Why are digital assistants entering the workflow of university counselors? At least in theory, higher education is becoming increasingly student-focused. Many strategic plans speak of student-centeredness, the effort around ordering all resources to make sure students are successful. It’s the rare idea that gets everyone in the industry on the same page, from university counselors to administrators–and of course the students themselves.
But in practice, that concept is much more difficult to implement. Funding for higher education started to decline before COVID-19. And that descent has continued during the pandemic. As a result, institutions of all types are increasingly struggling to fill open positions in what Inside Higher Ed called the industry’s “Invisible Understaffing Epidemic.”
The result of that conflict, often, tends to be increasing workloads, especially in student-facing areas like academic advising and university counseling. When colleges and universities are seeing enrollment increases, ostensibly a positive development, that challenge only increases.
Within that environment, digital tools can play a core role in preventing staff from becoming overwhelmed. When tools like digital assistants enter the workflow, they can make the goal of true student-centeredness become more realistic. These are the six ways in which digital assistants can help student-facing university staff manage growing audiences. Specifically, we’ll focus on university counselors.
1. Digital Assistants Can Answer Everyday Student Questions–Consistently
As any student-facing professional knows, most student questions tend to be similar to each other. For most academic advisors, these questions generally focus on registration windows, potential holds, what classes to take, etc. Answers to these questions take up most of the student interactions. The result? Time is not left for other tasks or more unique requests.
A digital assistant, on the other hand, can take on these everyday questions. Digital assistants are supported by a comprehensive database. As a result, they’re able to provide basic information about a wide range of questions anytime a student asks. These answers are consistent. That feature avoids any type of confusion for students just trying to figure out what to do or when to schedule their classes for next semester.
2. Create a Database of Common Student Questions and Answers
Digital assistants are only as good as the database on which they’re built. That database can determine the answers to each question. Especially when setting up an assistant, it’s vital to spend some time ensuring that the right answers are connected to the right (and most common) questions students might have.
At the same time, that initial work can pay off big-time in the long run. A database that has answers to common student questions can become a crucial resource for everyone wanting to know exactly what those answers are. AI-enabled digital assistants add another positive layer. This tool can learn from its user interactions. Thus, the database improves over time.
The digital assistant gets smarter with every conversation. It adds to the database over time to continue finding answers to new questions. Working with a company like AtlasRTX can help universities manage their digital assistants. As a result, they reduce the workload of counselors and advisors by managing the database instead of having to spend university staff resources.
3. University Counselors Gain Actionable Insights Into Student Needs and Inquiry Patterns
The growing database of an AI-enabled digital assistant would be a good wiki-type resource on its own. However, add in reporting functionality, and it moves to a new level. The digital assistant becomes a powerful tool. It improves the ways information is communicated to students across the entire campus.
Reporting allows counselors and academic advising offices to pull out information about the types of questions students ask most and the types of questions that are most often unresolved. Sentiment analysis helps to frame potential responses. The typical timing of inquiries provides insights into student behaviors. As a result, the data creates more proactive ways to communicate the requested information. For example, that intel is applied to all communication techniques, including email, social media, the student portal, and other channels.
4. Digital Assistants Make Help Available in Multiple Ways
When it comes to digital assistants, don’t underestimate the simple power of convenience. This is especially true when looking to manage growing groups of students. It is impossible to remain available at all times of the day and through all possible challenges, even for the best of university counselors. Digital assistants provide that broad coverage to accommodate changing student needs.
They’re available outside of regular business hours. They’re not just a phone call or walk-in. Instead, they are a text or online chat window away. As a result, digital assistants play a significant role in getting immediate help for students, whether it is for a simple question about the upcoming semester or a more complex financial aid-related issue.
5. Improve Onboarding During Times of High Turnover
Turnover rates continue to increase in higher education. As a result, institutions are increasingly looking for ways to make their operations more efficient. However, turnover also means that new student-facing staff has to be trained quickly and efficiently in order to help students with their needs. Insufficient training results in frustrated students and staff alike, kicking off the turnover cycle once again.
The database and reporting provided by digital assistants play a vital role in that onboarding process. It provides an easy reference for everything new staff needs to know, from common questions to common sentiments connected to those questions. In the process, even frequent staff turnover becomes more manageable for everyone involved.
6. Focus University Counselor Time on Strategic, Proactive Help
Finally, don’t underestimate the power of digital assistants to help university counselors focus on the most valuable aspects of their work. Let the assistant take care of common questions. As a result, counselors can spend their time working with the students in most need of help. Or, even better, they can build strategies designed to prevent these students from needing help in the first place.
For example, imagine a scenario in which academic advisors no longer have to answer the constant stream of questions about registration. They’re now able to look at their roster of students to see anyone who isn’t on track for graduation. Reaching out proactively to those students can lead to helping them build a better study plan for the rest of their academic journey. As a result, students get back on track and graduate as planned.
Connected to this benefit is the multilingual ability of some digital assistants. Universities tend to have limited on-campus resources able to help students who speak languages other than English. As a result, multilingual staff gets overwhelmed with requests. An assistant that can answer questions in multiple languages can reduce that workload, without reducing the student experience for related students.
The Power of Digital Assistants to Manage Workflows and Build Student-Centered Practices
Digital assistants are by no means a magic solve-all for advisors and counselors overwhelmed by growing groups of students. But they can become a crucial part of the equation. Digital assistants will help institutions better manage the constant flow of questions and requests for help.
As a result, university counselors can successfully maintain a larger group of students, all while focusing on more strategic, proactive, and fulfilling work to truly help them succeed. Efficient workflow means fewer meetings and a better work-life balance. It’s a core step to building a truly student-centered practice without neglecting the workloads and engagement of the staff making it happen.
