As an Ambassador, you'll usually be having warm, straightforward conversations - but occasionally a message might make you feel uneasy, or raise a genuine welfare concern. This article covers how to spot those moments and what to do about them, both in Chat and in Community.
What to look out for
Most conversations won't need any special handling, but keep an eye out for:
Distress signals - a prospect mentioning they're struggling, unsafe, or in crisis.
Inappropriate requests - being asked for personal contact details, social media, or to meet off-campus.
Oversharing of personal information - either theirs or a request for yours.
Off-topic or uncomfortable questions that have nothing to do with university life.
Persistent or pushy behaviour that continues after you've tried to redirect it.
If something feels off, trust that instinct. You don't need to be certain something is wrong to report it, flagging it is always the right call.
What to do immediately
Don't try to resolve it yourself. It's not your job to manage a safeguarding concern, it's the responsibility of your Unibuddy admin or university supervisor.
Don't reply if the message feels serious or unsafe. Report it instead.
For milder cases - like a request for your number, or an off-topic question - a polite redirect is usually enough. We'll cover this in the 'Handling difficult conversations' track of this training programme.
📽️ Watch the short video below to see more on reporting and blocking on Unibuddy Chat, and Unibuddy Community.
📖 Prefer to learn by reading? Scroll down to read instead.
🪜 Scroll to the bottom of the page for the next module in your Ambassador Training.
Reporting and blocking in Unibuddy Chat
Every message you receive - via the Unibuddy Ambassador app, or in your desktop Ambassador dashboard - has an exclamation mark icon in the top right corner. This lets you report and block a prospect directly:
Click the exclamation mark icon.
Select a reason for blocking from the list of options.
Add more detail in the text box - we recommend doing this to give your supervisor as much context as possible.
Click "Submit".
Once submitted, the conversation disappears from your inbox and the student can no longer contact you. Details are automatically sent to your Unibuddy admin, who can escalate further if needed. The student is not told that you have reported them.
What happens to a blocked student: whether blocked directly by an admin, or following a confirmed ambassador report, the student loses access to their inbox conversations and can no longer view other students, staff, or Content. They'll see an "Oops! Page Not Found" message if they try.
Reporting in Community
Community has its own reporting tools, for both direct messages and posts/replies within a Space.
Reporting a direct message:
Open Community.
Go to your Inbox and open your message history with that user.
On desktop, their profile is visible on the right-hand side. On mobile, tap the three dots in the top right to access it.
Select Report user.
Choose a reason and add a comment for context.
Reporting a user:
Open Community.
Tap on the user in a Space or in your Connect tab.
Scroll to the bottom of their profile.
Select Report user.
Choose a reason and add a comment for context.
Remember
You can block a student on Chat at any time - you don't need to wait for something serious. If a conversation feels unpleasant or makes you uncomfortable, that's reason enough.
Reporting isn't about getting someone in trouble unnecessarily, it puts the right information in front of the people whose job it is to act on it.
Your wellbeing matters just as much as the student's experience. If a conversation has unsettled you, let your supervisor know - you don't have to just move on from it.