An intelligent bridge to real people and services, providing a guiding hand in instances where bureaucracy breaks belonging.
Student Compass
How AI can help students navigate academic misconduct, extenuating circumstances, appeals and complaints without replacing human support.
A White Paper by Pete Quinn
Developing a Student Compass AI Character
Student Compass can be populated with each university’s own policies, guidance and support information.
It can also include First 90 Days content: practical guidance for students as they settle into university life and learn where to go for support.
This content is developed with writers and student services specialists. It is not generic student advice. It is designed to be grounded, useful and adaptable to each institution.
Core themes include:
✓ Arriving and settling in.
✓ Homesickness and early uncertainty.
✓ Understanding timetables, systems and expectations.
✓ Talking to tutors and using support services.
✓ Managing workload and academic pressure.
✓ Making friends and finding a sense of belonging.
✓ Money, independence and practical life skills.
✓ Alcohol, drugs, consent and looking out for others.
✓ Mental health and knowing when to ask for help.
The content can be adapted to reflect each university’s tone, services and student population.
It can also include First 90 Days content: practical guidance for students as they settle into university life and learn where to go for support.
This content is developed with writers and student services specialists. It is not generic student advice. It is designed to be grounded, useful and adaptable to each institution.
Core themes include:
✓ Arriving and settling in.
✓ Homesickness and early uncertainty.
✓ Understanding timetables, systems and expectations.
✓ Talking to tutors and using support services.
✓ Managing workload and academic pressure.
✓ Making friends and finding a sense of belonging.
✓ Money, independence and practical life skills.
✓ Alcohol, drugs, consent and looking out for others.
✓ Mental health and knowing when to ask for help.
The content can be adapted to reflect each university’s tone, services and student population.
The First 90 Days
Download the free white paper, with No charge. No registration required.
A guiding hand, not handholding. It points students to people and then steps back. It never drafts statements, weighs evidence or predicts outcomes.
What is it?
Handing the student to the right person in a timely manner is the intended outcome, not a fallback.
It is a specialist layer where it matters most, not a general-purpose platform.
It acknowledges distress warmly, never lingers when a human is needed, and never asks a student to relive their story twice.
not by IT or digital services.
Paid student interns shape its content, tone and even its name, which gives it credibility a staff-only product can't match.
Its responses are audited so that a hesitant question gets the same clear routing as a confident one.
It is designed to avoid the risk of students using AI for companionship; HEPI found around 15% of students already do this.
It sits alongside whole-institution AI tools rather than forcing an either/or procurement decision.
The People Behind Student Compass
I founded Marshall ACM in 2002, later rebranded as Marshall E-Learning. Over two decades, the business became one of the UK’s leading diversity and inclusion e-learning providers, later expanding into safeguarding, mental health, wellbeing and leadership development.
David Stewart Marshall
Pete Quinn is an accessibility and inclusion consultant, mentor, speaker, and trainer with over 15 years of experience. He drives meaningful, sustainable change and advances inclusivity across organisations. He is former Director of Student Support at York, Head of Disability at Oxford and former AMOSSHE Executive Member
Pete Quinn
James is a Professor of Politics at Royal Holloway, University of London. His research focuses on youth participation, civic engagement, and sustainability. He advises organisations such as the UN and the Greater London Authority.
Co-Production
Student employability is central to the project. With each partner institution, we plan to take on students to help develop and test the content, giving them practical experience in AI, accessible communication and service development.
Professor James Sloam
Student Compass v General Ai Platform
Student Compass
Whole-institution AI platform
Purpose
✓ Reduce confusion and connect students to the right human
Answer routine queries accurately and at scale
Scope
✓ Deliberately narrow: misconduct, extenuating circumstances, appeals, complaints and a few other journeys that affect belonging
Broad: timetabling, password resets, programme information, enrolment and more
Integrations
✓ A focused layer that can sit alongside existing systems
Spans the VLE, student portal, ticketing system and IT helpdesk
Role
✓ A guiding hand, a bridge to real people and services
A single AI layer over most student-facing operations
Intended outcome
✓ Handover to a named person or service
Query resolved through self-service
Measure of success
✓ The student understands what happens next and reaches the right human with less friction
Fewer support tickets, lower cost to serve, accurate routine answers
Time spent with the AI
✓ Not a goal; it steps back once the student is connected
Resolving queries quickly and in volume is the goal
Handling distress
✓ Any sign of distress, risk or confusion defaults to a human
Varies by platform
Owned by
✓ Student services and the Students' Union, jointly
Typically IT or digital services
“Student Compass handles the moments that matter most, alongside the platform that handles everything else."
Get Involved, Keep Up-to-date
If you would like to get involved with the co-production or simply want to be kept up-to-date, please complete the form below.