Spartans,

University Advancement’s Special Event Department and SJSU IT are pleased to announce the introduction of a Commencement AI Agent, SJSUGrad. This collaborative effort, aligning with SJSU’s AI Everywhere strategy, will help our campus community navigate commencement while reducing workload for University Advancement. 

Commencement brings a surge of questions about parking, seating, ceremony times, and more. SJSUGrad is available 24/7, either by text or on the web, to provide immediate, appropriate answers, ensuring students, families, and guests have the information they need. 

Accessing SJSUGrad is easy for both graduates and guests. To begin, simply text “commencement” to 23108. SJSUGrad is also available at sjsu.edu/commencement. 

SJSUGrad is specifically trained to handle event-related inquiries, including parking guidance, ceremony location directions, dining options, and ticketing assistance. It relies primarily on pre-approved, university-vetted answers, making it the most reliable, up-to-the-minute FAQ resource available.

Beyond answering questions, the new agent is a critical component of our real-time communication strategy. Event staff or university police can use the SJSUGrad to instantly push time-sensitive notifications to everyone who has interacted with it. This ensures that in the event of any unforeseen changes or necessary updates on the day of the ceremony, our community will receive real-time alerts directly to their phone. 

SJSUGrad will be a critical tool for our graduates, their guests, and commencement staff. As we continue to build on our AI strategy, we look forward to implementing similar impactful agents in high-volume areas across campus.

Thank you,
Doug Hupke
Associate Vice President, Alumni and Community Engagement
University Advancement

Kara Li
Associate Vice President, Strategic Planning and Portfolio Management
Interim Associate CIO
SJSU IT