How live chat is being used by universities for clearing

UK universities process around 38,000 students during clearing, helping them get places on courses at different colleges if they didn’t attain the grades needed for their preferred institution. But while the process sounds simple, universities must deal with it in the last few months of the academic year (usually July until October depending on course start dates).

During this time, a staggering number of interactions between candidates and universities occur. Enquiries clog up phone lines and email inboxes, making it hard for administrative staff to answer everyone’s questions.

Fortunately, technological solutions like live chat are available to streamline communications. These solutions ease the high volume of enquirers during the clearing period. Staff can rifle through the deluge of questions and provide prompt responses without committing to long phone conversations.

How Click4Assistance is already helping universities manage peak call volumes during clearing

Interestingly, Click4Assistance is already helping universities manage peak call volumes during clearance. Our software lets administrators provide quick-fire responses to enquiries, or even get AI chatbots to do it for them.

One of the prime features of our service is the ability to greet prospective students on your website without having to dedicate any human resources to doing so. Chatbots can welcome candidates and provide a menu of options for enquiry, including answering common questions. This triage reduces phone calls and emails by giving students what they need to know upfront.

For example, you can program Click4Assistance’s chatbot to answer questions like:

• How does clearing work?
• Am I eligible for clearing?
• When does clearing start?
• When am I likely to get a response to my application?
• How can I contact the university during clearing?
• What should I prepare before calling the clearing hotline?
• Can I apply for clearing online?
• Is university accommodation available to students who go through clearing?
• What happens if more than one university makes me an offer after clearing?
• Is there support available to students going through clearing?
• Can I change my clearing options after a university makes an offer?

Providing direct responses to these questions using a chatbot prevents unnecessary calls, freeing up staff for other things. Prospective students get approved answers from Click4Assistance software, providing the precise information they require to take the next step on their educational journey.

However, that’s not the only way Click4Assistance’s live chat tools can help. Because of technological advances, our AI can respond to non-standard prompts using natural language processing (NLP) while human reps can take on more detailed cases or those requiring decision-making.

For example, a student might want to ask about a specific course. Programming standard answers for all programmes might take time, but allowing an NLP-capable chatbot to generate an answer could reduce this requirement and make it more straightforward for students to get information.

Students might also want to talk to a human rep because they want a clear decision on something, like the location of their on-campus accommodation. Click4Assistance allows for a seamless transition between administrators and bots, allowing you to use their time more efficiently.

Click4Assistance’s live chat tools are also more capable than standard chat facilities due to extra features that support enhanced communication. For example, our live chat can integrate with the messaging apps students use, like Messenger and WhatsApp. You can also respond to enquiries with additional screens that show them what to do on your website or provide additional course information. Staff can even transfer files during online chat (reducing emails) or take control of visitors’ browsers, helping them navigate to relevant website sections.

For this reason, many UK universities are learning how to put live chat on website pages during clearing. There is a massive demand for our software across the spectrum, particularly when candidate enquiry volumes peak in late summer.

Click4Assistance’s live chat appears on universities’ websites as a small button (usually in the bottom corner). When students arrive on the home page, a box appears offering relevant assistance.

What’s nice about our solution is that you can set up this box however you want, tailoring it to your requirements. While it’s helpful year-round, it is especially useful for clearing when you want to answer questions quickly or forward students to the right staff. Administrators can increase the number of enquiries they process per hour, reducing stress and improving the student experience. Additional out-of-hours features, including prompting users to leave a message (so an administrator can reply ASAP or request a call-back if the problem is urgent) enable an enhanced experience.

How universities are using live chat apps during clearing

Universities are using live chat apps during clearing in several innovative ways.

However, the approach you choose will depend on your institution's requirements. Your needs may change throughout the year, but modern chat apps, like Click4Assistance, are flexible.

Collecting feedback

One simple option is to use live chat to collect feedback. Learning what the experience is like for students can be an excellent way for institutions to improve their processes.

For example, consider universities that still do clearing over the phone. Many now use live chatbots to ask candidates about their experience and how they would like to see it change. Getting this feedback upfront using digital tools negates the need to distribute paperwork or collect email addresses.

Coordinating between departments

Universities are also using live chat to coordinate better between departments. Recording student conversations and integrating them with institutional-wide CRMs creates a single source of truth everyone can use without back-and-forth emails or outright confusion.

Chatbots are also useful when universities want to forward a student to a specialist. For example, universities can use them for clearing to connect candidates with department heads or pastoral services.

Coordinating campus visits and tours

Live chat is also useful for coordinating campus visits and tours during clearing (which may be last-minute if the term is about to start).

For example, students with multiple offers after clearing might want to arrange a visit to compare various universities with each other. Live chat can provide them with details of tours automatically so they know when to arrive.

It’s also possible to use live chat for guided virtual tours, showing students around their accommodation remotely. These reduce costs and improve convenience further.

Course availability updates

Many universities also use live chat to provide students with real-time updates. Connecting solutions to their course allocation systems lets them present the data immediately instead of requiring students to make additional calls.

Other information chatbots could provide includes:

• Course entry requirements (and if they are changing due to demand)
• Application deadlines
• Courses available for applications
• Notifications if course numbers get adjusted

Application process assistance

Some universities are also leveraging live chat for application processing. Chatbots and administrators can provide live assistance throughout the process, helping students with forms, documents, or any other requirements.

Sometimes, universities don’t have straightforward document submission services. Therefore, live chat also helps students troubleshoot issues relating to signing and uploading paperwork.

Live chat is also useful for improving accessibility. For instance, universities can use it to assist students with functional impairments or help those applying in different languages.

Course recommendations

Course recommendations are another benefit of live chat for university clearing. Chatbots can connect to existing course availability databases and collect student information to give relevant advice.

The most helpful application of this technology occurs when students want alternative options. For example, suppose a student wants to study English Literature but spaces are full. Live chat can introduce them to similar alternative courses with remaining spaces, like English Literature with History (joint honours) or English Language. Chatbots could then outline various study paths and how they might be similar or different to the student’s original choice.

Confirming offers

Live chat is also helpful for universities that want to confirm offers. Students simply arrive on the website and use the live chat service to learn whether the institution will accept them.

Usually, this process requires calling administrators and going through grades. However, chatbots can provide up-to-date information about course access to match educational attainment to stated requirements.

Emotional support

There’s also a role for live chat in emotional support. For many students, going through clearing can be a challenging time. Some didn’t get the grades they wanted because their first university choices didn’t accept them.

As such, live chat is often a way for some universities and colleges to calm nerves. Talking to university representatives can make students less anxious and stressed, helping them see their situation more clearly and what they should do next.

Universities with strong pastoral teams also use live chat to help students stay motivated during clearing. Counsellors can provide their reassurance and clear timetables for when they will pass milestones.

Peer-to-peer engagement

Some universities are experimenting with using live chat for peer-to-peer engagement. The idea is to get student ambassadors to host live chats and explain what prospective students can expect if they enrol.

Existing students can be helpful for all sorts of things, including:

• Providing general information about on-campus life
• Assisting with application forms
• Giving information about upcoming deadlines
• Helping applicants find relevant pages on the university website
• Providing a line of communication when phone lines are busy

Pre-Scheduled chat sessions

Universities are also using chat apps to pre-schedule conversations among groups of students. These are helpful when those going through clearing want general information to assist them with their decision-making, while it also reduces the time institutions have to spend conveying facts one-on-one.

Monitoring and follow-up

Finally, universities use live chat software to monitor candidates’ applications and follow up with them if they overlook something, such as missing deadlines or forgetting to carry out administrative tasks.

Click4Assistance’s live chat helps with this application because it connects to top messaging apps. Once universities enter a conversation with a candidate, they can continue it even when the student closes their browser.

What are the benefits of using live chat for clearing?

Having read this far, the benefits of using live chat for clearing should be more apparent. Tools, like the one offered by Click4Assistance, are helpful for institutions facing a high volume of calls and email communications.

But what specific advantages can universities expect if they add live chat to their web pages during clearing?

Improved accessibility

One of the biggest benefits of live chat (often overlooked) is improved accessibility. Live chat makes it more straightforward for candidates to contact you, talking to you on any device, not just the phone. It gives them more options and encourages a more constant back-and-forth.

However, using text may be intrinsically better for universities wanting to communicate with students. According to research, 9 out of 10 Gen Z members prefer texting to talking on the phone while a quarter refuses to answer calls at all.

More efficient communication

Universities that use live chat can also make their communication more efficient overall.

For example, administrators can handle multiple enquiries, speaking to up to six students at once using these tools. Because of this staff can better handle spikes in enquiry volumes by increasing communication rates.

Universities also benefit from automated responses and chatbot replies. Pre-set answers to common questions reduce unnecessary phone calls and provide students with replies they want faster. Staff can then focus on the most complex queries that AI systems can’t handle.

Scalable operations

Another benefit of live chat for universities is how it scales with operations. Solutions can accommodate spikes in enquiry volumes, reducing the pressure on administrators.

This is possible because chat apps are cloud-based and AI-dependent. It doesn’t matter how many students ask questions, chatbots can always provide them with answers without delay.

Furthermore, live chat can integrate with CRMs (as mentioned above), allowing human administrators to pull up relevant information rapidly to deal with questions. These processes streamline processes and allow you to leverage existing data.

Improve student satisfaction

Live chat may also improve student satisfaction during clearing by offering them the convenience and accessibility they want. While it might not be the deciding factor in whether someone attends your institution, it could be a powerful tool to sway their decision toward you.

You could even use live chat to collect feedback from students on their clearing experience as mentioned above. Solutions might reveal undesirable patterns, showing you how to improve your processes or where your website isn’t clear.

Enhanced engagement

Enhanced engagement is another positive benefit of using live chat. Staff can provide students with more helpful assistance based on the data they collect about them.

In some cases, this enables more personalised interactions. Chatbots can be programmed to take personal information into account when generating responses. Some apps can learn about the students by asking them questions to improve the quality of automated conversations and create more of an emotional connection.

Reduced costs

Furthermore, live chat can reduce administrative costs substantially.

For example, apps (with or without chatbots), enable you to use fewer staff members to handle the same volume of calls. Each administrator can handle several conversations simultaneously, processing more students per hour.

Furthermore, chat apps lower the administrative burden so staff can concentrate on other duties. Solutions free colleagues to focus on the highest-value tasks, preventing them from answering the same questions repeatedly.

Improved record-keeping

Improved record-keeping is another benefit of using live chat. You can store conversation histories and keep logs of what happened to track students through time.

For example, when a candidate uses your live chat, staff can see their previous chats and pick up where they left off. Conversations continue as if you were using an advanced CRM.

You can also use chat data to collect and evaluate additional feedback. Analysing it could highlight common student concerns, helping your university address recurring problems and transform services.

Twenty-four-seven support

Lastly (and perhaps most critically) live chat lets you offer candidates 24/7 support during clearing, giving them instant access to the help and support they need. You can provide students with immediate help with their queries, whether they communicate in the middle of the night or when admin staff are out of the office.

Wrapping Up

Today’s students going through clearing want convenience and rapid responses from universities. And that’s what live chat apps provide. These tools slot into your website, providing candidates with an invaluable lifeline they can use to get in touch with admin staff without long, drawn-out conversations.

The direct benefits for universities are also considerable. Chat apps lower costs, improve reputation, and make it more straightforward for admin staff to do their jobs during the busiest times of the year. Click4Assistance is particularly helpful because of its additional features. Universities can use our live chat features to show students how to use website pages and provide automated information on course availability.

Ultimately, live chat is fast becoming a standard way to communicate with universities. While phone calls are sometimes necessary, chatbots and apps are more efficient, helping to smooth sudden spikes in enquiries from July to October when enquiries peak.