Office of Undergraduate Education

Starfish early progress reporting begins Jan. 24

Program is a collaborative and proactive approach to assisting undergraduates

In fall 2021, more than 63,000 undergraduate students received at least one flag or kudo in Starfish. Credit: Michelle BixbyAll Rights Reserved.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Faculty and staff are encouraged to report student progress in Starfish to allow for a collaborative and proactive approach to assisting undergraduates. Feedback through Starfish can be a crucial step in activating a larger support network for students. 

Across the whole University, in the fall 2021 semester: 

  • 9,775 course sections used Starfish to raise flags and kudos. 
  • 63,404 different undergraduate students received one or more flags or kudos from at least one course. 
  • 21,414 students had at least one flag, and 8,758 of those students had a flag in more than one course. 
  • 18,166 students who had a flag in a course also had at least one kudo for another. 
  • 41,983 students only received kudos. 

In early progress reports, academic advisers are looking for observations from instructors that indicate a student may or may not be successful in class. These signs are not necessarily related to graded work. Flags often take the form of observable behaviors like the timely submission of assignments, class attendance and overall engagement. Kudos can be used to let students know they are on the right track.  

Participating in progress surveys accomplishes more than just contacting a student or their adviser directly. Raising flags helps to activate a broader network of support services, known as the Starfish Success Network. This makes it easier for academic advisers, instructors and other members of a student’s Success Network to collaborate and better address the root causes of a student’s struggles. Faculty benefit from academic advisers’ long-term relationships with students and knowledge of students’ overall academic performance, while academic advisers benefit from the specialized knowledge of faculty of what it takes to be successful in an academic domain. 

Recent Starfish comments on the outcomes of flags raised in progress surveys reflect the variety of obstacles students have to academic success. Academic advisers reported that some students were unaware they had done poorly on recent assignments. Some students did not know they had online assignments to complete in Canvas or did not have access to the correct technology to complete their work. Some students reported to their academic advisers that they had external pressures such as long work hours or issues at home that prevented them from attending class. There were 5,369 comments referring specifically to Counseling and Psychological Services in the fall 2021 semester. Without instructors registering their course-based concerns through progress reporting, students experiencing these obstacles may never have received necessary support for these underlying issues. 

There are two reporting periods during the spring 2022 semester: 

  • Early progress report: Monday, Jan. 24, to Wednesday, Feb. 2 (weeks three and four) 
  • Midsemester progress report: Monday, Feb. 21, to Wednesday, March 2 (weeks seven and eight) 

During these time frames, instructors will be prompted to comment on students’ progress in Starfish. The sooner instructors can provide progress reports, the sooner students, their advisers and support networks can take action. 

Students are highly encouraged to act upon messages they receive in Starfish by contacting their instructors or academic advisers if they receive a flag or by reflecting on what has helped them succeed so far if they receive a kudo. Additionally, students should not assume their instructors have no concerns about their progress just because they did not receive any flags in Starfish. It is always helpful for students to track their own progress in a course by checking in with both instructors and academic advisers. 

The Division of Undergraduate Studies is part of Penn State Undergraduate Education

Last Updated January 17, 2022

Contact