Tech

Technology and AI boost academic instruction

Rosenda Minella has seen students change their class schedules for a variety of reasons, from conflicting work and classes to changing majors entirely.

“We've used a variety of tools to create schedules, but often the plans were quickly outdated by the time they left the office,” said Minella, vice president for enrollment management and student support at Central New Mexico Community College.

She said they change their mind or switch degrees entirely — or they have issues, like they wanted night classes and chose them, but then when they talked to their boss, they found out they could only take time off during business days.

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Now, to navigate the chaotic world of lesson planning, educational institutions are turning to artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced technology, experimenting with tools that stitch together students' schedules with instructions for majors and classes they want to take only on certain days and at certain times.

The technological advances come at a perfect time for academic advisers to face increased workloads, says Kyle Ross, executive director of NACADA, the Global Community for Academic Advisers. Recent factors include an increase in online courses, a more diverse student population and more curricular options than ever before.

If AI could help offset that workload and allow advisers time to talk about things like career exploration and how to navigate a four-year plan, Ross said he's definitely in favor of alternative certification.

Central New Mexico Community College joins other institutions such as Texas A&M University San Antonio, Hillsborough Community College and most recently Purdue University, which announced a partnership with technology company Ellucian in late May, to begin rolling out SmartPlan technology tools in 2019.

“Having my study plan and what I've learned in high school help me map out my four years at Purdue is really great as I take over 40 classes at Purdue,” Purdue junior Kyle Emgenbroich said in a university statement.

Smart Plan helps students by planning which courses they need to take and when, based on their declared major. For example, if a sophomore wants to major in Psychology, the tool will show them specifically which courses they need to take and when. If that student adds a minor in Political Science, the required courses will be updated.

The Smart Plan is intended to help students understand their course options and streamline the registration process.

The tool also uses AI to inform students of possible options and achievements — for example, letting them know they're just three courses away from a psychology minor — and caters to the needs of different types of students, including those with children, those in work-student programs and those attending college full time.

“Advisors really want to give advice, not be the ones who make the course schedule,” says Nandini Khedkar, director of corporate strategy at Ellucian. “Advisors really want to give advice, not be the ones who make the course schedule.” Almost universally, in advising sessions, we hear that advisors spend a disproportionate amount of time making the schedule, leaving them with little time to address all the topics they want to learn.

Other companies have also entered the advising space: College Guidance Network offers AVA, an AI counseling chatbot that answers families' questions about the college-planning process, and Ivy, an AI counselor built by the education consulting and technology company CollegeVine in consultation with admissions officers.

The University of Michigan is developing an internal tool called Atlas Schedule Builder to help with schedule management, and a source at the university told Inside Higher Ed in April that the university was still piloting the project.

“Modernizing the course selection experience is both a major undertaking and something that has been consistently requested by students, advisors and administrators,” Ben Hayward, director of user experience design and software development at the University of Michigan's Center for Academic Innovation, said in a university statement.

Many educational institutions are using AI and technology-driven scheduling tools to help students graduate on time. In the case of Ellucians Smart Plan, the data from the tool also helps administrators understand which courses are more popular than others for long-term planning.

Minella said the tool was initially met with hesitation.

“Any time you introduce change, you're going to see mixed results,” she says, but whenever we implement a new system, we focus more on how to improve the student experience than on how the student journey works.

Ellucians Khedkar emphasized that Smart Plan is not meant to replace advisors, but rather to streamline routine tasks so advisors can spend more time with students on bigger topics like career planning.

The goal isn't to take away anyone's job, she said, but to spend time with the students however they want.

NACADA's Ross said the organization doesn't reject the use of technology for academic instruction, but it cautions advisers to be careful to keep a human touch in course scheduling and other tasks performed by AI.

Students should have meaningful conversations with their academic advisors on a regular basis, but there are limitations — some institutions have too many caseloads, he says — but if it's just to schedule courses, a check-in is always welcome.

Sources

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2/ https://www.insidehighered.com/news/tech-innovation/artificial-intelligence/2024/06/18/tech-and-ai-give-boost-academic-advising

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