Faculty and Staff

News

Graduate students have now been added to Starfish! If you advise registered graduate students, you will be able to access their student "folders" in Starfish for advising notes, meetings, referrals, and more. 

Training and Workshops

EMU phased out the academic advising notes and advising overview screens in my.emich.edu as of April 28, 2023. We are transitioning to Starfish for these utilities. In response, we are offering concise, 1-hour, hands-on workshops for faculty and staff, with a goal of ensuring all faculty and student-facing staff are familiar with using this tool.

Join us while we work together to: 

• Set up your profile
• View student information and create filters
• Document meetings and outreach attempts
• Schedule appointments
• Provide referrals to other support services

 Request individual training or a workshop for your department by emailing [email protected]. 

Reference Material for Faculty and Staff Users

• Respond to a Progress Survey [webinar]
• Email Notifications for Appointments and Tracking [webinar]
• Updating your Profile [webinar]
• Preparing for a Productive Student Meeting [webinar]
• Faculty Features in Starfish [webinar]
• Updating your Office Hours [webinar]
• Closing the Loop and Clearing Flags [webinar]
• Appointment Scheduling Guide [Download Guide at link]
• Getting Started Guide for Faculty and Staff [pdf]

Logging In and Getting Started

• What is Starfish? Expand dropdown
  Starfish retention software facilitates meaningful communication among students, faculty and staff. It provides an easy interface for faculty to provide feedback to students and for all users to actively engage in a student’s opportunities for success at EMU.
• What are the benefits of using Starfish? Expand dropdown
  • Starfish is a central platform that displays a comprehensive student “picture," allowing you to be more informed about how your students are doing overall
  • Raising a flag or kudos for a student will be shared with multiple campus service providers
  • Reaching out to your students has never been easier; simply raise a flag and Starfish sends the appropriate message
• How do I Access Starfish? Expand dropdown
  1. Login to the my.emich.edu Portal using your netID and password
  2. Click on the “Faculty” tab link 
  3. Click on “Starfish”
• How do I get started? Expand dropdown

  View this easy Getting Started Guide for Faculty and Staff for how to set up your profile and learn the basics!

• What is a Progress Survey? Expand dropdown

  Progress surveys keep track of student academic progress in a course throughout the semester. This allows instructors to acknowledge students who are succeeding in a course and report on students who may be struggling. Once an instructor completes a Progress Survey, the University can proactively intervene through outreach from Success Coaches, Academic Advisors, Honors staff and/or Student Athlete Support Services (SASS) staff.

• When are Starfish surveys sent out? Expand dropdown

  There are a total of three times/semester when instructors will be asked to provide feedback within the Starfish system. The first one will happen toward the end of the second week of classes and will only ask for you to identify students who have not shown up to any class sessions (“no shows”) for the first week.

  After this, you will be asked twice/semester to complete Progress Surveys in Starfish. These surveys are a simple way to provide academic feedback about the students in each of your classes. The first progress survey will typically be sent out around week six of the semester and the second around week 11, and each will be open for one and a half to two weeks.  

• Progress Survey Instructions Expand dropdown

  Starfish Faculty Progress Survey Instructions [PDF]

  Progress surveys can be found in Starfish by logging into the my.emich portal, clicking on the "Faculty" tab then "Starfish". Each progress survey has numerous options for you to indicate concerns related to academic performance/attendance or offer praise (kudos). Students are organized by class section, which allows you to easily raise flags and give kudos for multiple students at once. Progress surveys can be found in Starfish by logging into the my.emich portal, clicking on the "Faculty" tab then "Starfish”. 

  Each of your course sections can be found by clicking the drop down "Survey" menu from the ‘Home’ screen. Be sure to provide feedback for all of your courses so students are aware of their academic progress.

  The default for each student is to provide "No Feedback." If the student meets one or more column criteria (flags), such as an Attendance Concern or Missing/Late Assignments, check the MOST relevant box for that student. You can also give students Kudos through progress surveys by choosing feedback like "Keep Up the Good Work." If you click on a flag/kudo for a student you did not mean to, uncheck the box to return to the default "No Feedback" in that row.

  Selecting a Flag or a Kudo on a particular student will also give you the chance to add a note about why you've provided said feedback, which can be accessed by clicking on the note icon in the column next to the student's name. Just like when raising a flag, the student and other relevant parties will receive an email alert, including the comments you provide in the note.

  After providing feedback in each course section, click "Save Draft" at the bottom of the page. Do not click "Submit" until you have provided feedback for every class: you will not be able to re-enter the survey.

• What happens to the flags and kudos I submit? Expand dropdown

  Flags and kudos both generate an email to the student, just to make sure they're aware of their standing and any concerns of yours relating to their course performance. That's why kudos are so powerful! A more reserved student will appreciate the note in writing but might have been uncomfortable with public praise.

  Notifications to students come from [email protected] and are signed by the EMU Student Success Team -- these refer to the comments you've added to a flag or kudo, but do not claim to be "from" you. 

  Success Coaches and Academic Advisors reach out to the students on our caseloads with the intention of a) offering appropriate academic support and b) starting a conversation with the student. When we are able to get in touch with the student, or after two failed attempts at contact, we'll clear the flag and copy you to "close the loop."

• How can I see the outcomes of my flags? Expand dropdown

  You can always see the advising notes that have been created for a student in Starfish. Pull up the student and click the "Notes" menu item in the left sidebar of the Student Folder.

Flag and Kudos Logistics

• What are flags and kudos? Expand dropdown

  A flag is an alert raised by a faculty member to indicate a concern about a student in regards to academics or other aspects of college success. Once a flag is raised, the student receives an automated email indicating the concern and encouraging them to talk to you, their instructor. In addition to the student, the appropriate office or person at EMU (usually their academic advisor) will be notified so they may reach out to the student to offer additional interventions/resources.

  Kudos are a way for faculty to provide students with positive feedback about their academic performance.

• What are EMU’s flag/kudos options? Expand dropdown

  Flag Options

  • Never Attended: Raise flag if the student has never attended your class. (Only included in first survey for financial aid purposes.)
  • Attendance Concerns: Raise flag when the student isn’t attending your course regularly.
  • At Risk of Failing: Raise flag when student is in danger of not passing your class.
  • Cannot Pass: Raise flag when student is unable to pass your class; the student will also receive a text message if they have not opted out of texting.
  • Low or No Online Participation: Raise flag when student is not interacting with online material. 
  • Missing/Late Assignments: Raise flag when a student is missing or late with assignments.

  Kudos Options

  • Keep Up the Good Work: Raise this kudo for students who are performing well in your course.
  • Showing Improvement: Raise this kudo when a student has shown improvement in your course.

   

  View the flag outreach and workflow here.

• How do I raise a flag or kudo? Expand dropdown

  Outside of a progress survey:

  • Login to Starfish (Faculty tab in my.emich)
  • On the top of any Starfish page, click the “Students” tab
  • Go to the “Connection” drop down and select the appropriate role (instructor-specific class, primary advisor, etc.)
  • Go to the “Term” drop down and select the appropriate term (e.g. Summer 2020)
  • You will see a list of student names that correspond to your selections. You may select any student to add a flag, add a kudo, clear a flag, etc., simply by clicking their name. 
  • NOTE: If you raise a flag on a student, in most cases the student will automatically be sent an email advising them of the flag.Their primary academic advisor may also receive notification of the flag so they can take action if/when appropriate (based on flag raised).

   Within a progress survey (for each UG course you teach), the following options are presented:

  • Never Attended (Note: This option only appears on the first progress survey of the semester.)
  • Attendance Concern
  • At Risk of Failing
  • Cannot Pass
  • Low or No Online Participation
  • Missing/Late Assignments
  • Shows Improvement
  • Keep Up the Good Work

  Simply click on the option that most closely matches your concerns for each student.

  Note: You do not need to click something for every student. The system is intended to help address concerns throughout the semester. If you don’t have concerns for some students, simply skip them or consider choosing a ‘kudos’ option instead.

• What happens after a flag is raised? Who address the concerns? Expand dropdown

  After raising the following flags, the student is responsible for reaching out to the instructor to begin the conversation about a solution.

  The instructor is responsible for “clearing” the flag after the problem has been addressed/solved for the following flag:

  • Attendance Concern
  • Low or No Online Participation
  • Missing/Late Assignment(s)

  Holman Success Coaches, Athletics, Honors, or academic advisors will attempt to contact students to develop a solution for the following flags:

  • Never Attended
  • At Risk of Failing
  • Cannot Pass

  Note: All support offices (Athletics, Honors, HSC, and academic advisors) as well as the flag raiser (instructor) have the ability to “clear” the flag after concerns have been addressed.

• Can students raise flags? Expand dropdown

  Students can raise the "I need help" flag; these flags are addressed by Holman Success Coaches but may be assigned in the system to other support staff depending on the nature of the student's need.

• How do I find the flags I personally need to address? Expand dropdown

  The easiest way to view active and resolved tracking items and flags is by clicking on the "Students" tab then "Tracking." The options below allow you to filter which items are visible.

  

  • Student Field: Search for a specific student. Refresh the page to clear the search and view all students.
  • View Field: This shows which type of tracking items you will see. You will most frequently use "Flag Inbox" to see a student’s flag(s)/kudos history or "Created by Me" to see flags you have personally raised.
  • Connection Field: Choose to filter by "All My Students," which are students you currently have as an "Instructor," students in a specific class, etc.
    • Instructor: You will see all types of flags related to students in the classes you're currently teaching. If you have one of your advisees in a class, you will see all the flags related to that advisee unless you use "additional filters" to only view flags relevant to you as an instructor.
    • Specific class: You will see the flags relevant to that course, but also all types of flags for an advisee if they are in that specific class.
  • Additional Filters: Look for a specific type of flag, such as "Attendance Concern," by clicking "Add Filters" to show the screen below. (After filters are applied, the box will change to read "Edit Filters.")

  

  Note: Filters will remain intact until you clear them, even if you log out and back in to the system.

• When to use filters Expand dropdown

  Example 1

  An instructor wants to see how many of their students have active “Attendance concern” flags for their ENGL 121 classes.

  In the tracking tab, choose “Instructor” in the Connection box. Click “Additional Filters” and select “Attendance Concerns” as the only Item Name to view, and in “Course Context,” type “ENGL 121.”

  Example 2

  An advisor is getting ready to meet with a student about how classes are going for the semester and wants to check the student’s history of flags and kudos.

  In the tracking tab, type the student’s name into the “Student” box and choose “Active and Resolved” in the “View” box to see all flags and kudos the student has received. Hover over the flag/kudos icon next to the item name, then click “Details” to see the history of comments and resolution(s).

• When and how do I comment on a flag? Expand dropdown

  Comments need to be added to a flag any time you meet with a student to discuss a solution for a concern. Commenting on a flag will provide other people who can view the flag (Academic Advisors, Athletics, EDGE, Honors, Teaching Assistants, etc.) with documentation about what has already taken place, and provide a historical record of solutions to concerns in the event that the same flag is raised more than once in a student’s time at EMU.

  There are two methods of making comments in the Starfish system (both are fine – simply use whichever method you find easiest):

  Method 1

  • Tracking Tab: Search for a specific student or sort by which type of items you want to see using the “View” drop-down box.
  • Hover over the orange flag icon next to the flag you want to clear/comment on, and you will see an option to “Comment” on the flag if you have permission to do so.

  Method 2

  • Home Tab: On the right side of the home tab, flags will be listed in the “Recent Changes” box. You can sort by which type of tracking items (flags) you want to see, as well as how recently they’ve been updated.
  • Hover over the orange flag icon next to the flag you want to comment on, and you will see an option to “Comment” on the flag if you have permission to do so.

  When commenting on a flag, you have the option to email a copy of the note to yourself, the student or to whoever raised the flag (if someone other than you).

  Note: It is important for anyone recording comments regarding a student to understand that these notes are part of the student’s education record and subject to FERPA. Please consult the University FERPA information page as well as the Faculty FAQ [PDF] for additional information.

• How is a flag cleared or “resolved”? Expand dropdown

  Method 1

  • Tracking Tab: Search for a specific student or sort by which type of items you want to see using the “View” drop down box.
  • Hover over the orange flag icon, next to the flag you want to clear, and you will see an option to "Clear" the flag if you have permission to do so.
  • You can also check the box next to the student’s name/picture and select the "Resolve" option from the top row.
  • If you do not see a "Clear" option in this screen, it is another individual’s responsibility to clear the flag.

  Method 2

  • Home Tab: On the right side of the home tab, flags will be listed in the “Recent Changes” box. You can sort by which type of tracking items (flags) or appointments you want to see, as well as how recently they’ve been updated.
  • Hover over the orange flag icon next to the flag you want to clear, and you will see an option to "Resolve" the flag if you have permission to do so.
  • If you do not see clear option in this screen, it is another office’s responsibility to clear the flag.
• How do I search for a specific student or group of students? Expand dropdown
  • Click on the “Students” tab at the top of Starfish
  • Select the “My Students” tab option
  • In the “Connection” drop down box, you can select to view all students related to you as an advisor, Instructor, or a specific class.
  • The drop down options under “Term” allow you to sort by semester.
  • If you know the specific student you are looking for, type either their name or EID into the search box. You can also use “%” to conduct a ‘wildcard’ search. For example, searching sm% or %ith will both return any student with the last name “Smith.”

  

  • To conduct a more refined search, select "Add Filters" on the right side of the screen
  • Click “Attributes” from the menu on the left
  • Click at the top of the box
  • Click the drop down arrow to select an option (Major, Athlete, EDGE Student, etc.)
  • Click Submit to apply the filter.

  Note: Filters will remain intact until you clear them, even if you log out and back in to the system.

  

• Do I need to run my class differently because I’m using Starfish? Expand dropdown

  With the possible exception of placing a statement regarding Starfish in your syllabus (see next section) which lets students know you will be using the system, you still conduct your courses as you normally would. Starfish is only meant to enhance your communication with your students.

• Example Syllabus Statement Expand dropdown

  We Care About Your Success!

  [Insert Course] is taking part in a student success initiative at Eastern Michigan University called Starfish. Throughout the semester, you may receive emails from instructors or staff through Starfish, updating you on your academic progress, recommending referrals to specific support services on campus, or praising you for a job well done! Please pay attention to these emails and information in Starfish and consider taking the recommended actions. They are sent to help you be successful in [Insert Course].

Using Starfish for Advising

• How do students find me in Starfish? Expand dropdown

  If you advise for undergraduate majors, send your name and the list of majors to [email protected]. 

  We are working on creating Services for each College in Starfish that are visible to graduate students by program. Your contact information will be visible to graduate students. If you have created Office Hours in Starfish, your personal scheduling link will also be visible.

• Can students schedule appointments with me in Starfish?

  Expand dropdown

  Yes! You can use the Appointment Preferences option to sync your Google Calendar, create locations, and add other scheduling options. 

  Access Appointments from the main menu button to add Office Hours to your Starfish calendar. 

  You'll find your personal scheduling link in the Edit Profile tab. 

• How do I enter advising notes in Starfish?

  Expand dropdown

  If the student did not schedule their meeting with you in Starfish, start by adding the meeting to your Appointments view. You can do this even if you didn't have Office Hours created in Starfish, but you must have previously created available locations.

  Once the meeting is in Starfish, click on the calendar icon of the meeting in your Appointments view. You can now add Advising Notes to the appointment by entering Outcomes.

  Make sure to always click "Send copy of note to student."

• What if I need to enter notes for a student that are not attached to a meeting?

  Expand dropdown

  Use the search box in the upper right corner to locate your student. Click on the student to load the Student Folder. From this view, click the Note button at the top of the Folder. 

  Make sure to always click "Send copy of note to student."

• Why can't I enter advising notes in the Student Advising Overview anymore?

  Expand dropdown
  The Student Advising Overview page was custom-built for EMU for use with Banner 8. Now that we are upgrading to Banner 9, that tool will be de-commissioned. 
  
  All of the information available in the Student Advising Overview is now available in Starfish using the Overview and Info tabs of the Student Folder. 

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