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3 Starfish Best Practices for Raising Flags and Kudos!


Starting Fall 2016, faculty across the college will be able to raise manual flags and kudos for all of their students.  New to Starfish?  Used Starfish before and looking for more information?  Check out 3 best practices gleaned from last year’s pilot.

1.      Prioritize Flags:

*         Raise a flag only when a student’s performance or behavior necessitates; there is no need to raise a flag for every student in your survey or for every student in your class. 

*         Raise a single flag that covers the concern you have, rather that raising multiple flags for one student (i.e., if the student has a low grade because of attendance, raise the attendance flag and indicate that it is impacting their grade; if the student has missed a few classes and has not done well on assignments or tests, raise a low grade concern and indicate that both attendance and course work are an issue). 

Why?  Raising only one flag for a student reduces the number of flags sent to success coaches, enabling them to more quickly address your concerns.

2.      Speak Directly to Your Student and Use Language that Empowers:

*         Keep in mind that unless you raise the General Concern flag, your message goes directly to your student. 

Why should you speak directly to them?  Students feel more empowered if they are part of the conversation, rather than witnessing a conversation about them between faculty and success coach. 

*         What we say to our students matters.  Students are more likely to remain in a course if they see a way to improve their situation.

Example: Joe, your current grade in ENG 101 is below a C.  Please meet with me so we can come up with a plan to get you back on track.

3.      The General Concern Flag:

*         The General Concern flag allows faculty to speak directly to a student’s success coach, and is not visible to the student. 

*         Raise a General Concern flag if:

o   You’ve noticed engagement changes, attendance changes, or a sudden decline in effort from a student

o   You’ve previously raised other flags, but the student’s academic performance, behavior, or attendance have not improved, and you believe repeated intervention is necessary

o   You are uncertain which other flag to raise, but believe a student is in need of intervention from a success coach or other support services
                                                                                                            
*See the attached “How To” for raising manual flags and kudos

Jessica Saltzberg
Academic Foundations
08/22/2016


Attachments:
icon Starfish Manual Flags and Kudos How To.pdf