6 Ways Career Education Programs Are Leveraging Automation

What do you think of when you hear the word “automation”?

Robots on an assembly line? A high-tech, Fortune 500 company?

In reality, we’ve come far enough with technology that automation is for everyone, and it’s becoming more accessible and easier to use.

Unfortunately, many automation tools are built for more general audiences. Your marketing team likely leverages automation available with the CRM, or your academics team could be trying to fit a square peg into a round hole by leveraging automation using tools built for traditional higher education. Some of these traditional higher education tools work well enough once they’re all set up, but others create just as many challenges as they solve.

CourseKey is purpose-built for the unique needs of career education, making it easy for everyone in your organization to harness the power of automation.

Set up powerful automation in just four steps. Click here for a tour of CourseKey’s automation builder.

The benefits of automation for career education programs

Studies show that manual data entry results in an error rate of 1-4%. This may not seem like a significant percentage, but when it comes to your next audit any error is going to be a pain. By automating data transfers, you’re reducing the opportunity for human intervention. Ultimately, this makes for smoother audits and more accurate decision-making.

Automation can also improve the consistency of outreach and communications. When you set up standardized triggers that send students a standardized message, you can ensure that every student gets the same outreach, regardless of factors like staff changes.

Finally, eliminating tedious manual tasks gives your staff more time to focus on higher-value tasks that are more likely to move the needle on school and student success.

Here are six ways CourseKey customers are leveraging automation to power student success.

(+1 bonus reason for allied health and nursing programs).

1. Solving a CRM blind spot

Your enrollment team may already be using some automation via your CRM. But the CRM is only as good as the data you put into it, and many schools struggle with a blindspot around day one attendance while they wait for the data from academics.

With CourseKey, your enrollment team gains real-time access to first day of attendance data and can set up automations that:

Congratulate students for attending day one
Check-in regularly with students during their first week
Intervene immediately if a student is absent

2. Better placement processes

Tracking student placements is one of the most arduous tasks for career education programs. Students have already left campus, so there’s no way to call them into the office and have them fill out the form.

CourseKey simplifies the process by automatically distributing placement surveys and sending reminders to students with missing forms. Now, we can’t promise that every student will fill it out just because it’s automated. There will always be students who are more challenging to track down than others. However, automated surveys capture enough responses that your team may only need to call a handful of students.

When your team spends less time chasing surveys, they have more time to focus on students who need extra support and coaching.

3. Real-time student intervention

Your students are 24/7; your intervention should be, too. By automating student intervention, you can connect with a student the moment they become at risk, not several days later.

For example, suppose a student misses three days of online and on-ground attendance. In that case, you automatically send a push notification, text, or email asking them how they’re doing and if they need support getting back in class.

Similar to placement, there will always be students who need extra outreach and more substantial support. But, automated intervention supports the students who need a little extra nudge to get back on track, so your staff has more time for the students who really need it.

It’s like having a sprinkler system. You put automatic measures in place to prevent a fire from growing so that the situation is more manageable when the firefighters arrive.

4. Celebrating the little victories

Research has shown that positivity has a direct impact on student success. Regular compliments and positivity help students build confidence, benefiting them in school and beyond. It empowers them to persist through challenges and allows them to shine during job interviews.

Instructors and staff members will always compliment a student when the opportunity arises. However, organizations need a more structured approach to promoting positivity and ensuring that every student receives consistent encouragement.

One way to address this gap is by implementing automated, positive intervention messaging. By strategically incorporating automation along the student journey, such as when they get a good grade or maintain an attendance streak, you can create a culture of positivity.

5. Faster student surveys

When your surveying tool is connected to your attendance tool, you open up powerful opportunities for automation. CourseKey users are simplifying the student surveying process by automatically distributing surveys when a student hits a certain attendance threshold.

For example, you can set up an automation that issues a survey at the halfway point of a student’s course or program. Some schools are taking it to the next level by automatically distributing surveys every month or even every week to keep a strong pulse on how students are feeling about their educational journey.

Monitoring student satisfaction is particularly critical as we see a rise in BDR claims and increased scrutiny of career education programs. By leveraging automation in your surveying process, you can increase the frequency of surveys while decreasing administrative burden.

6. Mass personalization

The one downside of automation is that it can feel impersonal if not done correctly. CourseKey schools are adding the human element to automated messaging by reaching out to students based on their journeys, not broad generalizations.

For example, in a cosmetology program, students must complete a set number of skills and checklists. CourseKey schools can set up automated messaging to connect with students:

Once they’ve completed 50% of their skills to share a satisfaction survey or a celebratory message
If they’re behind on their skills and need extra support

Because intervention messages are data and event-triggered, even if every student who meets the conditions receives the same message, it feels more personal to their situation.

7. Improving clinical and externship experience for all

CourseKey users in the allied health and nursing space leverage automation to streamline clinical and externship data tracking. When students are onsite at their clinical/externship location, they check in or record a competency on their mobile device (with security measures like geofencing and biometrics in place, of course). That data is automatically transferred back to your clinical/externship coordinator. Because the process is secure and automated, site preceptors spend less time doing administrative work for your school.

When it comes time to select how many clinical/externship slots each school gets, who do you think the preceptor is going to favor, a school that requires significant administrative lift or a school that makes the process simple?

Start automating with CourseKey

The next time you hear the word “automation,” don’t think of robots or massive, high-tech companies. Think of faster student intervention, improved processes for every department, and better insights into student satisfaction.

Ready to get started? Request a demo, and a member of our team will be in touch.