Starfish connects students to the information, resources, and services they need to succeed through a personalized success network. It houses an early alert feature that allows faculty to provide students with feedback early in the semester, allowing them ample time to get connected with the support they need.
Starfish helps you ...
Set up your office hours and schedule appointments with students
Raise alerts (flags, kudos, or referrals) for students
Find a “one-stop-shop” organized list of students you are connected to (advisee/advisor relationship, professor/student relationship, etc.)
Send messages to students you are connected to
Getting started is easy!
Log-in through my.newpaltz.edu or use this direct link.
For an introduction to Starfish, watch the Intro to Starfish Series Part 1 & 2, and download the Starfish User Guide for detailed instructions on set-up and basic how-to guides.
The following videos provide a brief introduction to the features of Starfish.
It is recommended that you upload a profile picture on Starfish so students can see your face in their Success Network in Starfish.
Starfish’s online scheduling feature allows students to easily schedule appointments with you online based on when you are available. Starfish connects to your Office 365 Calendar to provide real-time availability. Starfish also automatically updates students if you need to cancel an appointment.
There are multiple methods in which you can document your interactions with students, one of them being documenting your notes after an advising meeting. Whether you've met with your student for a pre-scheduled meeting, a drop-in, or a quick conversation, the instructions in this Meeting Notes guide walk through how to input your meeting notes.
You can send messages to your students via Starfish (individually or in bulk) that go directly to their SUNY New Paltz email. If students send a reply to the message, it will go directly to your SUNY New Paltz email.
For directions on how you can message your students using Starfish, download this Messaging guide.
For directions on how to record attendance, download this Tracking Attendance guide.
Tracking Items
Flagsallow faculty to alert a student and their primary role advisor regarding any concern about the student’s classroom performance. The flag acts as a catalyst for advisors to get in touch with the student, make a plan on how to resolve the concern, and put the student on the path to a successful semester.
The Kudos feature allows faculty to recognize students who are on the right track, who have shown improvement, or deserve acknowledgement. Preliminary research shows kudos to be particularly impactful on students later in the semester (around week nine).
For a detailed list of all tracking items available to faculty/staff along with the corresponding automated messaging, click here.
For directions on how to raise an alert (flag, kudo, referral), download our Raising Tracking Items guide.
For a detailed list of all tracking items available to faculty/staff along with the corresponding automated messaging, click here.
Notes from advisors outreach to students in relation to the flag(s) you raised can be found in the students Starfish profile. View this Accessing Flag Comments guide for instructions on how to access flag comments and/or close-the-loop comments made by the advisor.
To review how the Office of Academic Advising manages flags that are raised, Click Here.
Progress surveys are campus-wide initiatives that allow for the quick collection of faculty feedback about student performance. Progress survey reporting items inform students and their advisor about academic concerns at specific times of the semester.
Faculty will receive instructions when the survey opens, and receive a reminder email prior to the due date if their progress surveys have not been completed. Each progress survey email will include thorough instructions and links to videos.
Enrollment Census/Early Alert Progress Survey
We have combined our Enrollment Census survey and our Early Alert survey to provide a one-stop-shop for faculty to be able to report for census, as well as provide feedback to students and their support team early on in the semester. This allows students room to grow, and get connected with appropriate resources on campus to ensure their success in the course throughout the rest of the semester.
For directions on how to complete a Progress Survey, download this Completing Progress Surveys guide. This includes a walkthrough on completing a BLANK survey (if you are not the primary instructor for a course).
If you have a role on campus in which you will "manage" various tracking items, download this Managing Tracking Items guide.
You can also watch our Faculty and Staff Demo series on closing the loop and clearing flags.
