USF set to analyze prospective students’ applications with AI
The University of San Francisco signed a contract in November with CollegeVine to use its artificial intelligence software to summarize admissions applications and essays, though it says it will not make final decisions.
Other schools, including Virginia Tech, California Institute of Technology, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are also using similar technologies to read essays, conduct interviews, and review transcripts.
A California school will begin using artificial intelligence as part of its admissions review process next academic year.
The University of San Francisco, a private Jesuit school, signed a contract with CollegeVine to use its AI software to “summarize prospective students’ applications and essays and flag potential holes in their transcripts,” according to The San Francisco Examiner.
Eric Groves, the school’s vice president for strategic enrollment management, said the move is meant to reduce counselors’ workload rather than replace them. Final decisions will still ultimately be made by human admissions counselors.
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According to its website, CollegeVine’s agents “perform critical functions within every department on campus,” including enrollment management, student services, and academic affairs.
USF is not the only school opting to include artificial intelligence in its admissions process. Virginia Tech is now using one human and one AI assistant to grade each admissions essay, while it previously used two humans for the task. AI will not make any final decisions in this case either, and another human can be brought in to review the essay if the first reviewer and the AI assistant’s score differ by more than two points.
California Institute of Technology will be utilizing an AI chatbot to interview students on video about their research projects. The interview is then uploaded and reviewed by admissions professionals to ensure its authenticity, according to a report by Fortune.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has also begun to implement AI, using it “to provide data points about students’ common application essay and their school transcripts,” according to its website.
The school says that data points such as “writing style and grammar and the rigor of students’ coursework” will be evaluated by the technology, allowing the university’s “admissions team to focus on the content of a student’s essay, the student’s grades, and the extent that they’ve challenged themselves in the classroom with a strong curriculum.”
The National Association for College Admission Counseling also weighed in on the topic of the implementation of such technology in the admissions process. In its “Guide to Ethical Practice in College Admission,” NACAC stated that it “encourages continued learning and collaboration to ensure that any use of AI in counseling and admission aligns with our shared values of transparency, integrity, fairness, and respect for student dignity.”
The University of San Francisco and CollegeVine have been contacted for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
