A practical tool for extending your student support capacity
Annie Student Support Assistant helps student services teams handle more support needs through proactive & automated SMS conversations. Annie provides initial support capabilities to help manage growing student needs while maintaining human touch where it matters most.
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The Challenges Student Services Face
Our work with partner institutions has revealed four recurring challenges:
Growing demand vs. limited resources
Student support needs are rising in both volume and complexity, but resources aren’t keeping pace. Staff often lack the time to provide individual support when it’s most needed.
Reaching those at risk of dropping out
The students who need support most are often the hardest to reach. Traditional outreach methods miss those who don’t check email, skip events, or avoid seeking help.
Limitations in support availability
Students also need support in situations where staff aren’t accessible. Current approaches leave gaps during workplace learning, remote study, and other off-campus scenarios.
Difficulties in articulating needs
Many students struggle to put their concerns into words or don’t know where to start. Too often, the first conversations are spent simply identifying and expressing their real needs.
The Student Support Assistant works alongside your team
Annie Student Support Assistant uses conversational AI to handle initial student interactions, provide first-level support where appropriate, and seamlessly escalate complex cases to your professional staff.
Think of it as a knowledgeable assistant that can handle routine inquiries and initial assessments, freeing your specialists to focus on cases requiring human expertise.
INCREASE SUPPORT CAPACITY
Support responses developed together with you
Together with your support professionals we define approved responses, appropriate support processes, and escalation criteria. Annie can also draw from your institution’s materials directly into its responses. This ensures Annie provides support that aligns with your institution’s approach while maintaining clear boundaries for when to escalate to a professional.
LOW-THRESHOLD PREVENTIVE SUPPORT
Automated check-ins based on your data
Annie can automatically initiate support conversations based on triggers from your student information systems (eg. attendance patterns, academic milestones, or other risk indicators you define). These timely, personalized messages reach students through SMS when they’re most likely to benefit from support.
24/7 AVAILABLE SUPPORT
Students can start conversations anytime
Students can initiate conversations whenever they need through SMS. No apps to download or offices to find. Annie handles initial interactions and routine matters, complex cases are queued for your team with preliminary information already gathered.
HELP STUDENTS EXPRESS THEIR NEEDS
Guided conversations that help students articulate their needs
Annie helps students articulate their concerns by asking thoughtful, context-aware questions. This helps students who struggle to express their needs clearly, providing your team with better context for follow-up.
Partner Institutions
Study Counseling Support
SASKY uses Annie Student Support Assistant to provide students with quick access to counseling support, helping them find the right guidance when challenges arise.
Career Guidance Assistance
OSAO applies Annie in career guidance, offering students timely advice and resources to navigate their future paths.
International Student Guidance
Metropolia leverages Annie to support international students, making information and guidance easily available in their journey.
Student Welfare Support
YSAO integrates Annie Student Support Assistant into student welfare services, ensuring learners receive proactive help for well-being and everyday concerns.
What this means for your institution
More Manageable Workload
Annie handles routine inquiries and frequently asked questions, giving staff more time for complex cases that require professional expertise.
Improved Visibility into Student Needs
Support conversations provide insights into student needs. Your institution gains better visibility into support demand and can identify students who might otherwise never seek help.
Meeting Students on Their Terms
Students get support when they need it (eg. at work placements, during remote study, or in the evenings). Text messaging removes barriers by offering a familiar, low-threshold way to reach out.
Better Prepared Students
Better prepared students Students arrive at appointments having already reflected on and articulated their needs. This preliminary work helps them understand their support need better and makes them feel more confident seeking help.
Annie Student Support Assistant is intended as a tool to extend, not replace, your student support services. Implementations include clear disclaimers about the system's limitations, explicit escalation pathways for crisis situations, and regular review processes to ensure quality and appropriateness of responses.