{"stable_id":"5b2556715b7a65ac","slug":"gsu-pounce","company":"Georgia State University","workflow_name":"Pounce summer-melt support","function_code":"enrollment","pattern_codes":["exception_based_operations","queue_elimination"],"changed_assumption":"Enrollment support does not require counselors to initiate and answer every routine student interaction; a task-aware assistant can provide personalized outreach while routing exceptions to staff.","evidence_strength":"mixed","publication_tier":"showcase","freshness":"current","reviewed_at":"2026-08-23","updated_at":"2026-08-22","source_quality_summary":"1 independent, 1 peer reviewed, 2 primary; publication outcomes are verified and reported.","caveat_summary":"The 3.3-point effect applies to the GSU-committed subgroup, not all accepted students; the primary GSU page rounds the relative melt reduction to 22%.","freshness_caveat":null,"workflow_summary":{"before":[{"actor":"Prospective student","action":"Track multiple enrollment requirements and seek help when a task or deadline is unclear.","actor_type":"control"},{"actor":"Admissions counselor","action":"Answer routine and complex questions and provide individual summer outreach.","actor_type":"control"}],"hinge":"Enrollment support does not require counselors to initiate and answer every routine student interaction.","after":[{"actor":"Pounce","action":"Use university records to send task-specific deadline reminders and offer help.","actor_type":"system"},{"actor":"Pounce","action":"Answer common student questions automatically.","actor_type":"system"},{"actor":"Admissions counselor","action":"Handle questions that require professional judgment or information the assistant lacks.","actor_type":"system"}],"decision_mode":"shared","decision_marker":"AI handles the default; humans own exceptions"},"before":[{"order":1,"actor":"Prospective student","action":"Track multiple enrollment requirements and seek help when a task or deadline is unclear.","handoff_to":"Admissions counselor","control":"Student initiates contact under the university's standard process."},{"order":2,"actor":"Admissions counselor","action":"Answer routine and complex questions and provide individual summer outreach.","handoff_to":"Prospective student","control":"Counselor determines the guidance."}],"after":[{"order":1,"actor":"Pounce","action":"Use university records to send task-specific deadline reminders and offer help.","handoff_to":"Prospective student","control":"Outreach is tied to each student's incomplete enrollment tasks."},{"order":2,"actor":"Pounce","action":"Answer common student questions automatically.","handoff_to":"Admissions counselor when the system cannot answer","control":"Only a small fraction of questions are routed to staff."},{"order":3,"actor":"Admissions counselor","action":"Handle questions that require professional judgment or information the assistant lacks.","handoff_to":"Prospective student","control":"Counselors retain exception handling and authoritative guidance."}],"decision_rights":"The assistant provides routine guidance; counselors and advisors retain authority for unresolved, exceptional, or consequential student issues.","exception_path":"Questions the assistant cannot answer are routed to Georgia State counselors and advisors.","removed_work":["Routine deadline reminders sent individually by counselors","Counselor responses to the majority of common enrollment questions","A material share of repetitive pre-matriculation messaging"],"outcomes":[{"metric":"On-time fall enrollment among GSU-committed students","baseline":"GSU's business-as-usual control group.","result":"Students assigned to Pounce were 3.3 percentage points more likely to enroll on time, equivalent to a 21% reduction in summer melt in the peer-reviewed study.","period":"April through August 2016.","scale":"7,489 accepted students with eligible mobile numbers and text consent; 3,745 assigned to Pounce and 3,744 to usual process, with the reported enrollment effect in the pre-stratified GSU-committed subgroup.","attribution_caveat":"The 3.3-point effect applies to the GSU-committed subgroup, not all accepted students; the primary GSU page rounds the relative melt reduction to 22%.","evidence_label":"verified"}],"executive_lesson":"The strongest evidence comes from changing the handoff, not merely adding a chatbot: routine task guidance moved to the assistant, while counselors became the exception path.","anti_pattern":"Using a general chatbot without task-state integration, an explicit staff escalation path, or subgroup-aware outcome measurement.","questions_for_leaders":["Which routine questions can be automated safely?","What student signals should trigger human outreach?","Will the evaluation distinguish intended users from people unlikely to use the service?"],"collections":["human-still-decides","queue-eliminated"],"bundle_version":"1.0.0","bundle_fingerprint":"sha256:c23c6cc2b88153d008ea8fda928f632ce0011fc2d4c5036672a16e5d895bab93","canonical_url":"https://brianletort.ai/transformations/gsu-pounce"}