Higher Education Chatbot: Chatbots Are the Future of Higher Education

Admission processes in universities across the globe, and in fact the very dynamics between universities, their staff, and their students, have seen a notable shift over the past few years. Artificial intelligence has a lot to do with this shift. Five years ago, AI bots were already being touted as the future of higher education. Today, one can safely say that higher education chatbots are here to stay.

There are numerous reasons why colleges and universities around the world have chosen to integrate online chatbots with their websites and social media pages. In a nutshell, though, it’s because AI bots contribute towards making these colleges and universities more future-ready. To understand this better, let’s explore what higher education chatbots bring to the table.

Communication — that improves with time.

For any college or university, effective communication is the key to converting prospective applicants into enrolled students. At the moment, these prospective applicants consist of young millennials with a perpetual online presence across multiple devices, and a strong preference for on-demand, instant responses to queries.

During the run-up to the admissions season every year, prospective students flock to colleges and universities with applications or enquiries about specific courses, fees and scholarships. The college staff proceeds to address these queries, using both online and offline channels. The process takes time, requires a great deal of manpower, and leaves at least some margin for error or ambiguity in communication. Higher education chatbots eliminate all these issues. They can be programmed with automated answers to repetitive questions, and any number of prospective students can chat with them, free of cost, at any hour of the day or night.

Colleges and universities that use online chatbots on their websites thus have greater chances of drawing and retaining the attention of their target audience. Through these higher education chatbots, educational institutes can create an effective funnel for dispensing relevant information about their courses.

Potential applicants find the one-on-one, IM-style interaction familiar and convenient. Immediate responses and end-to-end message histories make these live chats much more efficient than emails, which take longer and can lead to ambiguity.

Depending on the quality of higher education chatbot development, AI bots on college and university websites can learn from their interactions with prospective students, and fine-tune their responses in a way that gets applicants to enroll in courses or register for updates.

A detailed and up-to-date repository of information for universities.

The role of online chatbots in higher education goes beyond catering to student requests. These AI bots also serve as an asset for the colleges or universities that use them on their websites. Over the course of their interactions with prospective and existing students, university chatbots gather large amounts of data. This data contains helpful pointers about student behavior, with respect to information that they can — or cannot — find on the college or university website.

The university management can track and monitor student queries received via live chat, and carry out analyses to identify areas where their website content or interface needs improvement. The entire process can be repeated at regular intervals, allowing the university to understand and keep up with the changing demands and preferences of its students.

Campus guidance and troubleshooting after admission.

Studies have shown that poor student support and a general impression of neglect are among the key reasons why students drop out of colleges or universities. Effective and frequent communication with students, coupled with proper identification of information gaps, can help reverse this trend. The best chatbots for higher education websites are able to deliver on both these fronts.

When implemented correctly, higher education chatbots can ensure a seamless experience for students who are offered admission at a particular college or university. The same chatbot that helped them with course information and during the application process, can now play the role of a campus guide.

Even before arriving on campus, new students can find out about available scholarships, dorm room allotment status, and the facilities and services that the university offers. And once the semester is underway, the chatbot can continue to assist students with online issues such as their university email accounts, online library access, and so on.

Universities are thus able to forge better relationships with their students when they use AI bots for automated tasks. In the process, they are also able to reduce some of the workload that their staff handles. The resulting microclimate revolves around efficient, mutually beneficial interactions, which puts them on a solid footing for further growth.