Slate AI: Designing a Smarter Counselor Dashboard
- 22 Aug 2025
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Slate AI: Designing a Smarter Counselor Dashboard
- Updated 22 Aug 2025
- 2 minute read
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This article is part of our Slate AI series, each focused on a single, high-impact prompt, why it works, how to take it further, and how to make AI a partner in your process.
The prompt
“What should I include in a dashboard for counselors to help them stay focused on what matters?”
This prompt might seem technical at first, a request about layout or data, but it’s actually a deeper question about decision-making, time, and clarity.
It’s role-based: this isn’t a generic dashboard, it’s for counselors.
It’s impact-driven: “stay focused on what matters” puts outcomes above outputs.
It’s insight-oriented: the goal isn’t to show everything, it’s to show the right things.
Why it works
This is a great example of using Slate AI to improve what users see and how they work.
Here’s why the prompt lands:
Clear Focus: It narrows to a specific user persona: counselors. That allows the AI to tailor recommendations for outreach, tracking, and daily priorities.
Strategic Framing: Rather than asking “What should be on a dashboard?”, you’re asking what helps counselors focus. That’s a better bar.
Purposeful Language: Phrases like “stay focused on what matters” invite prioritization. This is a prompt about judgment, not just layout.
What Slate AI might say
The response might look like this:
“A counselor dashboard should include:
Upcoming events tied to their territory or caseload
Applications in review, incomplete, or nearing deadlines
Key engagement metrics: unread messages, portal activity, last touchpoint
Reminders or flags for students at risk of melt
A personalized to-do list based on rules and populations
Travel history and upcoming travel plans (if applicable)”
It may also suggest grouping content into collapsible cards, color-coding urgency, or making metrics interactive.
The power of a follow-up
Turn insight into structure with a second prompt:
“Can you organize those recommendations into sections and layout ideas for a Slate dashboard?”
From there, Slate AI might return:
A top tile row: high-level stats (e.g., # of admits, unread messages)
A middle section: filtered lists (e.g., students missing documents)
A bottom row: counselor resources, quick links, and reminders
You’re now designing with intention, and your dashboard becomes a tool, not just a display.
Try reframing it
You can take the same concept and look through a different lens:
“...for first-year counselors during yield” | Prioritizes post-admit actions |
“...with indicators that help prevent melt” | Adds predictive metrics |
“...for daily use on mobile” | Forces simpler, more visual layout |
“...that surfaces blind spots or overlooked students” | Turns it into a safety net, not just a snapshot |
Each shift invites the AI to answer from a new strategic angle.
Prompt template
“What should I include in a dashboard for [user] to help them [goal]?”
Some options to try:
Communications staff | monitor campaign performance |
Directors | track funnel health and team performance |
Student success coaches | identify students at risk |
Application reviewers | streamline decision-making |
Your turn
Here are a few follow-up prompts you can try:
“What indicators would help counselors know which students to prioritize today?”
“Suggest dashboard content that helps new staff understand their caseload quickly.”
The best dashboards display data and guide you toward actionable steps. Use Slate AI to help you build one that works with your team, not just for them.
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