Elevate Your Student Support with Artificial Intelligence
Whether Artificial Intelligence is a genie that needs to be kept confined in a bottle or it’s a boon that humanity should be grateful to Alan Turing for, we are way past the discussion stage. AI is a tangible reality you can’t deny the existence and importance of, whatever your views are about it. Whilst every industry is experiencing these changes, it is only right that education followed suit. There are surveys, report that AI is going to disrupt the higher education market for student support in an unprecedented way.
Look around you, it’s everywhere. Right from your homes to automobiles, AI is in charge. Sometimes apparently, at others not so. From our AI-enabled personal assistants to self-driving motors, AI has automated myriad aspects of our lives.
Artificial Intelligence: Necessary or Accessory?
Customers across industries have grown so accustomed to on-demand, 24×7 student support that instant gratification isn’t an accessory, it’s necessary. People sign up for Netflix subscriptions to stream movies instantly, they buy prime memberships on Amazon to enable the quickest possible delivery, they reach out to customer service executives expecting immediate resolution of their issues. This stands true for your students also.
As you know, the business of being a student today is quite complex. There are countless processes one needs to navigate through – which classes to register for, what to major in, whether you are eligible for financial aid, if yes how to apply, what to do if you are flagged for verification, etc. When your students face challenges during any of these processes, they want instant support, and AI plays a critical role in providing that.
AI becomes all the more important when your institution’s staff are spread thin during peak times or are trying to support hundreds if not thousands of students individually. The technology ensures that they don’t lose time for their most important, high-impact touches performing tasks that can be easily automated.
Popular Use Cases of AI in Student Support
24×7 AI Chatbot: Communication with chatbots is a two-way process. They encourage the students to engage and not merely overwhelm them with information. While mobile messaging can also be used to send quick updates about approaching deadlines or upcoming events, students’ ability to engage with chatbots in real-time makes the touch more personalized and ensures their counter queries are addressed.
Recommendation Engines: Recommendation Engines, one of the concepts in AI is quite popular in the retail industry and are now being deployed in the education realm also. Just like Amazon suggests the “other products you may like” and Netflix shows you content you may be interested to watch, Recommender Systems analyze historical student data and previous interactions to help a learner make informed choices like selecting a course that he/she has better chances of succeeding at.
Predictive Analytics: AI-informed predictive analytics are ushering in a new era of intelligent decision making and smart support. They can define the behavioral paths of students by sorting through historical data, past behavior, and previous interactions. They predict which activities can help a student better, suggest modifications in the learning curve, and even help improve various student success and retention metrics.
It All Boils Down to Great Student Support Services
Educational institutions today strive to do more with less as their goals around enrollment, retention, graduation, student success increase every year while the resources don’t. Trying to do so results in overburdened staff, increased service wait-times, and eventually poor customer service. Poor student support, in turn, leads to student attrition as 72% of the students leave a college or a university citing poor customer care and indifference as the primary cause.
While the reasons why colleges begin using AI vary, it all percolates down to better customer service. Institutions primarily deploy 24×7 AI chatbots or recommendation engines to deliver better customer service to their end-users.
The Bottom Line is…
Knowing that they’re being listened to and supported immediately is empowering for students. It’s insignificant whether the colleges support them with their human staff or chatbots. Moreover, students prefer chatbots to their human counterparts as they are available 24×7, don’t exhibit any negative human emotions such as irritation, escalate issues without any delay, can handle multiple users simultaneously and provide great customer service!
Planning to implement AI at your institution and decrease the number of helpdesk interactions? Learn how our AI-powered Smart Chat can help.
Anthony Banford is an esteemed executive with 19 years of experience in technology, consulting, and education. He begins his latest chapter as Chief Revenue Officer at BlackBeltHelp, aiming to innovate in the higher education support industry. His move follows a successful stint as Head of Revenue at StudentBridge since March 2023, where he significantly contributed to the company’s merger with Full Measure Education, enhancing its service offerings.
Todd Hollrah joins BlackBeltHelp bringing 25+ years of experience managing service delivery operations for several Fortune 500 clients around the globe. After a distinguished career as an executive in the BPO industry, Todd will provide critical insight into building an exceptional customer experience combining both live voice and automated solutions.
Inspired by a family computer that always needed fixing, Chris Uthe has submerged himself in business and technology for the last 20 years. His first company, a PC repair and networking business, was started at just 16 and successfully fueled a deep interest in solving problems as he helped business customers throughout his hometown adopt technology into their business. He would go on to successfully run a media & managed IT company before joining the Ed Tech industry with a successful 13-year tenure within an ERP/SIS company leading the Student Portal & Learning Management division. His last startup, EdSolio, helped to fuel the winds of competency-based education by providing a comprehensive view of a student’s work and achievements. Chris is now focused on creating successful learners by ensuring the highest quality help and support through the use of AI backed toolsets spending the last 3 years in the student engagement and support markets.
Quaiser Absar is the Chief Technology Officer and Director of Institutional Computing at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia.
Bringing in over 2 decades of experience with him, Manish has ensured seamless operations in terms of client delivery, reporting & analytics, quality, training, and transitions with a special focus on technical integrations to help reduce costs and improve the bottom-line.
Anthony has served higher education in diverse, leadership roles for over 30 years and has helped organizations thrive through his expertise in developing, analyzing, and executing growth strategies. Prior to joining BlackBeltHelp, he served in College Administration as well as in leadership roles within Blackboard Student Services and Ellucian, Inc.
Accomplished IT Specialist and Manager with extensive experience in a higher education setting and demonstrated abilities to effectively manage both student and professional staff. Self-motivated problem solver, who is skilled in managing many issues and prioritizing their importance to find resolutions in a timely and effective manner. Possesses strong abilities to adapt to new technologies by extrapolating from existing experience. Possess first-rate communication and collaboration skills to work with diverse groups effectively.
Lila Buytendorp has been serving as the Director of User Services at Moraine Park Technical College (MPTC) since 2000. In this role she is responsible for staff & lab desktop computing and end user support. She guides and supports technology based on the curriculum needs and ensures technology is implemented to support the emerging needs of the college. She builds and supports integrated systems to improve efficiencies and uses technologies to support data-driven decision making. Lila is a member of the Capital Projects Planning and Design Committee to ensure new or remodeled facilities have appropriate technology.