How Advisely Works
A guide for teachers, counselors, and parents on how our AI course advisor assists students at The Village School.
What is Advisely?
Advisely is an AI-powered course planning assistant built specifically for The Village School. It helps students explore course options, understand prerequisites, compare IB and AP paths, and think through their four-year academic plan — all grounded in our school's actual curriculum guide.
It is designed to supplement, not replace, conversations with counselors. Advisely encourages students to verify recommendations with their counselor before making final decisions.
How it works
1. Grounded in the curriculum guide
The official "2025-2026 HS Curriculum Guide" is processed into searchable knowledge chunks. When a student asks a question, Advisely retrieves the most relevant sections and uses them to answer accurately. You can browse the full knowledge base on the Info Bank page.
2. Remembers each student
Advisely builds a lightweight memory of each student over time — their grade, path (IBDP, IB Courses, AP), interests, completed courses, and stated goals. This keeps conversations personal without requiring the student to re-explain themselves every session. Students can view and clear their stored memory at any time.
3. Conversational guidance
Instead of static menus, students interact through natural conversation. They can ask broad questions (“What should I take junior year?”) or specific ones (“Is AP Chem or IB Chem SL harder?”) and get structured, thoughtful recommendations.
4. Accuracy safeguards
The AI is instructed to reference only actual Village School offerings, never fabricate course codes, and to ask clarifying questions rather than guess. When the curriculum guide doesn't fully answer a question, it tells the student to follow up with a counselor.
5. Privacy
Each student account is private. Conversations, memories, and data are not shared between students. Passwords are hashed with bcrypt. No student data is sold, shared, or used for any purpose outside of improving that student's own experience.
For teachers and counselors
- View what students can see: The Info Bank shows you the entire knowledge base Advisely draws from. If something is missing or outdated, let us know.
- Confidentiality: Advisely is not a replacement for counseling conversations that require confidentiality, judgment, or understanding a student's personal context. Please continue to direct students to you for major decisions.
- Feedback: Students see periodic in-app surveys. If you notice Advisely giving inaccurate or unhelpful advice, please share examples with the team.
Who built this
Advisely was built by students in the Machine Intelligence Club at The Village School, in affiliation with the UH Bauer Human-Centered AI Institute.