The Department of Academic Excellence and Student Success is excited to formally announce the implementation of Starfish, Drake’s new student success platform. Starfish is an academic early alert and communication system. For phase one of the roll out, 107 faculty will participate in Progress Surveys, which allow faculty to easily “flag” students recognized as needing additional support. Once flagged, students receive recommendations and contact information for tutoring, advising and counseling, and services that can help them achieve academic and personal success. Faculty also have the opportunity to give students “kudos” for positive reinforcement.

Upcoming training sessions for faculty participating in phase 1:
Tuesday, Aug. 28, from 12:30-1:45 p.m., Drake Room
Friday, Sept. 7, from 10-11 a.m., Aliber Hall, Room 204

Starfish is:

• Empowering: Starfish provides students with the information and feedback they need to make connections and become better self-advocates, thus becoming more autonomous.
• Efficient: Faculty members contribute classroom observations with just a few clicks. Instructors, student services staff, and advisors can easily access and contact a student’s network.
• Effective: Powerful positive encouragement is provided through kudos, and feedback on areas for improvement is provided through flags. A “close the loop” feature allows all involved to know when an issue has been resolved.

The link to Starfish is located on the MyDrake portal in two places: 1) Faculty and Advising section and 2) Administrative Tools section.

For more information, visit www.drake.edu/starfish, or contact the Starfish administrators at starfish@drake.edu with questions.

Melissa Sturm-Smith, Academic Excellence and Student Success