Indiana University is using a new artificial intelligence tool to reduce the amount of manual work needed on student transcripts, which will greatly improve the applicants’ experience, with quick and transparent insight into the handling of their records.

The university has begun using Raptor, a SmartPanda tool, to document IU’s receipt of students’ college transcripts, scrape for academic data and import that data into PeopleSoft, the university’s student information system.

The new tool simplifies the entire process, Associate Vice President for University Enrollment Services Sean Kilpatrick said.

“Timely processing of both high school and college transcripts is critical to the admissions process,” he said. “By using Raptor, the process of inputting the necessary data into PeopleSoft can now be done with limited human interaction, allowing my team to focus on quality assurance instead of manual entry and, more importantly, quickly providing applicants with peace of mind their transcripts were received.”

Using Raptor to handle college transcripts began in August 2024.

Meanwhile, Phase I of the high school transcript project launched in November 2024. This work includes the creation of an admissions checklist that students can view in their admission portal.

Phase II of the high school transcript project will allow IU to extract specific data like courses or grades and import it directly into student records. This phase of work is expected to be finished by August 2025.