Starfish Training Minot State University Advisor Role In Starfish Early Alert August 20, 2015 – Main 314 – 8:00, 10:00, 11:00 am Presented by MSU Faculty Senate Ad Hoc Starfish Committee

Why should you use Starfish Early Alert? Tool for Student Success Improve communication among students, faculty, and staff through increased faculty access and efficiency of contacts with students and support services/referrals The campus community can identify which students are at risk and engage with those students, helping lead to their success One of the goals is to increase overall term-to-term persistence rates as well as course completion rates for students Never Attended flags notify students and advisors immediately that there is a problem and class drops can be avoided if immediate action is taken - also Never Attended flags help MSU avoid disbursing federal, state and institutional funding to students who aren’t eligible

User Roles in Starfish Instructors Students Support Staff Raise flags by submitting Early Alert report (twice each semester) or manually throughout the semester Watch for ‘close the loop’ message or clear flags Academic Advisors Receive email notifications from Starfish Contact advisees Record follow up actions in Starfish: Add notes Clear flags Students Receive Early Alert email notifications with instructor comments Contact instructor, advisor, or appropriate support office POWER Advisors, and Veteran’s Services will receive Early Alert flag emails for their students Contact students Support Staff

What makes Starfish most effective A collaborative effort between the instructors, academic advisors and support staff at MSU When all instructors submit early alerts in order for advisors and support staff to see the complete picture and recognize a need for action When advisors and support staff reach out to students and connect them to the appropriate resources When advisors and support staff document in Starfish the actions taken, generating a response to the instructor When instructors receive feedback that action has been taken they are more likely to raise future flags

Emails will go to student, academic advisor and other support staff. Never Attended Flag Example Flags Student has not yet attended any ED 260 class periods, or the other classes associated with the First Year Experience. I have not been able to make contact with her through the email available in Campus Connection. Student has yet to sign into Blackboard, therefore, has not completed any of the online assignments. Emails will go to student, academic advisor and other support staff. These are URGENT messages; your profile email notification settings will be overridden.

Emails will go to student, academic advisor and other support staff. Academic Concern Flag Example Flags I am concerned that you are not fully participating in class. This participation is an essential part of the UNIV 110 course, and will enter into the final grade calculation. Perhaps part of this is due to not being fully prepared for the topics from the assigned readings that we discuss. I hope that you have made the necessary arrangements so that you are completing the reading assignments. You are missing the Applied Assignment 1, which has an impact on your grade. I will accept late work, although more points are taken off the longer you wait to complete the assignment. Currently failing the class based on first assignment. Emails will go to student, academic advisor and other support staff. Notes are required to detail the specific concerns, and these notes are viewable by the students.

Attendance Concern Flag Example Flag Just wanted to inform you that the last day to drop classes is November 10th if you want to withdraw. Otherwise I strongly encourage you to attend class regularly as I am adding more participation points to the course. Attendance for this class is crucial in helping out your grade. Already missed 50 % of the classes in the first two weeks. Sleeping in class and usage of the phone affects the class environment. These behaviors also affect the final "participation" portion of the grade. Class meets once a week. As a Methods class, attendance in this class helps students develop the habits they will need as teachers and for student teaching, namely reporting absences before hand and making arrangements for someone to cover any facilitating or teaching responsibilities the candidate has. The student has not reported ahead of time her absence, has not submitted Reflection assignments, and has not signed up for Facilitating. The level of responsibility candidates display in this class is connected to their recommendations for student teaching. To progress in this class, she will need to apply these practices and dispositions. Emails will go to student, academic advisor and other support staff. Notes are required and these notes are viewable by the students.

Emails will go to student, academic advisor and other support staff. In Danger of D, U or F Flag Example Flag Is not engaging in course work or in class group work and is in danger of failing. Poor performance on first test and no extra credit handed in. In danger of earning a D. Currently earning 47% of points for class (F). Emails will go to student, academic advisor and other support staff. These are URGENT messages; your profile email notification settings will be overridden.

Access Starfish and Find Student List Login to Blackboard and click on the Starfish tab. Click Students in the top frame navigation. Search for a student by either… Typing the student’s name into the Search field Choosing your Connection to them To choose students who have been flagged, select the Tracking tab. Click the plus icon to view flag comments (only available if comments were submitted) Please note: If students have multiple advisors, flags may have previously been resolved and cleared by another advisor.

Correspond with Advisees Reach out to advisees through emails and/or phone calls to provide guidance and support - phone numbers and emails are available in Starfish when viewing students’ flag history Option to send messages in Starfish and request copies of the messages to be emailed to yourself, as well - provide advisees with appropriate on- or off-campus referrals based on concerns A quick listing of campus resources is available at http://www.minotstateu.edu/advising/ campus_resources.shtml

Clear the Flag and Close the Loop Advisor completes action required and clears flag, closing the Loop, trigger an email to the instructor who raised the flag. Hover over the flag icon and click clear

Feedback and Discussion How do you use Starfish Early Alert? What concerns do you have with the system or what prevents you from using Starfish Early Alert? What improvements or additional features would you like to see in Starfish Early Alert? Have any students followed up with you in response to receiving a flag from the Starfish Early Alert system?

Thank You For Making A Difference! “I made a difference for that one.”