STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State University’s admissions processing capacity recently got a boost thanks to software that incorporates a bot to screen student transcripts much faster than in the past.
“Bob the Bot,” as it’s affectionately been dubbed, is the KTech DigiScript product that incorporates robotic process automation (RPA), optical character recognition (OCR), artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies in the admissions process. Bob the Bot is able to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week on incoming high school, transfer and graduate student transcripts, freeing up staff to deliver admissions decisions.
Admissions typically receives five to seven transcripts for each high school senior and at least two for transfer and graduate students. As enrollment grows, the volume of transcripts increases exponentially.
“We have dramatically reduced the processing time for incoming transcripts from approximately three weeks to just 24 to 48 hours,” said Clint Jones, Project Coordinator for Tarleton State’s Transformation Realization Office (TRO). “This improvement has not only benefited our incoming applicants with expedited admission decisions but also increased job satisfaction within our undergraduate and graduate admissions offices.”
Prior to the implementation of DigiScript, there was a backlog of three to four weeks while three employees worked on processing transcripts, which increased the time students waited to receive an admission decision. After the software went live in early June, Bob the Bot processed almost 700 transcripts in just 30 days.
“The team was having to come in early and stay late, even working weekends to try to keep up with the volumes in fall of 2023,” said Jo Ann Kern, Director of the TRO. “By the end of September 2024, Bob had processed over 6,200 high school transcripts using the DigiScript software.”
Cindy Hess, Senior Director of Admissions, noted that the number of freshmen admitted for fall 2025 was up about 65% over the prior year in September, when they received over 4,000 high school transcripts, and up 36% in late October. Bob the Bot has made it possible for the team to scale up with the growth in yield from application to admitted.
“Growth requires scalability in our processes, and Bob has brought scalability,” said Kern. “Bob already processed all of the transcripts that were received last night, so we not only do not have a backlog, but we are processing decisions even faster. We will be making decisions tomorrow for those transcripts received last night and processed today.”
She added that Bob is so popular with admissions staff that they have compiled a wish list of additional functional capabilities that they would like for KTech to enable in DigiScript. Tarleton State is evaluating opportunities to leverage other KTech products as well as DigiScript for continuous improvement.
A founding member of The Texas A&M System, Tarleton State University is breaking records — in enrollment, research, scholarship, athletics, philanthropy and engagement — while transforming the lives of approximately 18,000 students in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Bryan and online. For 125 years, Tarleton State has been committed to accessible higher education opportunities for all while helping students grow academically, socially and professionally through programs that emphasize real world learning and address regional, state and national needs.