Benefits to Advisors Provides early feedback for timely advisor intervention

Facilitates advisor-advisee relationships

Increases collaboration between advisor, faculty, and support services

Allows advisor to connect advisees to campus resources

More honest and forthcoming conversations

Expressed Concerns Fosters a lack of independence/hand-holding

Perpetuates the need for affirmation/”pat on the back”

Notification volume limits advisor responsiveness

Shows inconsistencies in instructor notification criteria

Faculty notifications lack descriptive feedback

Future Goals Expand education faculty on advisor usage is necessary to maximize intervention strategies

Further educate advisors on importance of monitoring and following-up

Provide advanced Starfish training to advisors for more efficient and effective intervention

Increase student awareness of Starfish

The Role of Academic Advising in Campus-Wide Early Intervention Strategies

Advisor Follow-Up to Advisee

(check all that apply)

Difficulty KudosProfessional

(N=48)Faculty (N=43)

Professional (N=48)

Faculty (N=43)

Emailed 88% 58% 67% 37%Phone Advisee 13% 0% 8% 0%Face-to-Face Meeting 42% 33% 31% 19%Social Media 0% 0% 0% 0%No Follow-Up 8% 26% 35% 60%Other 13% 12% 10% 7%

If a student received 3 or more academic difficulty/or attendance related notifications, I was more aggressive in contacting students and/or intervening:

Strongly Agree + Agree

Strongly Disagree + Disagree

N/A

Professional Advisors (N=47) 77 % 11% 11%Faculty Advisors (N=43) 40% 12% 49%

Team Members: John Trifilo, Associate DirectorStarfish/Academic Support Initiatives

Steven Asby, Associate Director Academic Advising and Support Center

Kelly Willetts, Academic AdvisorAcademic Advising and Support Center

ECU Early AlertEffective fall 2011, ECU implemented a new academic early alert tool (Starfish Retention Solutions™) and intervention process. Through Starfish, faculty can inform students of their academic performance within a course and connect students to appropriate support resources. Since implementation, the following notifications have been raised:

Academic Advising and Starfish™National Academic Advising Association President, Charlie Nutt (2003), suggests that advising is a central part of retention. A major focus of advising is connecting students to campus resources. Through Starfish notifications, advisors are informed of student progress which provides opportunities for early intervention. Starfish helps advisors be the “go-to” resource for students on campus.

Research MethodologyProfessional and faculty academic advisors were surveyed to gauge Starfish usage. Focus groups were held with both advisor populations to examine trends within their follow-up strategies and perceptions of Starfish effectiveness.

ConclusionsResults yielded opportunities for further advisor development and strategies for intrusive intervention. Differences in the utilization of Starfish between professional and faculty advisors exist in follow-up methods, number of interactions, and overall perspective.

Notification Type

Fall 2011

Spring 2012

Fall 2012

Spring 2013

Total

Kudos 11,974 14,059 15,235 15,371 56,639Difficulty 12,513 11,215 10,980 10,013 44,721Attendance 3,764 3,778 3,228 3,312 14,082Total 28,251 29,052 29,443 28,696 115,442

I appreciate how Starfish notifies advisors about the academic progress of their advisees. When I receive notifications for my advisees, I am able to reach out to these students and identify possible resources which may assist them in succeeding in the identified class.

Student Survey Questions in Regards to Receiving Notification

Students Receiving Kudo Flag

(Agree + Strongly Agree) N=1010

Students Receiving Academic Difficulty Flag (Agree + Strongly Agree)

N=544 Motivational 62% N/ABeneficial 77% 46%Took Action N/A 84%

I use Starfish on a daily basis. This is a wonderful tool for advisors to have so we can keep track of our advisees and to lend them advice and resources when they are struggling. This helps advisors reach out to students in need and hopefully prevents them from failing a course.