RNL Edge Provides a Roadmap for Universities to Gain Competitive Advantage from AI Through Streamlined University Operations, Improved Engagement with Institutional Stakeholders and Valuable Data-Based Insights
May 29, 2024—RNL, a leading provider of higher education enrollment management, student success, and fundraising solutions, today announced the launch of RNL Edge, a suite of AI-powered solutions crafted for colleges and universities by RNL’s team of AI and higher education experts. The RNL Edge solutions include fully managed tools that are tailored to help solve unique challenges—ranging from connecting with prospective students and donors to being able to quickly develop and implement strategies—based on their own data. The solutions are designed to help institutions grow enrollment and fundraising.
“With decades of higher education expertise, we’re uniquely positioned to integrate cutting-edge AI into our suite of existing services to drive university growth while preserving the personal touch that defines the college experience,” said Bill McHale, President and CEO, RNL. “Using RNL Edge will enable potential students and/or donors to have access to information in significantly less time than current approaches and our solutions will provide the senior staff in the enrollment and advancement departments access to information that allows them to make better decisions, based on better data, in almost real time.”
The RNL Edge portfolio includes three secure, multi-tenant SaaS solutions that are deployed on public cloud platforms:
- RNL Compass is a digital assistant that seamlessly integrates with an institution’s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system and website. Unlike traditional chatbots, RNL Compass is highly conversational and intuitive.
RNL Compass provides 24/7 support and guidance to potential students and parents, as well as alumni and donors. It answers questions, facilitates event registrations and provides application status (via CRM application integration with apps like Slate, Salesforce, Blackbaud and Oracle). From scheduling visits, to answering enrollment questions, to facilitating giving opportunities, enrollment and fundraising teams that leverage RNL Compass will have more time to nurture and support their students, prospects, and alumni.
- RNL Insights is an intuitive data board and conversational tool, facilitating dynamic conversations with an institution’s data sources, such as their CRM tools and Student Information Systems (SIS).
From analyzing current melt rates to fine-tuning enrollment strategies within a 30-minute radius of campus, to predictive analytics for proactive decision-making, benchmarking against similar institutions, immediate access to institutional data and trends, every query is met with immediate answers. These insights are then displayed in visualizations within the reports that RNL Insights produces. Visualizations can be produced based on pre-built widgets that dive into a variety of metrics across time comparisons or based on the ad hoc natural language inquiries through the tools open query field. In both cases, visualizations and reports are created quickly. RNL Insights doesn’t just provide data analysis, it empowers institutions with transformative insights.
- RNL Answers is an internal copilot that combines an institution’s data with RNL’s private and secure generative AI models. This provides immediate answers, data evaluation, and institutional insights that are securely protected.
Whether aiding university presidents and senior staff for strategic planning, helping admissions through automating parts of the application review processes, crafting targeted marketing copy for recruitment efforts, guiding academic advisors, helping faculty develop course materials, or supporting HR, RNL Answers is a fully managed, adaptable tool.
As higher education begins to embrace AI, RNL Edge provides a roadmap for universities on how to do it well, and to ensure that their university data is used in a secure, ethical and responsible way. In addition to the framework RNL built, it assembled a dedicated team focused on responsible AI practices, guided by the principles of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). When institutions implement RNL’s products, they do so with assurance that consumer data protection laws and intellectual property (IP) protections are being followed and data is being used responsibly.
“While AI has emerged as a transformative force in higher education, offering unprecedented opportunities for personalized engagement, data analysis, and resource optimization, concerns about the ethical implications of AI usage is a significant concern that contributes to the 83% of university leaders that believe that higher education isn’t ready for AI,” said Dr. Stephen Drew, Chief AI Officer, RNL. “RNL has made a commitment to responsible and transparent AI that can be adopted seamlessly. We’ve invested in a robust strategic framework that prioritizes responsible AI governance, and RNL Edge is built on a secure platform. Each institution gains a private solution to align with privacy and intellectual property standards that many conversational AI tools don’t provide. This allows campuses to confidently embrace AI.”
The institutions that are early-adopters of AI will be the ones who gain a competitive advantage and RNL Edge allows universities to do so with confidence. RNL Compass and RNL Insights will be available in mid-June and RNL Answers will be available in mid-August. Learn more about these solutions and their capabilities here.
About RNL
Ruffalo Noel Levitz (RNL) is a leading provider of higher education enrollment management, student success, and fundraising solutions. RNL’s solutions bring together technology, analytics, strategic expertise, and omnichannel communications and give thousands of institutions everything they need to reach their goals—from marketing and recruiting students to engaging donors. For decades, colleges and nonprofit organizations have turned to RNL to enroll the students they want, help more students graduate and succeed, and build lifelong relationships with donors. RNL’s financial aid solutions have helped institutions manage $3.5B in financial aid. Learn more at: https://www.ruffalonl.com/about-ruffalo-noel-levitz/.
Media Contact
Danielle Dougan, Enicio Marketing for RNL, 978-430-9680, Ddougan@eniciomarketing.com