Orange Coast College: OCC Launches Student Success Early Intervention Program For Fall 2021

Press release from Orange Coast College:

Sep 3, 2021

Orange Coast College has officially launched a new software program called Starfish that will make it easier than ever to connect students with the resources they need to succeed in their coursework. Originally recommended by OCC’s Guided Pathways implementation team, Starfish gives faculty the opportunity to identify problems early, and refer students to various student support services at the College

"This product is an early intervention system, so that faculty who are in the classroom can essentially raise a flag when there’s a problem, or facilitate a referral to a service on campus,” says Student Support Programs Project Coordinator Erin Fitzgerald.

The software, which fully integrates with OCC’s existing student information system Banner and course management system Canvas, gives faculty the ability to not only flag issues early on, such as “low attendance” or “low score on early assignment,” but also send “kudos” when a student is doing well. Students also are able to self-identify their needs in Starfish, in order to connect with services they need.

"Students can raise their own hands in Starfish with sort of a broad ‘I need help’ request,” says Fitzgerald. “This is a generic flag that directs them to OCC’s Success Matters support team, who will subsequently reach out to the student and help connect them with various resources that are available to them, such as tutoring, financial aid, and counseling.”

OCC offered Starfish training to all employees at its Fall Flex Day on Aug. 27. The four sessions focused on training faculty on how to fill out “progress surveys” at various points during the semester. These surveys help to create a full picture of a student’s progress with the Starfish system.

“Everywhere a student’s name appears in Starfish is a link. That link connects to a file that is a complete history of the student’s progress in Starfish, making it easy for OCC’s Success Matters team and faculty to measure and track the results of our outreach and intervention efforts,” says Fitzgerald. 

OCC completed a pilot program for Starfish over the summer, with positive feedback from faculty and students. That pilot program helped to inform the tone and design of the template that will be used in Starfish’s progress surveys. The pilot program also gave the College’s recently formed Success Matters team a chance to practice before Starfish formally launched in the fall.

Many of the employees who make up the Success Matters team are those whose job changed due the COVID-19 pandemic, which temporarily closed much of campus. Classified staff who were in positions that could not be shifted online transitioned into student outreach and intervention roles on the Success Matters team. “Many of the staff who shifted gears and joined our Success Matters team have spoken to me about how much they enjoy the work,” says Fitzgerald. “They really like connecting with students.”

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This press release was produced by Orange Coast College. The views expressed here are the author’s own.