Student communication behavior
WhatsApp vs phone calls: what students actually prefer
Many colleges feel that phone calls are the main channel, but students today behave differently: most of them send messages, especially outside official working hours.
1. Students send questions when offices are closed
Most questions come in the evening, at night, or early morning — exactly when phone lines are closed.
WhatsApp lets students send the question at the moment of confusion, without waiting until tomorrow.
2. Phone calls are stressful for both sides
For staff: phones ring non-stop, with the same questions repeated all day.
For students: some are shy, some worry about disturbing staff, and many cannot explain their question quickly over the phone.
3. Messages create a written record
With messaging, both the student and the college can see exactly what was asked and what was answered.
This reduces misunderstandings like “no one told me that” or “I didn’t know this date”.
4. Where AI fits: handling the repetitive layer
AI is not here to replace humans. It handles the repetitive, simple questions based on your official rules. For special cases, it can hand off to your team or ask the student to visit.
This means staff can spend more time on complex situations, while the AI handles “What documents?”, “How much is the fee?”, and “When is the deadline?”.
5. The best setup is “both”, not “either-or”
You don’t have to shut down phones. Instead, you can:
• Encourage students to send common questions via WhatsApp. • Keep phone calls for urgent or exceptional cases. • Use the AI assistant as the first layer, then escalate to staff when needed.
Make it easier for your team to see this later.