Some colleges and universities are now incorporating these features into their own websites and chatbots, so current and prospective students, curious parents and alumni can easily find the information they’re looking for. Stanford University even has a version of a chatbot that acts as digital flashcards for students, quizzing them on material for upcoming tests.
“We’re seeing a lot of benefits out of chatbots,” says Bob Burwell, CTO for state and local government and education at NetApp, which offers toolkits for customers to create these chatbots.
2. Recruitment
In 2018, researchers at Georgia State University tested a theory: Could they increase student enrollment by helping students along the final stretch between acceptance and starting classes? Even after students are accepted to the university, they still need to complete various tasks to finalize enrollment, such as sending a final transcript, completing financial aid paperwork and getting required immunizations. The university sent text message reminders about upcoming application deadlines, using existing data to tailor prompts to each student.
It worked: The university was able to decrease the number of students who accepted but didn’t officially enroll by roughly 21%.
RELATED: Learn how technology can help higher education confront the enrollment cliff.
3. Student Engagement
The University of Michigan has created MiMaizey, a personalized AI tool in beta testing as of November 2024. MiMaizey answers students’ questions about things such as dining options and transportation and can provide information about clubs and groups on campus. The tool is also connected to the university’s learning management system; because of this connection, students can ask MiMaizey for study guides for their classes or clarify due dates.
4. Centers of Excellence
Burwell says another use case for AI is within centers of excellence, which universities create to act as beacons for how to use AI to advance research; examples include Emory University’s AI Humanity Initiative and the State University of New York’s AI Plus Institute at the University at Albany. In addition to conducting their own research, these centers also offer opportunities to educate the public and various industries about best practices. The University of Central Florida created its own initiative with the goal of fostering multidisciplinary research and collaboration between faculty from different universities.
These institutions are using these centers and initiatives to create a new generation of workers: individuals who are comfortable with AI and understand how the technology can be applied to different settings, such as business or healthcare.