Starfish EARLY ALERT™ Overview

Early Warning and Student Tracking System

Starfish EARLY ALERT is an early warning and student tracking system that makes it possible for your institution to easily identify at-risk students before they withdraw. What otherwise is a labor-intensive, manual process, the system collates and assesses student performance information automatically submitted by instructors, advisors and campus staff—giving you a holistic view of which students are struggling.

Know Which Students Need Help

Academic performance is the best indicator that a student is possibly in trouble. Identifying at-risk students in time to be effective requires that you use the information the first day there is a sign of a problem.

By working with your course management system (e.g., Blackboard, WebCT, Angel), Starfish EARLY ALERT automatically raises a flag for a student based on grades, assignment tardiness and online activity, according to thresholds that are centrally set by your institution.

At the same time, not every instructor uses course management systems and not every problem is academic. So, Starfish EARLY ALERT enables individual instructors, advisors, coaches and residence hall directors to notify you of concerns that they observe, such as missing class, change in appearance, or disruptive behavior.

Immediately Communicate Concerns to the Right People

Communicating information about a student requires a system that is both immediate and secure. Starfish EARLY ALERT sends real-time email notifications to the individual(s) that you have specified based on the type of flag raised and the recipient's role in relation to the student. In addition, Starfish EARLY ALERT addresses FERPA without inappropriately limiting communication.

Know What’s Working and What Isn’t

How do you know if you have the right services to assist the diverse set of students enrolled in your institution? The best administrative decisions are made when your institution can analyze relevant information. Starfish EARLY ALERT positions your institution to know what’s working and where there is an opportunity for change. By being able to assess student outcomes and compare against benchmark institutions, you are able to generate actionable plans for continuous improvement.