Q&A
Challenges with advising and new technologies
0:23:42
·
5 min
Council Member Dinowitz questions how CUNY is implementing new advising technologies with limited advisors. CUNY representatives explain their strategies for using automation and peer support to supplement limited human resources.
- CUNY acknowledges the need for more advisors but faces funding constraints
- New technologies like EAB Navigate aim to automate routine questions and identify high-need students
- CUNY is exploring the use of chatbots and automated messaging to reach students
- The university is implementing a system to categorize students based on their need for advising
- CUNY emphasizes the importance of personal conversations with advisors for complex issues
- The university faces challenges with one-time funding, as advisor positions require multi-year appointments
Eric Dinowitz
0:23:42
So I I love the the automation systemic way that that is being done, but how is it being done if I think we all acknowledge there aren't enough advisors, there aren't an there isn't enough investment in ACE and ACE.
0:23:55
How is it actually happening?
0:23:58
With without the investments and advisors?
Wendy Hensel
0:24:01
Well, it certainly isn't done as well as it could be.
0:24:04
I mean, that is something that we are look to develop a holistic and comprehensive advisement plan as we indicated.
0:24:10
One of the challenges is we see the data and the success from a program like ACE which goes from a 31% 2 year transfer graduation rate to 60% with that additional support.
0:24:22
That requires funding that we do not currently have.
0:24:25
However, every student has access to advisor and will meet with an advisor as part of our programs.
0:24:32
So the EAB Navigate covers every single student as well.
Eric Dinowitz
0:24:36
The what navigator?
Wendy Hensel
0:24:38
EAB Navigate.
0:24:39
It's our student success platform that now is universal across our system, and we'll be online, I think, as of this summer.
0:24:46
Okay.
Eric Dinowitz
0:24:47
How often do students who are not in the ACE program meet with an adviser?
Wendy Hensel
0:24:51
I don't know.
0:24:52
Do you all have that?
0:24:53
We can get back to you on a specific answer to that, but it varies dramatically by school.
0:24:59
My concern, which you can probably tell from what I said before, my concern, our concern is to get the student who doesn't come forward for that advising session to ensure that we capture them in some type of a safety net as it relates both to their intentions and information, but also the advisement process.
0:25:17
The analytics and data that we are creating through these integrated systems will significantly assist us in proactive outreach rather than reactive outreach when the student indicates they wanna talk to us.
Eric Dinowitz
0:25:29
Because fundamentally, it requires a human being to reach out to the student.
0:25:35
That's the same whether or not there's an automated system.
0:25:38
Right?
Wendy Hensel
0:25:39
Candidly, it doesn't.
0:25:40
It doesn't.
0:25:41
With things like automated messaging and chatbots, we can identify who's at a particular point in the curriculum to know that it's time to think about transfer.
0:25:50
That can all be done automatically directly to a student with a text.
0:25:54
So it alleviates the burdens on the individual advisers.
0:25:58
To then move into the more highly personalized conversations like about which school is in your best interest or what is your future plan.
0:26:05
But so you actually can automate quite a bit of it, but certainly it is not sufficient at the highest and best levels.
Alicia Alvero
0:26:12
And I just want to add even within the asap and asap program, asap developed asap I, which is parallel to something that's EAB Navigate.
0:26:22
So it's a tool that helps the advisers identify who needs more advisement sessions.
0:26:29
And so then the requirement to meet with the high needs group might be three times in a semester versus the medium group versus the students that are doing just fine and only need that once.
0:26:38
EAB Navigate does that much quicker and doesn't require the manual entry.
0:26:44
But to your point, then it categorizes the groups.
0:26:47
And so now as an adviser, I know who are the ones I need to proactively reach out to that need that additional report.
0:26:54
So by decreasing that workload that's currently required to proactively reach out, the the the students that are not in these special programs currently have advisers with such huge caseloads that they don't have that information.
0:27:07
But now with Navigate, every student every adviser will have that information and enable us to proactively reach out to them through text messaging and to get them to come in.
Eric Dinowitz
0:27:19
We've we've been hearing, I think, at a hearing last year where you were hearing about some of this being used, student student peer, navigators for things.
0:27:29
So some of this stuff already exists, and we're still experiencing some of the problems.
0:27:34
And and, again, it's it's how are we doing this when there are still so few advisors.
0:27:42
And the very and just to be clear, the very people who aren't responding to an email may also not respond to a text message and and need that phone call.
0:27:52
So I'm I'm still sort of need a little clarity on how it's actually getting done with so few advisers.
Wendy Hensel
0:28:00
Again, there is no substitute for the personal conversation with an adviser.
0:28:06
And however great our data and information is, if there's no one to receive that information and act on it, with the student, then it goes into a vacuum.
0:28:15
And I think we've seen that.
0:28:17
However, we have not fully or even come close fully implementing the capacity and possibility of the new technology that we have now acquired system wide.
0:28:28
So there is a major push to implement across the system fully.
0:28:33
And what it does is it allows the more routine questions to be answered automatically in the moment by chatbots and things.
0:28:42
We know probably 80% of the questions that will be asked a hundred times.
0:28:46
By a similar set of students.
0:28:48
What we need is more manpower and female power.
0:28:52
Person power.
Eric Dinowitz
0:28:53
Human power.
0:28:53
Yeah.
Wendy Hensel
0:28:53
Human power.
0:28:54
Thank you.
0:28:55
To go in for the 20% that needs to have a a human being sit down and really talk about goals, future, and strategies that can't be captured.
0:29:05
In an automatic type of exchange.
0:29:08
We don't have enough people to be able to do that.
0:29:10
And that is a priority for us in the future but it is deeply constrained by the resources, and it's particularly constrained by one time funding.
0:29:19
Because advisers are highly skilled, must be trained, and it's multi year appointments.
0:29:24
So we can't it's a lovely thing and wonderful thing, and we greatly appreciate shake one time funding, but it cannot replace the investment in human capital that requires multiple years of funding.