intelligence within conversations, reducing information transfer delays and enabling quicker responses to customer needs, thereby improving service quality.
- Multi-Platform Adaptation: 8x8 Pulse serves not only as a standalone solution but also integrates seamlessly into Salesforce, Chrome, and 8x8 Work, ensuring users receive real-time insights within familiar tools, thus enhancing user experience and work efficiency.
- Security and Compliance Commitment: 8x8 emphasizes its platform's adherence to privacy-by-design principles and security standards, ensuring the safety and compliance of customer data, which further strengthens customer trust and reliance on its products.
See More
8x8 Launches Mobile-First Communication Solution for Deskless Workers
- Bridging Communication Gaps: 8x8's 8x8 Resolve is designed for deskless workers, enabling simultaneous alerts via SMS, voice, and WhatsApp to ensure that 70% of the global workforce receives timely notifications during critical events, thereby enhancing corporate emergency response capabilities.
- Automated Escalation Mechanism: The solution automatically escalates messages to the next channel if unread, ensuring acknowledgment from every employee, which significantly improves the efficiency and reliability of incident management.
- Comprehensive Audit Trail: Each event generates a detailed, exportable communication log, providing crisis management teams and compliance departments with a complete record of every interaction, thus supporting operational review and improvement post-incident.
- Wide Industry Applicability: 8x8 Resolve is suitable for incident and operations managers across various sectors, including healthcare and retail, effectively meeting documentation notification requirements in regulated industries and enhancing corporate risk management capabilities.
See More
