Talk to Tripp – Student Early Alert Texting Chatbot
Did you know that SUNY Niagara supports our students with an early alert texting chatbot called “Talk to Tripp”?
Tripp the Thunderwolf texts students with a cellphone during key points in the the semester to check-in and also provide them with important updates.
By reaching out directly to students every 7-10 days we uncover barriers that can be resolved before they turn into an issue that presents itself in the classroom by elevating the student voice.
Student responses are fed into a dashboard where Success Coaches and other support staff are flagged and provide outreach. Students can also ask Tripp questions 24/7/365.
This can include:
- Academic Engagement (self-Efficacy, Perceived Course Relevancy, Course Engagement)
- Wellness (Emotional Wellbeing, Physical Wellbeing, Lifestyle)
- Financial Distress ( Food or Housing Insecurity, Supporting Family, Balancing Work & School, Tuition)
- Engagement (Sense of Belonging, Support System, Morale)
Why is this important:
- Students who engaged with Tripp persisted at a higher rate than students who did not (14% higher)
- Students who responded to the prompt “Do you fell like you belong?” with a “No” persisted at a 39% rate from fall 2025-spring 2026.
- Students who responded “Very stressed” to the fall “How do you feel about your personal finances?” prompt persisted at a 57% rate to spring 2026.
The retention communication plan and outreach was updated for this fall semester to account for this new information and these metrics to reach out in a proactive manner based upon how students responded to prompts to be effective and timely with campus-wide support.