AI Translation and Captioning Emerge at College Graduations

This year's commencement season highlighted the use of artificial intelligence translation and real-time captioning as one of the fastest-growing trends in higher education event technology.

While educators continue to debate how AI should be used in classrooms, Wordly, a live AI translation and captioning provider, has seen rapid adoption of its platform during commencement ceremonies. The trend comes as U.S. campuses are becoming more global and institutions look for scalable ways to support multilingual students, families, and guests during major campus events.

According to the Institute of International Education's Open Doors Report, there were approximately 1.2 million international students on college and university across the country during the 2024/2025 academic year, reflecting growing linguistic and cultural diversity that is driving stronger demand for real-time language access at milestone events.

"Commencement is one of the most meaningful moments in a student's life," said Lakshman Rathnam, founder and CEO of Wordly, in a statement. "Every family should be able to experience it in real time, in a language they understand. What we're seeing is an increasing number of institutions using AI translation as practical infrastructure for inclusion."

Industry data shows demand for AI translation in higher education has doubled over the past year as colleges and universities seek more scalable ways to support increasingly diverse campus communities. Institutions across North America, including the State University of New York at Oswego, Mount Saint Mary's University, and the University of New Mexico are among those that have implemented AI translation and captioning for large-scale campus events, including commencement ceremonies.

SUNY Oswego first introduced AI-powered translation and captioning at its December 2024 commencement ceremony and has since expanded its use to additional campus events. Attendees access real-time captions and translations through a QR code. Usage has steadily increased as awareness has grown, demonstrating demand for more inclusive graduation experiences. At the December 2024 commencement, only four people used the translation service. That number has grown to an average of 50 users, and as many as 70.

Beyond commencement ceremonies, universities are increasingly extending Wordly across orientation programs, student advising sessions, parent and family engagement events, campus-wide town halls, faculty meetings, and virtual gatherings. SUNY Oswego has used a separate captioning service for livestreams, Last fall, 20 out of approximately 1,000 SUNY Oswego freshmen used the services at a welcome ceremony. The school has also considered offering translation and captions at sporting events and in class, but has yet to do so.

Higher education institutions cite several factors driving adoption, including improved accessibility for multilingual communities, increased participation and engagement, scalability across dozens of languages, operational efficiency compared with coordinating multiple interpreters, and ease of access through attendees' personal devices without the need for headsets or specialized equipment.

Even some institutions that already provide human translators, like the University of Southern California, have begun using AI translation services to help fill gaps. More than 700 orientation attendees have taken advantage of USC';s AI captioning and translation services since 2023, according to Wordly, which also said that the USC community has used translation services in at least 18 languages, including Korean, Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Persian, and Tagalog.