The People Behind Postsecondary Success is an ongoing feature series sharing insights on the members of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Postsecondary Success team.

Art Seavey, senior program officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, recalls a recent site visit to Georgia State University (GSU) where student Austin Birchell demonstrated how he had received financial aid information from an unlikely source: the university’s chat bot. Austin conducted a mock conversation with the bot, asking detailed questions about aid and enrollment, and receiving accurate, tailored advice in response.

As colleges and universities face funding and staffing constraints, scalable technological interventions such as GSU’s chat bot are making a real difference—particularly for students such as Birchell, who are the first in their family to attend college and may have fewer supports.

“It just shows how something as simple as a chat bot can transform someone’s life and ability to attend college,” said Seavey. “Technology doesn’t need to serve as a substitute for guidance counselors or other things. But it can patch up some serious holes.”

Seavey’s work on the foundation’s Postsecondary Success team includes leading the foundation’s investment in the University Innovation Alliance, a network of 11 of the country’s largest institutions. UIA highlights promising practices across the country so that other colleges and universities can learn from their efforts.

Read the full article about Art Seavey's work on Postsecondary Success at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.