Software


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Software update 5/18/11:

I've contacted Starfish, and they don't have what we are looking for. We want something that both students and advisors and counselors can access. The main point is for students to have an educational plan which they update on a regular basis and develop with their advisor.

I'm working on getting a demo set up with Talisma. I've looked a little into Hobsons, but think that both products are much more than what we need. We'll investigate further. Before we set up any demos, however, we have to be clear about what we want. Based on our needs discussed below, here are some thoughts:


 * tracking communication between advisor and advisee; need to be able to flag students who are required to see their advisor, so advising specialists can make sure that contact happens
 * ability to input a goal statement and education plan
 * ability to interface with catalog and schedule
 * communication tools, i.e. easy for advisors and advisees to contact each other, place flags on account; ability to contact students, advisors, counselors, by email.
 * assessment tools (i.e. for learning academic planning skills): can we track how many students have entered a goal, educational plan, have their program placement verified, etc.?

For now, there are two things to check out:

BYU has a homegrown product they call MyMAP (Major Academic Plan). I spoke with their Associate Registrar and Registrar and here is what I learned: Visit mymap.byu.eduto check out the videos to learn more (click on the instructions for tutorials button).
 * Its major components are picking courses, organizing courses by semester, registering for courses.
 * It uses an Oracle system and Java.
 * Development of the product took 8 months - 1 year and they are on their second release.
 * They hired 2 outside developers and have a full-time person in IT to maintain the system.
 * It integrates with their catalog and schedule.
 * They would be happy to host a visit so we can learn more.

Another promising tool is the eportfolio. Check out the website at eportfolio.org. I'm in the beginning stages of researching this option. I'm not sure if the communication tools we need are there. However, we could incorporate it into something homegrown.

Here are the notes from the QEP Development Committee meeting in February:

Here are some things to get started on: >> I went to the Talisma website, the link of which is below: >> [] >> >> Campus Management is the Florida based subsidiary of Talisma, which appears international. They offer a product for Student Services which, according to them, can interface with existing SIS, regarding advising and tracking of students. They also offer more comprehensive SIS systems (such as PeopleSoft is), which is perhaps a negative factor. However, if they are willing to offer their product to complement our existing system, and the interfacing and support are not too expensive, perhaps they would be a good option. They do emphasize tracking, which, along with an ability to access the data during the advising process, seem to be the key points in functionality. There are limited "testimonials" at the Campus Management website, and only one community college, and it still is a good idea, as Jim suggested, to talk to some "end users". >> >> Glenn Flodstrom > I sat-in on a Webinar about Starfish the other day. It targets at-risk students, allowing students to schedule appointments for tutoring and /or academic advisement. It is a very comprehensive software package and would interface with Blackboard and/orPeopleSoft. > [] > I found out that Marymount University is now using Starfish. I am working on a contact at Marymount and hope to see if we can get a demo from them. > Jim Reynolds > Jim Reynolds 03/12/11
 * Identify needs.
 * tracking communication between advisor and advisee
 * ability to input a goal statement
 * ability to interface with PeopleSoft to help academic planning by semester
 * communication tools, i.e. easy for advisors and advisees to contact each other, place flags on account, etc.
 * assessment tools, i.e. learning academic planning skills
 * Research products.
 * Want to learn more about CRMs? Check this out:
 * Talisma
 * I was following up on Jim's note below about Talisma, and its use at Ohio University. It seems that they are using it in quite a different way than we would intend to (recruitment). It also appears that, based on Kim's note, that ELI has limited implementation experience with this particular product also.
 * **Starfish**
 * **Marymount University** has used Starfish since last August. I have a contact with one of their Academic Advisors that uses Starfish and she said that they are very happy with it. She is willing to answer questions about Starfish and we could ask her about a demo.


 * what else?
 * Set up demonstrations.
 * Identify costs.
 * Provide timeline of implementation.