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59% of conversations with students happen out of office hours. Can chatbots help?

In the new world of social distancing, remote learning, and continued uncertainty for colleges and students, especially international students, many are in disarray.

Students likely have many questions and need guidance. Back on campus, they would have had the ability to walk into an advisor or counselors office but now things are a bit different.

Colleges across the country are tasked with finding innovative ways to check in with students and manage the increase in student questions. One way colleges are handling the influx of inquiries is through chatbot technology.

Here are 3 ways colleges are leaning on bots for support:

Chatbots increase team productivity by removing repetitive work

Many students are trying to figure out their new normal and thousands of questions are pouring into offices; ‘Will I get a room and board refund?’, ‘What happens to my F1 visa?’, ‘Will classes be online or in-person next semester?’.

University chatbots can quickly and effortlessly answer frequently asked questions, so staff can focus on more pressing matters—like handling the more complex inquiries and counseling students in these uncertain times.

Bryan Jue
Gecko
We have been able to leverage technology to get really easy questions answered ,so that we can actually dedicate our in-person staff to be doing more complicated processes, that do require human input. Processes such as relationship building, counseling and data analysis.
Gecko
Bryan Jue
Sr. Associate Director, Office of Undergraduate Admissions, UCI

Chatbots allow instant access to information, so students are better informed

This reduces the number of calls and emails your team receive and reduces the time students spend navigating university websites or waiting on hold. Win-win!

According to the 2018 State of Chatbots Report, the top two most common frustrations people have with online services are that: 1) websites are difficult to navigate (34%) and 2) they are not able to find the answer to a simple question (31%).

Searching and clicking through the website can become frustrating for students and they will lose interest if they have to scramble through pages and pages to find the answers or resources they need. With a chatbot at your disposal, colleges will be better equipped to handle routine questions, increasing overall student engagement and satisfaction.

Chatbots provide 24*7 x 365 support for students so you can reach the masses!

Emails and calls to your office are often the result of the student not getting the information they need, and this is more likely out of hours.

In fact, when we analyzed 10 bots from across the world we found that 59% of conversations with students happen out of office hours and 22.45% of all conversations took place over the weekend.

The good news is chatbots don’t sleep! A lot of students will be feeling unsettled with the current state of affairs and during a time like this, a chatbot can seamlessly provide 24/7 x 365 support.

Interested in adding a chatbot to your team?