In Practice
  

	Duquesne University After reviewing several commercial solutions designed to facilitate advising and/or scheduling services, Duquesne University’s Palumbo-Donahue Schools of Business adopted Starfish CONNECT in January 2009. In addition to its ease of use and comprehensive feature set, Starfish CONNECT was selected because of its integration into the institution’s course management system (i.e., Blackboard). Students and advisors have greeted Starfish CONNECT with tremendous enthusiasm, citing the system’s easy accessibility through Blackboard (single log-in), personalized student and advisor experiences, ability for students to identify reasons for appointments and ability to select from various locations for a meeting (phone, office, webinar, chat). Additionally, system reporting is helping advisors make changes to advising processes and the type, as well as the amount of, information provided. More».
	Idaho Digital Learning Academy IDLA selected Starfish to help identify students who are struggling with their coursework or need additional services to help them be successful. Given the asynchronous class style of online courses in which students are logging in at a time that best meets their personal schedule, classroom tracking can be difficult and time consuming. Starfish will immediately notify the appropriate IDLA team members (e.g., teacher, site coordinator, parents, even the student) when a student has not logged in to the course management system (e.g., Blackboard) for more than seven days. In addition, Starfish will communicate a similar concern when a student receives two consecutive progress reports with a score of less than 70 percent. More».
	South Arkansas Community College South Arkansas Community College (SouthArk) has sought to empower its faculty and advising staff by providing tools that monitor and communicate a student’s performance. As a result, SouthArk adopted Starfish to enable faculty and advisors to easily inform each other of any student concerns they have and then manage the follow-on intervention process. Faculty and advisors access Starfish through a link in Blackboard, the institution’s course management system. From there, they can easily raise a flag about a student, invite the student to schedule an appointment or direct the student to the appropriate support resources. They are also able to keep notes about their interactions with the student and to share these securely with other faculty and advisors. SouthArk is using the Starfish system to track key indicators of at-risk students. Specifically, when a student is absent for a few days, a faculty member can raise a flag that immediately notifies the academic advisor and retention coordinator. They can also use the system to communicate when a possible student-life interference (e.g., a transportation problem) is identified or if a student presents signs of having the potential to inflict self-harm or to harm others. In addition, the system will automatically communicate concerns when a student’s grade average drops below a C. More>>
	The University of Chicago Streamlining student and faculty interaction is a priority for The University of Chicago. With a clear commitment to student achievement, the university made available for the last three years a locally developed scheduling system that enabled students to secure dedicated appointment times with their instructors. Although the system was valuable, the community desired more advanced functionality from the proprietary system, including the ability to synchronize appointments with their electronic personal calendars (e.g., in Microsoft Outlook). The institution deployed Starfish CONNECT to reinforce their commitment to student engagement and success. More».
	Tulsa Community College While benefiting all students throughout the institution’s four campuses and extensive distance learning program, Starfish will be used to monitor the performance of TCC students who are part of the Achieving the Dream initiative and the Tulsa Achieves program. For example, Starfish EARLY ALERT will automatically and securely notify the appropriate instructor or advisor on campus when a student turns in an assignment more than seven days late, or when a student’s grade average drops below 70 percent. Starfish CONNECT will enable all students, including those at risk, to conveniently find, over the Internet, advisors and tutors who can help them and schedule appointment times that meet their busy schedules. More».