Published October 3, 2024
MONROE, LA – The University of Louisiana Monroe is inviting students to chat with Ace, a new AI-powered
chatbot accessible via text message. Ace is designed to provide automated responses
to student questions and connect them to relevant resources, simplifying their college
experience.
Ace the chatbot was developed in collaboration with EdSights, a company specializing
in conversational AI to aid universities in student support and retention via text
message. Ace’s responses are crafted from a knowledge base that was curated by over
50 ULM faculty and staff members to ensure that they are accurate and helpful. The
knowledge base is a living document that will continuously be refined.
“We want to meet students where they are, and where they are is on their phones,”
said Micene Fontaine, Recruiting, Retention, and Marketing Officer for ULM Student
Affairs.
All registered undergraduate students were automatically opted into the text messaging
program, but are able to opt out if they choose. In addition to being available to
answer student questions, Ace will periodically check in on students throughout the
semester and connect them any needed resources that are identified.
Fontaine says 98% of ULM undergraduate students remain opted in to receiving texts
from Ace. He adds that 38% of students are actively engaged and texting Ace the chatbot,
who has received 9914 text messages in the past five weeks since the program launched.
Prior to the implementation of Ace the chatbot, students were encouraged to contact
Ace’s Place via email and phone. The implementation of the chatbot provides students
with a third way to connect to resources in real time.
Student inquiries are monitored by administrators, who will forward messages to the
appropriate parties if it seems that a student is at risk or in an immediate emergency
situation.
"I am excited that the Mental Health Taskforce had the foresight to champion this
AI-powered chatbot for ULM students,” said Dr. Valerie Fields, Vice President for
Student Affairs.
While the text messaging features of the chatbot are only available to undergraduates,
anyone can ask Ace a question by visiting ulm.edu and clicking the chat icon in the lower right corner of the page.
