Introducing Ask OC Chat

Have a question? Ask OC Chat can help you with that!

Ask OC Chat is an AI-powered chatbot designed and trained to answer some of the most commonly asked questions by future, current, and former students as well as from the OC community - from anywhere in the world, 24/7.

Whether you are looking for information about courses, campus services, parking, or need technical support, the Virtual Assistant is here to provide quick and accurate responses.  Evolving every day, Ask OC Chat continuously learns from OC's web pages and resources to provide even more insightful and up-to-date responses. It is committed to enhancing your experience and ensuring you get the support you need, whenever you need it.  While the Virtual Assistant remains in a learning phase, users are asked to be patient and ask the assistant clear and concise questions, as the assistant continues to learn.  Over time, it will learn additional answers to even popular questions through your feedback.

In the meantime, let Ask OC Chat guide you on your journey at OC - it is here to serve you, students, better.  

History

Both current and future students access and receive information about OC through multiple channels (i.e, the website, web search, live chat, requests, in-person, and email).  In 2023, over five thousand inquiries were made through OC's live chat - of these, 65% were related to account issues such as password resets, login problems, and email support, other inquiries were related to admissions including those about the admission process, program details, and tuition fees, followed by general queries, such as purchasing parking passes and getting support for accessing course material.

In June of 2024, IT (Information Technology) Services department participated in ‘Innovation Week’, an event aimed at providing the opportunity for the department to focus on innovative projects outside of their normal scope of work, while having fun and learning new technologies.  The department broke out into teams and were given an area of focus, for example ‘Student Experience’ and asked to develop a proof of concept for an AI generated student chat bot.  The teams had 48 hours to build a consumable piece of software to solve the business challenge by developing a prototype.

This activity drove collaboration across the department, at all levels.  As a result of this success, development of an AI-powered chatbot aimed to enhance the current and future student experience by providing the ability to proactively and instantaneously advise and support students, around the clock, making information students need more accessible, consistent, and efficient, continued.  
 

What can Ask OC Chat do for you?

How you can help Ask OC Chat

Start by asking a question. You can inquire about any topic relevant to Okanagan College, such as admissions, course details, campus services, or tech support. Simply type your question into the chat, and Ask OC Chat will provide a response based on its knowledge database.

2. Analyze the Response

Once Ask OC Chat provides an answer, take a moment to review it. Consider the following aspects when analyzing the response:

  • Accuracy: Does the information provided match what you know or expect?
  • Clarity: Is the response easy to understand?
  • Helpfulness: Did the response adequately address your question?
  • Relevance: Was the response relevant to your inquiry?

3. Rate the Response and Leave Your Feedback

Thumbs Up 👍: If the Answer is Good or Decent

  • Click the thumbs up icon if you find the response satisfactory. This indicates that Ask OC Chat provided helpful, accurate, and relevant information.
  • After giving a thumbs up, you will be prompted to provide a rating from 1 to 5 stars. Use this scale to further evaluate the response:
    • 1 Star: Response was minimally helpful but not incorrect.
    • 2 Stars: Response was partially accurate but lacked some important details.
    • 3 Stars: Response was satisfactory, providing mostly correct and useful information.
    • 4 Stars: Response was good, providing accurate and detailed information.
    • 5 Stars: Response was excellent, highly accurate, and very helpful.

Thumbs Down 👎: If the Answer is Incorrect

  • Click the thumbs down icon if you find the response unsatisfactory. This indicates that Ask OC Chat provided incorrect, unclear, or irrelevant information.
  • After giving a thumbs down, you will be asked to explain why the response was not useful. Be straightforward and specific in your feedback. Consider including details such as:
    • What was incorrect or missing from the response?
    • How could the response be improved?
    • Did the response fail to understand your question?

Frequently Asked Questions

Ask OC Chat is Okanagan College's AI-driven chatbot designed to assist students and staff with common questions and tasks. Powered by the latest generative AI technology, it provides quick and accurate responses on topics like admissions, courses, campus services, tech support, and more. It is available 24/7 to help ensure you get the assistance you need when you need it.

Ask OC Chat uses advanced AI algorithms to understand and respond to user queries. By analyzing the text input, the chatbot provides answers based on a vast database of information related to Okanagan College. If Ask OC Chat cannot answer a question, it can escalate the conversation to a human agent for further support, provided staff are available.

Currently, Ask OC Chat is available in the Student and Applicant Tabs in MyOkanagan, as well as the Okanagan College website.

Ask OC Chat is equipped to answer a wide range of questions, including but not limited to:

  • Admissions processes and requirements
  • Information about academic programs and courses
  • Details on student services (e.g., counseling, health services)
  • Campus information (e.g., library hours, parking)
  • Tech support and troubleshooting
  • General inquiries about Okanagan College

While Ask OC Chat is designed to handle commonly asked questions and simple tasks efficiently, it may have limitations with highly complex or detailed inquiries. As per best practice, provide appropriate context to the question like location and domestic/ international student. For complex queries, Ask OC Chat will attempt to provide the best possible response or escalate the query to an Okanagan College staff.

Ask OC Chat strives to provide accurate and helpful information. However, as it is continuously learning and improving, there may be instances where the information provided is not entirely accurate or up to date. Users are encouraged to double-check critical information and seek assistance from human staff for complex issues.

Ask OC Chat is primarily designed to provide information and answer questions. It does not have the capability to make decisions or perform actions that affect your student records, academic status, or any official college processes. For actions requiring authorization or personal decision-making, users will be directed to the appropriate Okanagan College staff, process, or systems.

If Ask OC Chat cannot provide a satisfactory answer, it can escalate the conversation to a human agent, who will assist you further. Alternatively, you can contact the appropriate department directly or visit the Okanagan College website for more detailed information.

As with any AI-based system, there is a risk of receiving incorrect or incomplete information. Ask OC Chat is continuously updated to minimize these occurrences, but users should verify critical information and use it as a supplemental tool alongside other OC resources.

Yes, feedback is strongly encouraged to help improve the quality of responses provided by Ask OC Chat. You can help us improving Ask OC Chat through the following:

  • Use the in-chat feedback option: After receiving a response from Ask OC Chat, you can use the thumbs-up or thumbs-down icons to rate the answer. This helps us understand what works well and what needs improvement.
  • Use the feedback form: Ask OC Chat Feedback form is a dedicated feedback form available for Okanagan College users who wish to provide more detailed feedback or report specific technical issues.
  • Email us: You can also reach out to us by emailing ITprojects@okanagan.bc.ca. We’ll be happy to assist with any issues or concerns you may have!

If you receive incorrect information, please use the feedback feature to notify us. The project team will review the feedback to correct any inaccuracies and improve the assistant's responses in the future. If that occurs, please use these following channels:

  • Use the in-chat feedback option: After receiving a response from Ask OC Chat, you can use the thumbs-up or thumbs-down icons to rate the answer. This helps us understand what works well and what needs improvement.
  • Use the feedback form: Ask OC Chat Feedback form is a dedicated feedback form available for Okanagan College users who wish to provide more detailed feedback or report specific technical issues.
  • Email us: You can also reach out to us by emailing ITprojects@okanagan.bc.ca. We’ll be happy to assist with any issues or concerns you may have!

Ask OC Chat can autodetect and respond in multiple languages to accommodate our diverse student body. The supported languages include Chinese (Simplified), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, and Turkish. This feature ensures that students can receive assistance in the language they are most comfortable with.

Disclaimer: This multilingual feature is currently in preview mode, and the experience may vary. English is the primary language that Ask OC Chat works best in, and users may encounter inconsistencies or limitations when using other languages.

Ask OC Chat is not logging any personally identifiable information (PII) during interactions. This approach helps to ensure your privacy and the security of your data. However, please note that this may change as we continue to develop and integrate more systems to enhance the chatbot's capabilities. Any updates to data handling practices will be communicated to users, ensuring transparency and compliance with privacy regulations.

Disclaimer

Ask OC Chat is a tool to provide general information and support for Okanagan College students and staff. While it strives to provide accurate and helpful responses, it is still learning and may not always have the correct answer. For critical or sensitive matters, users are advised to consult directly with Okanagan College staff or refer to official college resources. Use of Ask OC Chat implies acceptance of these terms. Questions, comments, or feedback about this project?  Please reach out ITprojects@okanagan.bc.ca or, log feedback on the chatbot, click here.