How the University of Edinburgh strengthened student wellbeing with Symplicity Advocate

Background

The University of Edinburgh is one of the largest and most prestigious higher education institutions in the UK, accommodating approximately 50,000 students. The university provides extensive student support services through its Student Wellbeing Service and Residence Life team, led by Paddy Corscadden and Christopher Tucker.

Challenges

Before implementing Symplicity Advocate, the university faced several challenges in managing student support services:

• Fragmented systems: The student support teams used nine different case management systems, none of which effectively communicated with one another. This led to data silos and inefficiencies in handling complex student cases.
• Decentralisation and lack of information sharing: The Residence Life team dealt with disconnected incident reporting systems, making it difficult to share critical information between teams, especially during crises.
• Manual and outdated processes: Staff were required to manually upload incident reports and manage cases through disparate systems, creating delays and risking data loss.

"We were looking for a single system that we could build on. We had nine different systems and none of them spoke effectively together."

– Paddy Corscadden, Head of Student Wellbeing at the University of Edinburgh

Solution

The University of Edinburgh began using Symplicity Advocate in 2023. The decision was driven by an urgent need for a secure, unified and scalable system to manage increasingly complex student cases, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The university sought a platform that could replace fragmented tools and support long-term, strategic service expansion.

The university chose Symplicity Advocate to address these challenges, primarily because of its proven track record in higher education and robust case management capabilities. Advocate's ability to integrate seamlessly with existing systems, such as Symplicity UniHub, played a key role in the decision.

"It was clear that Symplicity Advocate was a robust product that we could build on without starting from scratch." –Paddy Corscadden

Implementation began with a phased rollout involving around 30 staff members from the Student Wellbeing Service and Residence Life team. This careful approach ensured that the system was tailored to their needs, including customised checklists and a non-clinical risk matrix developed in collaboration with Symplicity.

"We were able to build our normal practice into checklists. It delivers consistency but allows flexibility in how we respond to student needs." – Paddy Corscadden

"We've created a sister service alongside Paddy's team, where we cover all the students that live in university-managed accommodation. It's about having that one centre of information sharing." – Christopher Tucker, Director of Residence Life at the University of Edinburgh. 

Results

Since implementing Symplicity Advocate, the university has reported significant improvements in case management and information sharing:

• Centralised data management: The single system approach has reduced data silos, allowing real-time information sharing among staff.
• Improved response times: The average response time for urgent cases is now 1.6 days, well below the university’s KPI of 7 days.
• Enhanced reporting capabilities: Automated reporting tools now track key metrics, such as referral-to-allocation rates, helping build confidence in the university’s support services.

"Having that one source of information, especially during a crisis, has been an incredible resource. I already had a shorthand with the student before arriving on site."– Christopher Tucker

"The reporting tools are excellent. We can show how quickly we triage and allocate support – and we can back it up with data. Our current metrics are 1.6 days. Our KPI is seven. That’s powerful when showing how responsive we are" – Paddy Corscadden

Conclusion

By implementing Symplicity Advocate, the University of Edinburgh has transformed its student support infrastructure, moving from fragmented systems to a connected, proactive approach to student wellbeing. With robust data reporting, rapid response capabilities, and cross-departmental collaboration, the university now delivers a gold standard in student care.

"If you're looking at the Advocate, speak to practitioners who are using it. That’s what made us confident – the evidence base was there." – Paddy Corscadden

Looking ahead, the university plans to expand usage across additional departments, further embedding Advocate as the central hub for student support. Their journey illustrates how Symplicity Advocate doesn’t just solve today’s problems, it builds a sustainable foundation for tomorrow’s challenges.