The “looming enrollment cliff” in higher education refers to the anticipated drop in college and university enrollments in the United States.
Several factors contribute to this decline, including a shrinking pool of traditional college-age students due to declining birth rates, the increasing cost of education and student loan debt, and changing perceptions of the value of a degree. These shifts have far-reaching consequences on higher education institutions. Many are experiencing financial strain, potentially leading to budget cuts and closures.
To adapt, colleges and universities are innovating, exploring new programs and becoming more responsive to student needs. Looking at traditional interactions in new ways to improve both recruitment and retention of students and to reduce costs dramatically.
Providing answers to students when and where they need them is a great way to increase student satisfaction. Thanks to Oracle’s AI enabled Digital Assistant the Virginia Community College System is providing their 23 campuses with a personalized chatbot that addresses a broad spectrum of questions from institutional to academic, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Tune in to Oracle Cloud World Digital Edition and search for “DIG4027” to hear Nicole Stewart, Assistant Vice Chancellor, VCCS, share the benefits of their federated implementation system wide and see things from a new perspective.