Pulse — reading cohort morale
Pulse is how a cohort says it is going, drawn from the weekly check-in. It is the single best early read on whether a group is settling or struggling. Used well, it tells you where to look before a problem reaches the inbox.
What it measures
Each week, students answer one check-in. Their responses roll up into four buckets (broadly: thriving, finding their feet, wobbling, and asking for a hand) and Pulse shows the distribution across the cohort, week by week, alongside how many people responded.
It is aggregate only. Pulse is a picture of a group, never a list of individuals.
Read the curve, not the number
The most common mistake is reacting to a single week. Treat one quiet week as noise. What matters is direction over time.
- A two-week slide across the cohort is a signal worth acting on.
- A dip that lines up with a public holiday or an exam block is usually expected.
- A response count falling away can matter as much as the sentiment itself.
Look at the shape across weeks, then decide whether it warrants a briefing, an event, or a closer look.
Why small groups disappear
When a slice of the cohort is small, Pulse hides the breakdown rather than show it. A number only appears once at least five students sit behind it.
This five-student floor is deliberate. With fewer than five, a percentage could point at a specific person, which would turn an aggregate wellbeing read into individual surveillance. The wall is what lets the check-in stay honest: students trust it because no one can be singled out of it.
Reach, briefly
The companion view, Reach, shows which content students actually engage with (quick links, events, answers). It stays empty until there are at least twenty-five interactions in the window, for the same reason as the Pulse wall: thin data invites over-reading. Once it fills in, it tells you what is landing and what is being missed.
Taking it to leadership
Pulse exports a board report (a full history you can hand to leadership) so the cohort story travels without anyone needing console access.
The fastest answer is usually one question away.