Student Success

Starfish

As part of the college’s commitment to student success, Wofford uses Starfish Student Success software. Starfish will:

  • Provide a proactive approach to encouraging personal responsibility and academic success.
  • Link students to campus resources.
  • Notify students, advisors, and other faculty/staff members of important events relating to a student's success.
  • Improve the effectiveness of academic advising by presenting relevant data in a centralized location.
  • Allow faculty/students to schedule appointments for advising and academic help.
  • Provide encouraging feedback to students for good work.

How do I access Starfish?

Faculty members, staff, and students can access Starfish from the "System Links" section of my.wofford.edu.
Faculty members and students also may access Starfish from any Moodle page.

Helpful videos for faculty and staff

Starfish Training for faculty and staff

Starfish encourages students to become self-advocates

Starfish also allows student to "raise their hand" - providing an easy method within the interface for students ask for help with many types of issues.

Additionally, Starfish provides students with a comprehensive list of campus services.  Using Starfish, students can easily find contact information for issues with academics, physical and mental health concerns, dietary concerns, co-curricular activities, or maintenance needs in the residence halls.

Starfish recognizes student success

Starfish also allows members of the Wofford faculty, staff, and administration to recognize students' good work inside or outside the classroom.  The "kudos" are prominently displayed to the student and to members of the student's success network.

Starfish raised a flag... what does that mean?

Members of the Wofford faculty, staff, and administration have the ability to raise certain flags based on their relationship to a student (instructor, advisor, coach, resident director, etc.).

Starfish consolidates this information to ensure that the appropriate individuals can best support the student.  Information is only visible to community members who have a legitimate need to see the information. Data access is granted with respect to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA).  For example, a student's adviser may see a flag that the student has a hold that will prevent the student from registration, but the advisor would have no way of knowing if the hold was due to an overdue library book, a large unpaid balance, or incomplete sanctions from a judicial violation.  Similarly, a member of the student affairs office would not see that a student's professor has expressed concern over the student's academic progress.

Any Wofford employee can express basic concerns about a student through Starfish: 

  • Concern about a student's behavior.
  • Concern that a student may withdraw from Wofford.
  • Concern about a member of the student's family (e.g. illness/death/loss of employment).
  • Concern about a student's ability to pay for college.
  • Concern about a student's ability to succeed academically.
  • Concern about a student's physical or mental health.   

A student's instructor may raise the following additional concerns:

  • Concern about a student's assignments (missing/late/inconsistent quality).
  • Concern about a student's attendance.
  • Concern that a student is in danger of failing the course.
  • Concern over the student's academic performance.

Starfish uses data from Banner and Slate to identify these issues:

  • Holds on the student account.
  • Academic probation and exclusion.
  • Poor midterm grades.
  • Unsuccessful interim terms.
  • Enrollment in less than nine hours.
  • Failure to declare a major by the junior year.
  • Failure to pay the reservation deposit.
  • Failure to register for classes.
  • Declaration of intent to withdraw from Wofford.
  • Large balances due on the student account.
  • Placement on the housing waiting list.