From Vision to Reality: How Southern University at New Orleans Leveraged AI to Meet Students Where They Are

Today’s higher education landscape demands a new approach. With a growing population of students juggling jobs, families, and demanding schedules, institutions must find innovative ways to engage with prospective and current students.

Meeting students where they are, on their time and on their terms, requires embracing new technology that provides real-time information and support around the clock. Southern University at New Orleans (SUNO) recognized that artificial intelligence was not just a passing trend, but a critical tool to enhance the student experience and remain competitive. As Chancellor James Ammons Jr. (now retired) noted, “With the decline in college-age students, the competition for enrollment is at an all-time high right now, and the way that students and parents make decisions about where they are going to attend. A lot depends on the experience the students and their families have during the recruiting process and their time as a student.”

This case study explores how SUNO, under the leadership of Dr. Ammons, strategically partnered with RNL to fully leverage the benefits of AI. By adopting RNL’s three AI Edge solutions—RNL Compass, RNL Answers, and RNL Insights—SUNO successfully transitioned from a transactional to a data-driven, strategic framework, all while prioritizing crucial security and governance “guardrails” from the very beginning.

The Vision: Meeting Students Where They Are

For Dr. Ammons, the decision to embrace AI was driven by a clear vision: to make SUNO more competitive and accessible. He noted that in an age where students and parents prioritize the application and enrollment experience, the ability to provide information quickly is paramount. “One of the challenges that my institution has is providing information in real time,” he said. With a student body that is over 50% nontraditional, many with jobs and families, a traditional office schedule is a significant barrier. “Right now, about 51-52% of our students are nontraditional,” he explained. “They have jobs, they have families, et cetera. They have lives. They can’t come to a campus between 8 and 5 and when they try and contact someone because of their time limitations, they need to be able to get the information.” AI offered a way to provide critical information 24/7, serving a diverse student population and making the institution more responsive.

The Solution: RNL Edge AI Solutions

RNL Compass: The 24/7 Digital Recruiter

To address the need for immediate student support, SUNO implemented RNL Compass, a digital recruiter powered by a custom-trained AI model. Nicknamed “Sir Knight,” the AI bot resides on SUNO’s website, ready to answer questions at any time. While the implementation is still in its early stages, the initial results are promising.

The implementation process required a learning curve, particularly in gathering and inputting institutional data, but RNL’s team worked closely with SUNO staff to ensure a smooth transition. “The RNL team were with us and with our staff and team members all the way and I think that made a difference in the level of comfort that the people who are on the front line have in utilizing these tools,” Dr. Ammons said. The most immediate impact has been a noticeable reduction in general inquiries that would have typically required staff intervention via phone, email, or text. This early success validates the tool’s potential to free up admissions staff to focus on more complex, personalized student interactions.

RNL Answers: The Secure Internal Knowledge Base

Recognizing the security risks associated with public-facing AI, SUNO also adopted RNL Answers, a secure, internal GPT tool. This solution provides a private, walled-off environment for faculty and staff to access institutional documents and data without the risk of exposing sensitive information. For Dr. Ammons, the security of this tool was a key selling point. He emphasized, “The thing that made me feel better about the RNL tools was their focus on security, knowing how important it is for us to protect student data, and the data related to our faculty and our staff, and our donors. The attention that RNL has paid to the security of these tools makes me rest a little easier.”

RNL Answers enables staff to quickly find information on a wide range of topics, from institutional policies to donor information. The controlled environment protects critical data related to students, faculty, staff, and donors. This focus on security, combined with the ability to provide instantaneous information, empowers the SUNO team to be more efficient and confident in their work, knowing their data is protected within a safe, secure framework.

RNL Insights: The Strategic Decision Engine

Ultimately, the goal of SUNO’s AI adoption is institutional growth. This is where RNL Insights plays a pivotal role. This solution provides the data analytics capabilities necessary to move beyond guesswork and make strategic, data-driven decisions. Dr. Ammons summed up this vision: “At the end of the day, the university has to grow. We need to be able to bring our enrollment as well as our retention to levels that are expected.”

Using RNL Insights, SUNO’s admissions team can analyze data to identify patterns, such as the surprising number of applications originating from Ohio. This knowledge allows the university to make informed decisions about where to focus its recruitment efforts and how to enhance its yield. “Insights gives us a powerful tool to be able to do the data analytics, to be able to use that data to make changes, to make strategic decisions,” he said. Dr. Ammons emphasized that using Insights to improve retention is the most fundamental step toward increasing enrollment. By understanding data related to student performance and success, the university can make strategic changes to enhance the student experience and boost completion rates, which are tied directly to Louisiana’s funding formula. The tool provides a powerful mechanism to take the institution from a transactional approach to a truly strategic one.

Final Thoughts

Southern University at New Orleans’ journey with AI demonstrates a forward-thinking approach to addressing the challenges of modern higher education. By strategically deploying RNL Compass, RNL Answers, and RNL Insights, SUNO is proactively transforming its operations. From providing 24/7 student support and empowering staff with secure data access to making intelligent, data-informed decisions about recruitment and retention, the university is building a more efficient, secure, and competitive institution. The SUNO case study illustrates that AI, when implemented thoughtfully and securely, is not a replacement for human talent but a powerful tool to enhance institutional effectiveness and student success.

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