University admissions teams are being called on to implement more holistic admissions processes while at the same time working with fewer applicant data points and departmental resources.
“Admissions is a high-stakes decision, so we really have to do it thoughtfully, and it requires resources,” explains Dr. Emily Campion, PhD.
The need to do more with less makes college admissions a prime candidate for AI automation to help ease resource constraints and improve data collection, according to Dr. Campion, who emphasizes that, “AI should be used to aid in human decision making, not necessarily replace humans in high-stakes processes.”
Student Select AI advisor Dr. Emily Campion, PhD, discussed AI’s place in higher education admissions at the 2023 Graduate Management Admissions Council Annual Conference alongside Chief Technology Officer Will Rose in a session titled “Demystifying AI and its Role in Admissions.”
According to Dr. Campion, AI adds value when tasks are complex and require synthesizing information from different sources, or when a task is repetitive, performed frequently, and time-consuming.
“In its simplest terms, AI is about computers imitating human behavior – we’re typically using machine learning to do that,” Dr. Campion explains.
“The goal of machine learning is for an algorithm to learn how a human decision is made and replicate that over and over… algorithms are really good at this.”
But the goal should not necessarily be to remove humans from these very high-stakes, human processes, like hiring.
“Humans should be actively involved in monitoring these systems over the long term to ensure they continue to perform as intended,” says Dr. Campion.
In the session recording, Dr. Campion breaks down:
- What AI is and how Natural Language Processing can be used to score applicant attributes and non-cognitive traits
- Practical ways AI can be used to improve the admission process for both decision-makers and applicants
- How non-cognitive traits can predict academic and workplace success
One of the ways Dr. Campion believes AI can benefit university admissions is by automating time-consuming, repetitive processes, like analyzing application essays.
“It’s not that you’re not going to read the student essays,” Dr. Campion is quick to clarify, “but using AI quickens the process and frees up time and resources so admissions officers can engage more meaningfully with each applicant.”
Not only can AI help speed up the admissions process, “it actually is capturing things that we aren’t already capturing systematically,” Dr. Campion explains, “and remember, that ‘systematically’ part is really important because we tend to find that it also improves fairness.”
Additionally, “AI can identify patterns humans might miss, which can then help inform recruitment efforts and how you’re framing what your program can offer students as they are applying.”
Watch the full session recording.
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