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Early identification of students at risk of dropout, follow-up expert counseling, and clear, welcoming communication. These are the key areas targeted by the new cross-border project titled KOMPASS. The University of West Bohemia in Pilsen (UWB) is working on it jointly with Germany's Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule Amberg-Weiden (OTH). The system aims to help those facing a potential crisis who need support but do not seek it out on their own.

"It often happens that students leave the university not due to a lack of ability, but because they find themselves alone in a difficult life situation and do not know who to turn to. For us, KOMPASS is not about data collection, but about proactive support at the moment it is needed most," explained project manager Adéla Klimková from the UWB Counseling Centre.

Yet data plays a crucial role in the project. Its foundation relies on a predictor - an analytical tool that uses selected data from the study administration system to identify risk and highlight the need for support before a student falls out of the system entirely. Indicators for spotting a potential crisis can include exam results, credit counts, or study interruption records. UWB has lacked an early warning system of this kind until now.

OTH Amberg-Weiden has been using a similar digital early detection tool for roughly five years, but it needs to streamline its communication and counseling practices toward students. Thanks to its STUDENTS@RISK system, the Bavarian university can gather relevant data to identify who needs assistance. However, it is still searching for ways to reach at-risk students more clearly and engage them more effectively with the counseling services on offer.

This is precisely where the new three-year KOMPASS project comes in. It connects the expertise of both universities - combining data analytics and methodology on one side with refined counseling services on the other. The goal is to create a functional, long-term, sustainable model that can also be adopted by other higher education institutions along the Czech-Bavarian border. UWB will begin pilot testing the early warning system in 2027, while counseling and communication methodologies will simultaneously be developed at both partner institutions.