Your 24/7 AI Assistant in myLoneStar

Students have questions — and they often need answers outside of office hours. Ellis C. is Lone Star College’s AI-powered advising assistant, designed to help students quickly find information about admissions, advising, registration, and other common processes.

Embedded directly within the myLoneStar student portal, Ellis C. provides instant answers to frequently asked questions and helps guide students to the right resources so they can keep moving forward in their academic journey.

Whether you’re exploring how to apply, checking registration steps, or trying to understand your next academic move, Ellis C. is available anytime to help point you in the right direction.

Why Lone Star College Built Ellis C.

Advisors and student services staff are essential partners in student success. However, many student questions involve routine information — such as how to register for classes, resolve a hold, or find the right office for support.

Ellis C. was created to help address these high-volume informational questions so that advisors can focus more time on what matters most: meaningful conversations with students about their goals, academic planning, and success pathways.

By providing quick access to reliable information, Ellis C. helps:

• Improve access to support anytime, day or night
• Reduce wait times for common questions
• Provide consistent answers across the institution
• Allow advisors to spend more time on relationship-centered advising

What Ellis C. Can Help With

Ellis C. can assist students with many common questions, including:

• Admissions steps and application information
• Registration guidance
• Understanding academic advising processes
• Locating student services and resources
• Navigating common student procedures

If a question requires personalized support, Ellis C. will guide students to the appropriate office or advisor for additional help.

How Ellis C. Works

Ellis C. uses artificial intelligence to search approved Lone Star College knowledge resources and provide responses to common student questions.

The system is continuously monitored and improved by a cross-campus team that reviews responses, refines knowledge content, and ensures that information remains accurate and up to date.

This ongoing process helps Ellis C. provide reliable guidance while reflecting the most current institutional information.

By the Numbers

Since launching, Ellis C. has supported tens of thousands of student interactions and continues to improve through ongoing monitoring and refinement.

Early outcomes include:

• 70,000+ student conversations
• Approximately 96% response accuracy on the most common questions
• Thousands of advisor hours saved, allowing staff to focus on deeper student support

These results demonstrate how AI can complement — not replace — the human relationships that are central to student success.

A Collaborative Innovation

Ellis C. was developed through a rapid 90-day cross-campus collaboration involving advising, enrollment services, IT, and data teams.

During development, subject-matter experts analyzed student inquiry patterns, aligned advising processes, and standardized knowledge resources to ensure the chatbot provides consistent and reliable information.

This collaborative approach continues today through ongoing review and improvement.

Looking Ahead

Ellis C. represents an important step in Lone Star College’s commitment to modernizing student support and exploring responsible uses of artificial intelligence in higher education.

Future enhancements under exploration include:

• More personalized responses based on student needs
• Expanded knowledge coverage across student services
• New capabilities that help guide students through common processes
• Generative responses based on natural language questions

As technology evolves, Lone Star College will continue refining Ellis C. to support student success while maintaining strong human connections between students and the advisors who support them.