3 new Naviance features that are transforming college planning | EAB (2024)

By Christy Wirtz

This post was produced in collaboration with our colleagues at PowerSchool.

It’s no secret that engaging Gen Z is a challenge for enrollment teams. But high school leaders, teachers, and counselors are grappling with these same challenges as well—from growing mental health concerns to the rise in students opting out of college.

That’s why PowerSchool’s Naviance, the leading K-12 college, career, and life readiness platform, is launching new features across 2024 to keep students engaged, help them get answers to their most pressing questions, and simplify access to college. Since EAB works closely with PowerSchool through our Intersect partnership, we are eager to learn from these new developments.

Here are the three features we’re most excited about.

1. Introducing PowerBuddy: Game-changing AI to personalize college planning

In the coming months, students with access to Naviance, Schoology, and PowerSchool SIS will also gain access to MyPowerHub, a centralized dashboard that consolidates all relevant information and applications from PowerSchool into a single, streamlined platform. On the dashboard, they will find PowerBuddy—a new AI-powered assistant that will guide students through their college search.

With PowerBuddy, students will be able to:

• Find new colleges that are a good fit based on their interests, GPA, test scores, location, and more
• Research majors
• Narrow down options based on their preferences
• Curate a list
• And more–without ever leaving MyPowerHub

With PowerBuddy, Naviance students can ask an AI-powered assistant to help them conduct research, save schools of interest, curate a list of colleges, and connect with Intersect partners.

Notably, these new tools will also expand the reach of Intersect by giving students the ability to connect with Intersect schools directly within MyPowerHub and PowerBuddy. Additionally, with MyPowerHub open to students from both in and outside of Naviance, the market reach of Intersect is forecasted to grow in every state by August 2024 and beyond.

• 

  3-5%

  forecasted growth in Intersect market share across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. by August 2024

How to Maximize Your Usage of Generative AI

2. A more personalized homepage with “My Future Plan”

While 75 percent of high school juniors who use Naviance intend to go to college (which is 8 percentage points higher than the national average), that still leaves 25 percent who are either unsure of their future plans or are interested in pursuing alternative pathways. At the same time, students and parents are increasingly demanding that educational journeys are interwoven with long-term career planning.

To more holistically support all students with postsecondary planning, PowerSchool has introduced My Future Plan: a more personalized homepage that speaks to their unique goals, interests, and strengths. By helping students consider and work toward more diverse goals, such as enlisting in the military, attending trade school, earning a professional certification, and more, Naviance has become a more inclusive platform.

This also means that students who ultimately do pursue college will do so with more confidence and conviction after having explored a wider range of postsecondary opportunities.

With the introduction of “My Future Plan,” Naviance will begin to personalize the student experience based on their unique goals and interests.

3. Expanding college access with Enroll360 Match integration

With student stress and anxiety at an all-time high, providing students with simpler pathways to college is becoming more and more critical. That’s why Naviance is also partnering with Enroll360 Match to simplify and expand college access to Naviance students nationwide.

This fall, Naviance students will gain the ability to opt-in to receiving admission and scholarship offers without ever submitting an application. Once a student agrees to participate, Naviance will seamlessly transfer the student’s data to Match, which will pre-populate the student’s profile. They will then gain immediate access to the Match platform, where they can add additional information to their profile, review matches, and more.

This fall, Naviance students will gain access to Enroll360 Match, allowing them to receive admission and scholarship offers without ever submitting an application.

Over the next year, this partnership will not only simplify the student experience, but also dramatically expand our Match student audience among more than 6,000 Naviance high schools nationwide.

Why Enroll360 Match’s Partnership with Match Will Transform College Admissions

Naviance’s adoption of new personalization features, AI technology, and integration with Enroll360 Match marks a significant step forward in addressing the challenges that enrollment teams face every day.