Hello Fruition
The new changes are to encourage students to search for an answer to their question first, and if you don't find it, then to contact your instructor.
When clicking on the Find Answers button in the Help Center of your Student Portal, I performed a search on "Desktop Publishing" as an example. The Help Center returned a popular search result. If it doesn't answer my question, I can now contact my instructor by using the "Ask a Question" or start a "Chat."
You will always be able to contact your instructor (or Student Services) from your Student Portal. We've only added the ability to search for answers as a "help-yourself" feature. Another new feature is that you can now add attachments when you submit your question to your instructor.