Starfish for Students

Overview

Starfish is about you, for you!

You may receive alerts/notification emails from Starfish indicating where a concern might be. You may also receive a kudos (compliment) email. The notifications are to keep you in the loop on how you are progressing (see notifications below for a full list of alerts).

Visit the Starfish Overview Videoto learn more. 

Getting Started in Starfish

Select the Starfish Tab at the top of the page in myRedDragon. To set up your institutional profile, select the hamburger menu and your name to edit your profile. Make sure you input your cell number so we can reach out to you directly. Under Notifications, set your preference to get a reminder for appointments!

Starfish is fairly new to our campus so not every faculty member or advisor uses Starfish for office or advising hours.  But you can check your Dashboard and Connections to see if they have a blue "SCHEDULE" link. If so, select the link and the system walks you through the process to set up a time to meet!

Review the brief video: How to set up an appointment with your academic advisor or instructor.
You might find the overview video to be helpful as well: Starfish Overview Video.

The following provides helpful information on notifications you may receive as well as video tutorials.

Flag Alerts

• Attendance Concern - you will receive this alert if you are not attending class regularly.
• Critical Attendance Concern - there is a critical issue with your attendance if you receive this flag alert so you should immediately follow-up with your instructor.
• Never Attended - your instructor will send this alert if you never attended class.
• Work not Meeting Course Expectations - you will receive this alert message if your instructor has an academic concern about your work or performance. You are not meeting course expectations as outlined in your syllabus.  
• Critical Academic Concern - talk to your instructor immediately if you receive this email. 
• At Risk For Failing - take this alert seriously and follow-up with instructor. 
• Stopped Attending - this will be raised if you have stopped attending the course. 
• Open Ended Comment - this is a new notification that faculty can use if the other alerts are not getting at what they want you to know about your academics. 
  
  Instructors are not able to see the alerts from other instructors. Your academic advisor, associate dean, and athletic coach (if applicable) do have access to the notifications. 

Kudos Definitions

• Keep Up the Good Work - you may receive a kudos from your instructor if you are performing well.
• Outstanding Academic Performance - the name says it all...strive to receive this kudos alert!
• Showing Improvement - if you are showing improvement in a course you may receive this good news!
• Stay Engaged and Connected - your instructor is reminding you to work hard and ask questions if you need help.

Student Raised Flag Alerts

If you are not sure where to get help, you can raise your hand and ask for assistance. There are four options: 

• I Need Help In A Course - if you raise this for a particular course, your message will go directly to that instructor.
• I Need Help - if you are not sure where to go for assistance, raise your hand for this alert and someone in Advisement and Transition will assist you or guide you on where to get help.
• I Need General Academic Help - if you raise this, your message will go to The Learning Center.
• I Need Help With My Writing - if you raise this, your message will go to the Writing Center.

If an instructor is taking the time to reach out to you, the information is important! Read your emails and respond. Ask for help!! We are here to assist you!

My Connections/My Success Network
Every student will have a network of support (My Connections) that includes your instructors, academic advisor, associate dean, and potentially your coach, or another advisor if you are associated with CURE, EOP or Honors. These are the people or offices that make up your Connections/Success Network.

My Services

Every office on campus is here to help you. Two offices are highlighted in My Services: The Learning Center and the Writing Center. These offices focus on supporting academic skills and writing success.

Services - Show Other Services

This is an at a glance, alphabetical list of our student support offices available on campus and offers a brief explanation of their services along with contact information!

Raise Your Hand

Select the Raise Your Hand icon to quickly ask for help. The Raise Your Hand feature will send an email to the instructor or office that can assist you. 

Dashboard

The Dashboard lists all of the above items at a glance. The Calendar feature is nice to see when your classes are hosted, click on the class for details.  Any Notifications will also be displayed. Follow up on these alerts!

Courses

All your classes are listed with instructor contact information. If they take attendance in Starfish, that information is also listed on the attendance tab. The agenda tab will display any alerts to help you keep track of your progress. All notifications will show here.

Take some time to explore Starfish! Look around the platform at the information available to you!

If you have questions, need help or want to provide feedback, please contact Advisement and Transition at 607-753-4726 or Starfish@cortland.edu. Thank you.

Helping you achieve academic success

• Go to class (stay on a schedule even if the course is online - asynchronous).
• Be prepared.
• Use and review your syllabus (check Blackboard often).
• Pay attention to details.
• Communicate with your instructors.
• Utilize Starfish as well as your instructor's office hours.
• If you are going to miss class, inform your instructor beforehand.
• Ask questions. If you are not sure about something, changes are many other students are also struggling and would appreciate an explanation.
• If you don’t understand the material, visit your instructor during office hours for assistance.

Guide for Student Success