Student Support offices across the college have been hard at work on a new Simmons platform for student advising, and now Starfish is almost here! Starfish is a toolset for advisors and student support staff to better guide students in pursuit of their educational goals. We are preparing to launch Starfish for undergraduate students and our Nursing@Simmons and SocialWork@Simmons programs.

Starfish provides advisors with critical information about their advisees’ course of study and allows them to log notes, set up appointments, make referrals, and connect with the rest of a student’s support network in a single, easy-to-use platform.

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As advisors and instructors begin to use Starfish in the coming months, students can expect:

• Advisors will have access to more information about your courses, academic plans, and performance
• Communications from faculty and staff, including:
  • Academic Alerts from faculty – early warnings and guidance on how to address potential issues
  • Kudos for exceptional or improved performance
  • Referral notifications
• Faculty and staff will be better empowered to follow up on requests and help students identify and work through academic challenges
• Services Listing – find hours, location, and contact information for student support offices
• “Raise Your Hand” – when you have a specific question but aren’t sure where to turn, use this feature to ask for help by topic

Additional details and training materials about Starfish usage for faculty and staff are coming soon. To learn more about the project and its goals, please visit our project website.