How PROVUS works

Four volumes. One governance backbone.

PROVUS is built as four named volumes that share a single governance model. Each volume serves a clear audience. Summit is where they meet. Below: how the system fits together, what each volume does, and the shared services that make them work as one platform.

§ Architecture, at a glance

The diagram below is the system. Subject to your sign-off — based on the architecture documented in PROVUS System Architecture Overview.

Axis governs all three other volumes. Guild, Rise, and Summit serve distinct audiences. Shared services support every layer.

Axis. Where institutions operate.

Volume tone — institutional navy · #1A2547

Axis is the governance layer that gives every other surface its legitimacy. Without Axis, nothing on PROVUS would have meaning — because nothing would have been approved by anyone authorised to approve it.

What Axis does

Manages institutional governance structure
Records who is authorised to approve what
Holds the audit trail of every approval decision
Enforces suspension and withdrawal in real time
Connects to institution identity providers (SSO, SAML)

Who uses Axis

Approvers — staff with authority to approve advisers, programs
Governance teams — quality assurance, compliance, audit
System administrators — managing institutional configuration
Senior leadership — visibility over what's been approved

Guild. Where advisers deliver.

Volume tone — slate teal · #3D6E66

Guild is the working space of advisers — career counsellors, educators, mentors, coaches, wellbeing professionals. Whether employed by an institution or practising independently, advisers manage their availability, engagements, and reflections here.

What Guild does

Adviser profiles, governed by scope of practice
Availability management, controlled by the adviser
Engagement workflow — requests, sessions, records
Private adviser notes (the adviser's, not the institution's)
Movement between institutions, with verified history

Who uses Guild

Advisers — employed by institutions, on the institutional path
Advisers — practising independently, on the independent path
Supervisors — peer review, mentoring of other advisers
Adviser-coordinators — staff managing adviser networks

Rise. Where students and career seekers find what's on offer.

Volume tone — warm taupe · #8C6F5C

Rise is the discovery surface — and the most deliberately constrained part of PROVUS. Students browse only what an institution stands behind right now. No ranking algorithm. No promoted results. No "you might also like."

What Rise does

Discovery of approved programs, services, and advisers
Context-based filtering (subject, level, format, location)
Visibility tied to current approval status
Engagement requests to advisers
A single, honest interface — no funnel mechanics

Who uses Rise

Current and prospective students — choosing what to study
Career seekers — exploring what's next, supported
Career changers — finding pathways, mentors, guidance
Mid-career professionals — wellbeing, development, transition

Summit. Where everyone meets.

Volume tone — coral sunset · #D04A3F · the documented cultural exception

Summit is the shared meeting place for bounded programs — induction cohorts, mentoring schemes, employer partnerships, leadership initiatives. It's also the catalogue surface where students see programs and services offered across institutions, advisers, and partners.

What Summit does

Catalogue of approved programs and services across all institutions
Cohort workspace — discussion, materials, schedules
Sponsor and partner participation in bounded programs
Time-bound governance — programs have a beginning and an end
Cross-institutional coordination for shared cohorts

Who uses Summit

Students — browsing programs, participating in cohorts
Advisers — delivering cohort programs, hosting events
Institutions — publishing programs, governing cohorts
Partners — sponsoring or co-designing bounded initiatives

§ Shared services

Four services every volume relies on. Built once, used everywhere.

The volumes are visible surfaces. Behind them, four shared services handle the work that needs to be consistent everywhere — identity, audit, privacy, and eventing.

Identity

Who is who, verified. Connects to institutional identity providers (SSO, SAML) so people don't manage another set of credentials.

Audit

Every governance decision recorded once, queryable everywhere. Approvals, suspensions, engagements, withdrawals — one consistent trail.

Privacy

First-party analytics only. No third-party trackers, no behavioural retargeting. Data minimisation by default, not by exception.

Eventing

When an institution suspends an adviser, every volume knows immediately. Volumes stay in sync because they share the same state.

§ Want the detail?

This page is the overview. The architecture documents go deeper.

If you're evaluating PROVUS from a technical or governance perspective, full documentation is available on request — system architecture, data model, eventing model, non-functional requirements, security posture. We provide it to institutions and partners during onboarding.

Request documentation