Meet Jamie Osterhaus, Sr. Director Accounts and Operations for the Clearinghouse’s Industry & Workforce Services Team
Jamie Osterhaus, Sr. Director Accounts and Operations, has been with the Clearinghouse for more than five years. In that time, her role has expanded to include managing our DegreeVerify and EnrollmentVerify businesses; running our student discount aggregation website, AcademicPerks; and overseeing IWS’s data science function.
How do you help DegreeVerify customers in the context of your role?
I oversee all DegreeVerify customer accounts and act as their internal advocate. It’s my job to make sure that our customers are happy using DegreeVerify and that they’re getting great value from using the service.
Outside of the accounts-focused work, I concentrate on operations, ensuring that DegreeVerify is working as it should. I also spend time thinking about how we can serve our customers better through developing new products that would be useful for them.
What is the best part of your job?
Hearing from our customers that they’re happy with the Clearinghouse as a partner and vendor. We consistently get great feedback from customers about how well DegreeVerify works for them, and hearing that positive feedback feels good. It inspires me to keep looking for ways to serve our customers even better.
What does a typical day look like for you?
The only thing that is typical is that there is no typical day. Every day is different. On a given day, I can hop from a meeting with an external UI/UX company that is working with us to redesign our site to be more streamlined and intuitive, to a check-in call with a strategic partner. Or I could be meeting with the client support or customer care teams in regard to one of our contests focused on delivering faster service to our DegreeVerify customers.
What is one thing that you wish all of your clients knew?
The Clearinghouse is a different type of vendor because we’re a nonprofit. As such, our ultimate goal is to help the school and the student. We’re motivated to help close out background screens as fast as possible, because that helps students secure their jobs and serving the student is part of our mission. Fast service is a huge priority for us, and it’s something that we’re constantly assessing how to improve.
I also want the customers to know that they have a great team supporting them. We’re all really focused on what’s best for our customers.
What current initiatives is the DegreeVerify team working on?
Our team is focusing on speedy resolution of pending requests, and we’re supporting that with some fun Customer Service contests. We’re also working with an external UI/UX team to redesign our website and incorporate functional improvements and operational efficiencies designed to streamline the handling of requests.
Outside of the Clearinghouse, what do you like to do for fun?
I have been married for 12 years and have two wonderful boys, ages four and eight. Our family also has a 12-year-old boxer, who probably makes more of a mess than the kids do. I love spending time with family and friends, and I’m very active in my church.
What lessons from your busy life do you find particularly helpful at work?
Prioritization. You want to do everything at once, but it’s essential to have a good way to focus on the top priority and start there. Otherwise, in an environment with many competing demands, you’ll get overwhelmed and shut down.
What’s most important to you about serving DegreeVerify customers?
Our DegreeVerify customers support the mission of the Clearinghouse in a massive way. When they use DegreeVerify, it’s more than a transaction — they are benefiting a great cause.
“Our DegreeVerify customers support the mission of the Clearinghouse in a massive way. When they use DegreeVerify, it’s more than a transaction — they are benefiting a great cause. ”
Jamie Osterhaus, Sr. Director Accounts and Operations for the Clearinghouse’s Industry & Workforce Services Team
