Manhattan-based University resolves 58% of Student Inquiries with EDMO’s Student Copilot

EDMO, an AI-powered enrollment solutions provider, partnered with a Manhattan-based university to streamline student support operations & bring a much-needed respite to the campus communication channels.

Two years on, EDMO’s Student Copilot has delivered transformative results for the grand old institution. The deployment has significantly enhanced staff operational efficiency & slashed inquiry response time from 26+hours to less than a second.

Effectively, it has deflected the burden on advisors, addressing 58% of student inquiries & encompassing over thousands of students.

Among all queries, students most frequently asked about visa & immigration requirements, including SEVIS IDs, transfer processes, documentation requirements, OPT and CPT applications, EAD renewals, financial aid and scholarships, student visa status, and more.

• Visa & Immigration: This is the most popular topic among students, with hundreds of direct selections for “Student Visa and Immigration.”
  
• Admissions & Support: Next in line, “Admissions,” “Support Services,” and “Financial Aid” attracted many student inquiries.
  
• Transactional Requests: Many users also looked for “Book a Zoom appointment” or “Contact Us” information, suggesting they use Student Copilot as a bridge to human advisors.

Challenges and Goals

The university’s Office of Global Services (OGS) faced several ordeals in managing a high volume of repetitive queries while ensuring quick, effective service. They needed an automated solution to handle routine questions independently while escalating complex issues to staff, striking a balance between automation and personalized support.

Choosing EDMO

EDMO’s expertise in automated student engagement solutions aligned with the university’s end goals and resulted in a collaboration. Familiarity with EDMO’s offerings led to a partnership that aimed to streamline operations, enhance the student experience, and reduce staff workload.

Student Copilot is an AI-powered, student-facing omnichannel chatbot designed for universities and higher education institutions that delivers real-time application updates, answers queries instantly, and guides students through the entire admissions journey across voice, SMS, and WhatsApp. It helps boost engagement, increase enrollment yield, & reduce administrative load. 

• Omnichannel Communication: Supports conversations across WhatsApp, SMS, voice, and web. 
• Personalized Guidance: Responds based on where a student is in the application process, keeping interactions relevant and timely.
• Automated Inquiry Management: Manages incoming student questions at any time, reducing manual follow-ups for advisors.

Implementation and Customization

Student Copilot is tailored to integrate with the university’s systems, including its ID and internal record-keeping processes. Accessibility was a key focus, ensuring ADA compliance and seamless branding. A pilot phase tested the bot with a small user group, allowing the university and EDMO to refine its features before scaling. 

Key Features and Functionalities

• Real-Time Interaction: Student Copilot handled routine inquiries efficiently, escalating complex issues to human advisors, including common questions about Visa and International student complexities. 
• Auto-Generated Transcripts: Seamless integration with the university’s systems ensured accurate record-keeping.
• Contextual Memory: Enabled smooth conversational flow for a more human-like experience.
• Restricted Data Sources: Provided accurate, vetted answers from the university’s approved resources.

Results

Six months post-launch, Student Copilot has become integral to the Manhattan-based university’s student support process, resolving inquiries in seconds and helping staff focus on higher-level tasks. It also enabled them to analyze top student concerns and improve information delivery, creating a more efficient and responsive system.

“We’re proud to have collaborated with the university to develop an AI chatbot that doesn’t just respond to inquiries but truly enhances the student experience. By combining cutting-edge technology with its commitment to excellence, we’ve delivered a solution that modernizes engagement while upholding the highest standards of service.” – Ashish Fernando, Founder and CEO, EDMO.