2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Abstract
Introduction: School counselors in secondary schools and academic advisors at undergraduate institutions help students plan their educational pathways, explore relevant interests, and connect students with resources necessary for academic success. The limited number of counselors and advisors especially in community colleges often means that students struggle to receive the personalized assistance and guidance they need, which can negatively affect their academic and personal success. To address this issue, AI-powered tools can be employed. While AI in education is not new, AI-powered platforms are a novel approach to providing personalized counseling for high school and community college students based on their individual needs. Purpose: The purpose of this case study is to explore the experiences of two community college students who utilized an AI-powered platform, namely the POWER platform, during a 10-week research experience for undergraduates (REU) program that recruits exclusively from community colleges. Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with two community college students lasting about forty-five minutes during the ninth week of their REU program to understand how they utilized the platform to receive personalized help and what improvements they would like to see in future iterations of such platform.
Results: The first student employed the platform extensively for scholarship application writing as it offered a personalized approach through targeted questions and iterative feedback, which enabled the student to refine their essays and outlines effectively. The second student received a detailed educational plan for their career goal and received guidance on how to manage their time. The POWER platform guided this student through creating a structured schedule using a spreadsheet, breaking down their daily routine into manageable tasks and thus helping them manage their time and remain organized throughout the ten-week REU program. In contrast to other AI services, such as ChatGPT, both students benefited from the individualized guidance and the personalized approach through goal-setting and questioning from the AI coach. Recommendations for developers of AI-powered platforms are to keep the needs of the students at the forefront, including helping them understand privacy concerns and how the data is handled in easy terms, continue advertising the program, and share the positive and negative aspects of the usage of the AI-powered counseling services. Having additional features, such as a calendar and mobile access, would be ideal for students who prefer not to sit at a computer and instead want the convenience of managing tasks and chatting on their phones. Conclusion: Through this case study of two community college students, we illustrate how the POWER platform's personalized and adaptive features offer benefits that traditional AI services may lack. By addressing specific needs such as scholarship application assistance, career counseling, and time management, the POWER platform and other AI-powered coaching services have the potential to impact a large number of students who otherwise may not have access to guidance counselors.