Here’s how AI helps you scale student outreach that creates belonging & engagement
Ocelot (now part of Gravyty) surveyed a group of higher education leaders and a staggering 84% said that students who don’t have a connection with their school are more likely to drop out.
The causes are vast, stemming from inability to afford living expenses, poor grades, and poor mental health. So, what can colleges and universities do to foster better connections with their students?
Student Affairs leaders can take a proactive approach to addressing enrollment, retention, and student success and engagement. The fact is, students need to feel connected to their school and have access to information and the available resources and systems to help them succeed. When schools take the right steps to proactively engage students with genuine empathy, they foster a sense of belonging and lay the critical groundwork for that student’s success.
When schools create a sense of belonging, and students feel connected to their academic communities, they can proactively identify and address problems like mental health issues and other challenges. Recognizing and tackling these issues before they become serious leads to greatly improved outcomes – especially for students between the ages of 18-24, the most common ages for the onset of mental health issues.
Loneliness hurts more than we thought
The U.S. Surgeon General raised the alarm about the devastating impact of the epidemic of loneliness and isolation in the U.S. The report notes that widespread loneliness in the U.S. poses the same health risk as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day.
The Surgeon General called upon workplaces, schools, technology companies, community organizations, parents, and others to make breakthroughs to walls of isolation and break down the barriers that loneliness creates.
The good news
Higher education leaders can tackle this epidemic by understanding the social determinants of health that impact each student. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to health equity; race, gender, socioeconomic status, food scarcity, and safe and secure housing all contribute to an individual’s health.
But technology can provide schools with the omnichannel touch-points for connecting to and understanding their students’ circumstances, including texting, social media, and AI. Educational institutions, with the right technology, can be instrumental in the prevention and early treatment of students facing mental health crises.
To get started and deploy technology successfully, an institution must understand the platforms and applications that will most effectively connect them with their students. Schools should look for systems that quickly and easily engage their students with content that is clear and concise. Students are exponentially more likely to engage when it’s easy for them to do so with tools like yes/no questions via text or through simple chatbot dialogue, where responses can be analyzed and routed to the appropriate people to address any red flags.
CSU Long Beach leads with compassion in student outreach
As part of its comprehensive mental health strategy, CSU Long Beach started a proactive texting campaign with its students, powered by Ivy & Ocelot from Gravyty. They lead with care and compassion by checking in on their students’ wellbeing with straightforward and engaging questions. Based on student feedback, experts step in to actively promote CSU Long Beach’s mental health resources.
Get started with Ivy & Ocelot for personalized student outreach
Ivy & Ocelot lets student support teams build custom escalation protocols so students receive the level of care required before their situation escalates. With the power of AI to amplify smart student engagement strategies, schools no longer have to sacrifice authenticity for speed. To learn how Gravyty can help you meet students where they are by powering personalized, scalable experiences across the student journey, contact us today.
