Newsletter | Starfish Retention Solutions

A Quarterly Newsletter from Starfish Retention Solutions

Starfish and Noel-Levitz Collaborate to Support College and University Retention Efforts

Noel-Levitz and Starfish Retention Solutions recently announced that they have joined forces to address student attrition issues. The two firms are working together to combine student motivation and receptivity data from Noel-Levitz with the Starfish tracking and case management system, giving institutions a seamless approach to identifying at-risk students and their needs and then prioritizing and managing student interventions.

With the two solutions working together, students identified through the Noel-Levitz tools as being at risk can be "flagged" within the Starfish system, notifying advisors and other student services personnel of the potential concerns.

"By combining our motivation and receptivity data with the tracking and case management functions of the Starfish system, our campus colleagues have the tools they need to identify and prioritize students at risk, insight into the student's area of risk, a means to provide students with the appropriate resources, and the ability to track outcomes throughout the academic experience," said

Noel-Levitz Senior Vice President of Retention Solutions Janene Panfil. "The result is a more effective and efficient early alert strategy to increase student completion."

Webinar: Have You Heard About Starfish 2?

See the Latest Release of our Enterprise Student Success and Retention Platform

Executive Reports, Student Action Plans, Advanced Attendance Tracking, Enterprise Center Scheduling, and More!

Wednesday, December 14 at 2 pm ET

>>register now to attend our Webinar!

East Carolina University Expands Use of Starfish for Fall 2011 Academic Term to Support Student Success and Retention Efforts Across Campus

ECU serves more than 27,000 students in Greenville, N.C. For the last 15+ years, the institution used a homegrown early alert system to identify students in academic difficulty. While helpful, the system limited faculty to reporting concerns once a semester for first-year students only. The institution wanted to support students across the institution (not just first-year students), while providing enhanced methods for referring students to the appropriate student services for help.

After evaluating the potential to expand the capabilities of their proprietary system and reviewing other commercial alternatives, ECU licensed the Starfish system in the Fall 2010 term, initially to support an identified population of 2,000 undergraduate students. Professors used the Starfish system to report concerns about students who were underperforming, as well as to commend students who were performing well.

Before deciding to expand the system to the rest of the campus, the institution conducted an in-depth user evaluation in which it collected feedback from students, professors, and advisors. Ninety-six percent of students who were flagged during the term for outstanding academic performance responded that they felt their professor was paying attention to their class performance. Of students who were flagged for underperformance, 70 percent took action, including going to tutoring (40 percent), meeting with their instructor (20 percent), and meeting with their advisor (2 percent). In addition, 100 percent of the professors who participated in the first year indicated that they would use Starfish again, citing the system's ease of use and effectiveness at communicating with students.

Based on the positive feedback, the institution has expanded its use of the Starfish system by making it available to all students and professors across the campus beginning in the Fall 2011 term.

>>read more about ECU and Starfish

Starfish is Hiring! Join Our Team

We are always looking for motivated, creative, and hard-working individuals to join our team. We are currently accepting resumes for a number of positions. Let us know if you are interested!

>>see our open positions

Did You Hear?

Starfish was recently named as one of the Top Ten Companies to Watch by the Washington Business Journal!

>>read more

Welcome to Our New Community Members

Odessa College (TX)

Palm Beach State College (FL)

SUNY-Finger Lakes Community College (NY)

SUNY-Herkimer County Community College (NY)

Tuskegee University (AL)

University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (AR)

University of Maryland Eastern Shore (MD)