Better Student Signposting: Helping Students Find the Right Support Earlier

I now use ChatGPT and Claude for many of the things I would previously have searched for on Google. Not for everything, and not without checking important information, but often because it is quicker to ask a question in my own words than to work out which page or document might contain the answer.

In 2023, a Ukrainian mother and her son, who was 12 at the time, came to live in my house.

Her son and I got to know each other through chess. He has since become considerably taller than me and now uses expressions I do not always understand. He recently told me he was “mogging” me. I am fairly sure this was not intended as a compliment.

One thing I noticed was how naturally he used ChatGPT. Coming to England, with English as his second language, he could use it whenever he needed help understanding something. That might have been language, an unfamiliar expression or any random question where he found my own answers lacking.

What interested me was that the support was there at the moment he needed it. He did not have to read a long document or understand how a particular organisation worked before asking a question. He also told me a bit about how he personalised his interaction with it. That meant the answers had some context specific to him. He would not get that from a normal Google search.

At the same time, I was working on e-learning for students at UK universities, including sensitive subjects such as mental health, consent, disclosure and safeguarding.

Good e-learning has an important role in helping students understand difficult issues before something happens. But I also found myself thinking about the student who needs help now.

A student who is lonely, worried about money, struggling with accommodation or unsure whether something serious has happened is unlikely to begin by completing an online module. They may not know which service they need, or even how to describe the problem clearly.

They may start with something much more direct:

“I am not coping in my flat.”
“I have stopped going to lectures.”
“I saw something happen and I do not know what to do.”

Universities already offer a great deal of student support. The problem is not always a lack of services. It is that students do not necessarily know where to start.

Universities have to organise services properly. There may be teams responsible for wellbeing, disability support, accommodation, finance, academic advice, safeguarding and the Students’ Union.

Students do not usually experience a problem in that way.

A student may be struggling with money, missing classes, feeling isolated and thinking about leaving, all at the same time. Another may be worried about an incident involving another student but unsure whether it is serious enough to report. A student living at home may feel disconnected from university without thinking of themselves as someone who needs support.

Even where the right information exists, it can be difficult to find. It may be spread across webpages, policies, handbooks and contact pages. A student who is already anxious or embarrassed may not know what to search for.

A student worried about harassment may not look for a disclosure policy. A student feeling isolated may not search for information about belonging or engagement. Someone whose money worries are affecting attendance may not know whether to contact finance, wellbeing or their academic department.

Better signposting means starting with the problem as the student describes it, and then helping them find the right support.

I am particularly interested in the first 90 days of university.

Starting university can be exciting, but it also places a lot of pressure on students very quickly. They may be managing their own money for the first time, living with new people, trying to make friends, dealing with academic expectations and feeling pressure to enjoy the experience.

Some students are living away from home for the first time. Others commute and may find it harder to feel part of university life. Overseas students may be trying to understand an unfamiliar system as well as studying in another language.

Not every difficulty becomes a crisis. But small problems can build. Poor accommodation can affect sleep and attendance. Financial problems can lead students to miss teaching or social opportunities. Loneliness can become withdrawal. Uncertainty about a worrying incident can mean a student does nothing at all.

Universities cannot remove every problem from student life. But they can make it easier for students to find help before the situation becomes more difficult.

Student services professionals already deal with difficult and important work. Their time is best used supporting students who need judgement, experience and human understanding.

Yet teams also spend time answering basic enquiries, directing students to forms or passing students from one service to another because they started in the wrong place.

Better signposting should not be a way of putting another barrier between students and staff. It should help students reach the right people more quickly.

It can also help universities understand where students are getting stuck. If large numbers of students are asking about loneliness, accommodation, commuting, money or how to raise concerns, that tells the institution something useful. It may show that information is difficult to find, that guidance needs rewriting, or that there is a gap in support.

Watching a young person use ChatGPT so naturally made me think about whether the same immediacy could help students find university support.

I am not suggesting that universities need an open chatbot that attempts to answer every student problem. I do not think students should be directed into an AI conversation instead of being helped by real people.

The useful idea is much more limited.

Could students ask questions in ordinary language and be directed towards the right approved university information and the right human support? Could a student say, “I feel unsafe in my accommodation,” rather than having to know which part of the university website deals with that issue?

Could a student who is considering leaving be shown the practical and personal support available before making that decision alone?

Could universities identify recurring questions and improve the information they provide as a result?

For this to work properly, any technology used would need to be based on approved institutional content and tested carefully. It would need clear boundaries, particularly around safeguarding, mental health and emergency situations. It should never pretend to replace professional support or judgement.

At the moment, I think many institutions have an AI policy and then leave students on their own to explore the world of AI. I think it would be better if they created their own curated, safer AI space, owned by the institution and shaped around the support they actually provide.

It also needs to be realistic for universities. A useful system should not require a university to bring in expensive consultants simply to keep it running. Universities should remain in control of their own information, their own services and the guidance given to their students.

Helping students reach real support sooner

The more I thought about this, the less interested I became in the idea of an AI product for its own sake.

The issue is much simpler than that.

Students often need help before they know exactly what help they need. They may be worried and may only be able to describe the problem in ordinary, messy language. At that point, effective signposting can help more than an ongoing conversation with AI.

It should make it easier for students to work out where to go next, and easier for staff to deal with the issues that really need their time.

That is where I think technology can be useful. It can help point students towards the people and services that already exist.