A nurse working night shifts wants to study for a management qualification. She cannot attend a campus, so she searches for online options at 3am on her break. She finds a programme that looks right but cannot tell how many hours a week it takes or whether the sessions are live. She writes a question and gets an automatic reply promising an answer within three working days.
She enrols with a different provider that answered straight away.
Online learners ask different questions
Campus students often ask about accommodation, facilities and the social side. Online learners care about how the course fits their life:
- How many hours a week does it take?
- Are sessions live, recorded or both?
- Can I study at my own pace?
- What support is available, and when?
- What technology do I need?
- Is the qualification recognised by employers?
- Can I pay in instalments?
These questions determine whether the prospect can realistically take part. Leaving them unanswered is effectively telling the prospect the course might not work for them.
Competition is global
An online programme competes with providers everywhere. A prospect can compare five courses in an evening, and they will. The provider that answers clearly and quickly has a real advantage. Fees and funding are part of the comparison, as covered in fees and funding questions from prospective students.
Timing and time zones
Online learners research around work and family, which means evenings, weekends and night shifts. They also come from many time zones. The pattern is similar to what online coaches see, covered in online coaching enquiries from around the world. An admissions team working office hours in one country cannot keep up alone.
What a website assistant can do
SpideyChat for education providers can answer from your own course pages, around the clock, in the prospect's language. It can explain time commitments, study formats, support and entry requirements as published, then capture the prospect's details for admissions to follow up.
Useful details to capture include:
- The course or subject of interest
- The prospect's current level of study or experience
- Their preferred start date
- Their country, for fee and time zone purposes
- Their email address
An example exchange
Prospect: How many hours a week does the management certificate take? Assistant: The course page suggests around eight to ten hours of study a week. Lectures are recorded, so you can watch them when it suits you, and there are optional live sessions each fortnight. Would you like me to pass your details to admissions so they can answer any other questions?
Not every question is simple
Some prospects have complex situations: previous study they want recognised, a disability that needs adjustments or questions about visa rules for online study. These should go to a person. The assistant can capture the details and create a ticket so the right adviser replies.
Not only universities
Course creators and independent online schools face the same pressures with smaller teams. We covered their situation in AI chatbots for online education and course creators. Campus providers with online options see some of the same questions alongside their usual ones, such as those in student accommodation questions before enrolment.
Getting started
Review your course pages and check they answer the time, format, support and technology questions clearly. Then let prospects get those answers at any hour. See the capture and handover options on the features page, or try SpideyChat on your own site.