The current generation of learners in colleges and universities is a privileged lot. Thanks to the advancement of technology, including automation, they have grown up knowing that prompt service is a right. The GenZs have enjoyed first-class customer service, accurate online product recommendations, and exceptional levels of speed and personalization in the commercial world. They know same-day delivery and excellent customer service to be the norm in any organization.
While this is great, the GenZers have been taken aback by the quality of service in universities and colleges. They come in with high expectations of quality and personalized education. However, they end up disappointed.
Most higher education institutions are playing catch up with commercial institutions in quality of service. Even before the great resignation of 2020, universities and colleges struggled with a high staff-to-student ratio. That scenario hurts their quality of service.
According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, in 2018, the average student-to-faculty ratio for higher education institutions in the US was 18:1. This high ratio left massive gaps in student services. As a result, most students are underserved or not served at all.
Improving Student Services With Automation
Higher education institutions in the US have struggled to improve student support services to meet the needs of a generation with very high expectations of personalized service. To fight fire with fire, many institutions are only starting to invest in automation to fill the gaps in educational services. So far, their investment is bearing fruit and encouraging others to do the same.
There are many reasons why this approach is the best solution. Top among them is that new automation technologies do many tasks better, faster, and cheaper than humans. According to a report by Formstack, 63% of institutions of higher learning have automated some student services.
It is also noteworthy that most learners are adept in technology. They even prefer automation for most services. Institutions can then invest in the human staff to focus on high-value activities they cannot automate.
The future of higher education is not defined. However, one thing is clear: automation will transform the industry the way it is doing in every other industry, from manufacturing and e-commerce to health care and transportation. The common denominator in all these industries is AI-enriched systems that leverage data to improve support, targeting, quality of service, and resource allocations.
Automation to Simplify Higher Education Administrative Processes
The priority of every educational institution is to provide the highest quality of education to learners. However, manual and often outdated administrative tasks bog down their efforts. They take too much time, effort, and often money. Faculties juggle the demands of research, data tracking, meetup schedules, and lesson planning, just to name a few. These tasks distract educators from providing much needed teacher-student interaction.
One great way higher education can avoid the trap of manual administrative tasks is to integrate digital workflows that automate necessary but repetitive processes. For example, processes such as student registration, progress reports, teacher evaluation, and attendance tracking do not need to be done manually.
Institutions that invest in digital tools and resources to automate require fewer staff members and boost performance across the board. Automation can handle maintenance requests, student surveys, admissions, and enrollment, ultimately saving time and money. In addition, automation creates a supportive work environment. This helps the institution attract better talent and even afford to pay staff what they are worth.
Automation Nurtures Adaptive Learning
Automation can be the ultimate solution to one of the biggest problems in higher education today: personalized service.
When automation tools are used in teaching, they can make learning a more personalized and positive experience for both the educator and the learner. They can make it possible for the teacher to keep track of the learning progress of each learner with greater ease.
However, tracking is not the only application for automation. With integrated AI, teaching tools identify knowledge gaps for each learner. Then, it can automatically adjust the teaching curriculum to accommodate the learners and recommend the ideal teaching styles and areas of focus.
Adaptive learning may sound futuristic, but it is very practical with today’s technologies. Online education and hybrid in-person and online classes are now mainstream. As a result, institutions can use automation to find a balance between instructor-led and AI-powered education.
Contrary to common belief, there is little chance that adaptive learning will render human teachers obsolete. These automated tools actually empower them to be better at delivering student-centered learning. It also ensures that learners who need extra assistance get it via a medium that works best for them.
Round-the-Clock Accessible Student Service
Every learner, at some point, needs some kind of help or support. As the automation trend picks up the pace in the education sector, student support is among the first and most notable beneficiaries. Like in the commercial world, quality service in education needs to be proactive, reliable, and responsive.
More universities and colleges have already invested in student portals. These provide on-demand class schedules, assignment dates and submissions, and course materials. The realization of the value institutions gain from providing anytime support to students has really accelerated the need to automate every other department of education.
Universities and colleges must invest a lot more in automation to complete the quality service matrix in their institutions. These include academic counseling, supplemental instruction, peer tutoring, and legal support. These services must be self-service enabled to allow learners to help themselves first and reach out to the institution when necessary.
Institutions must invest in more centralized and data-driven support systems. It’s vital to provide accessible services anytime and anywhere via various devices such as smartphones to make self-support practical and accessible to all.
Final Thoughts
Digital solutions are the future of every facet of our society. By deploying automated school management systems, institutions can eliminate much of the manual paperwork they rely on.
Ultimately, this frees academic staff to take up roles that empower them and spur creativity and job satisfaction. The result is that they can focus more on what matters: building close and meaningful relationships with students, parents, and other stakeholders.Automation in higher education is a matter of when not if. Go to atlasrtx.com to discover how modern automation technologies impact the education sector and how they can fill the gaps in student services in your institution today.
