Within our strategic plan, it’s easy to spot the energy and attention directed at student success. This work touches every aspect of the university — and every role.

As Provost Clarenda Phillips recently told us, “Student success is a community effort. We all have the power to contribute to an outstanding educational experience for the students we serve.”

Working Together for Students

The office of student success collaborated with the dean of students’ office and the office of institutional effectiveness to roll out a tool that supports students — by meeting them where they are. At any time, Boomer Bot, Missouri State’s chatbot, answers students’ questions. And it often provides insight into how they’re feeling about their experience at Missouri State.

Dr. Kelly Wood, associate provost for student success; Dr. Andrea Weber, assistant vice president for student affairs/dean of students; and Dr. Egon Heidendal, associate provost for institutional effectiveness, recently spoke to us about Boomer Bot.

How Boomer Bot Works

Boomer sends degree-seeking students a quick, introductory text at the beginning of the semester. After this initial message, Boomer touches base on a regular basis. Sometimes, it’s a simple check-in, like “How’s the semester going?” Other times, it’s a message about campus events, like Homecoming, or important processes, like registration.

When students interact with Boomer, they provide insight into their academic engagement, financial well-being, overall wellness and sense of belonging. If a student responds in a way that signals distress, a Missouri State staff member reaches out.

For example, Heidendal says, “Boomer might play emoji trivia with a student before asking, ‘I’m curious if you’re coming back next semester.’ If the student answers ‘no,’ it triggers an alert, and the student success team follows up.” Depending on the reason the student’s considering dropping out, Wood’s team might connect them with a student success coach, financial aid personnel, Bear CLAW experts or Counseling Center staff.

And crucially, Wood says, “A student can reach out to Boomer at any time. They don’t have to wait for a prompt.”

Measuring the Impact

Boomer Bot launched in February. During its first six months, 92% of students remained opted in to receiving Boomer’s texts, and 50% were actively engaged, meaning they interacted with Boomer at least three times.

In this period, Boomer provided conclusive answers to 2,692 questions, without a staff member needing to follow up. The top questions Boomer fielded included:

• How can I get help with classes?
• Is there emergency financial assistance available to students?
• How can I get help with stress?

This functionality not only served students in real time; it also saved approximately 224 hours of staff time. And when staff members needed to follow up, the added insight helped them be effective. During the spring semester, Wood’s team was able to retain 35% of the students who told Boomer they weren’t coming back in the fall.

Data from this semester is still coming in, but so far, the opt-in rate has remained steady at 93% with an engagement rate of 53%. Since the launch in February, students have sent Boomer almost 60,000 text messages.

Why This Tool Works

For Weber, Boomer’s 24/7 capability is one key to its effectiveness. She also values the qualitative data Boomer’s interactions produce. “Students are willing to be open with Boomer about their concerns,” she says.

Expressing concern to a chatbot like Boomer might feel less complicated or “high stakes” than telling a professor or advisor. As a result, Weber’s and Wood’s teams get individualized insights — and some surprises. For example, students with perfect GPAs may feel stress over academics. And students from a range of income backgrounds sometimes report experiencing financial anxiety.

Such perspectives might not show up in traditional metrics, Heidendal says. “With Boomer, students tell us in their own voices,” he says. “We can analyze every piece of data we have, but when they tell us how they feel, we understand more.”

Accolades

Thanks to the adept collaboration of the offices of student success, dean of students and institutional effectiveness, Boomer Bot’s rollout was seamless. This fall, EdSights (the company behind Boomer Bot’s technology) recognized Missouri State with its Smooth Operator Award, which honors a client for excellence in onboarding and implementation.