Desire2Learn (D2L) already received a virtual makeover earlier this year, but come September, students will be introduced to revamped advising features on the university’s other online information hub: Campus Connect.

The new program will be called BlueStar, which is licensed by Starfish Retention Services, and will replace the current advising window on Campus Connect, including the Advising Dashboard, Academic Progress Report and the Attendance Verification System. After these functions have been replaced, other academic support offices, including the Dean of Students and the Writing Center, will have the opportunity to join.

BlueStar is a part of the university’s Foundations for Success Quality Initiative. The goal of the initiative is to “improve the conditions for learning at DePaul so that more undergraduate students complete their degrees,” according to the Academic Affairs office.

The goal of the new system is to allow students to better connect with academic resources on campus by allowing for more efficient scheduling with advisors and other support systems.

Because BlueStar will integrate with Desire2learn, advisors will also be notified of a student who is with low grades or poor attendance. If a faculty member is concerned about a student, they too can raise a “flag” in the system, which Director of the Office for Academic Advising Support Stephanie Halaska hopes will “initiate a conversation between the student and the faculty member about the student’s class performance.” Advisors will also be able to refer students to other campus resources.

“BlueStar also features an ‘early alert’ feature that will allow faculty to easily indicate concern about academic performance,” Halaska said. “Advisors will be able to see when these ‘flags’ are raised, and will be able to easily identify those students and provide additional support and resources.”

BlueStar will not replace the current Degree Progress Report function, and students in the College of Computing and Digital Media will still access their degree information through the CDM web portal.

Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs Caryn Chaden is a member of the implementation team working with Starfish, along with an advisor from each college and representatives from various departments including Academic Affairs, Student Records, Information Systems and Enrollment Management and Marketing. She says that the team met weekly with representatives from Starfish to determine which aspects of their system would best suit the university’s needs.

Chaden says that because the current system stores information in various locations, it was found to be largely inefficient. With many students pursuing majors and minors in different colleges, communicating this information effectively is especially pertinent.

“Moreover, when students face multiple issues related to academics (and) financial aid, it has also been difficult to gather all the necessary information in one place,” Chaden said via email. “Now all those advising notes from multiple offices will be stored in the same place, and advisors with appropriate clearance, based on their need to know the information, will have access.”

Devin Holly is an interactive and social media major who researched how students interact with aspects of Campus Connect as a class project. She agrees that the current online advising system is weak and difficult to navigate. Because academic concerns are usually complex, she relies upon in-person meetings with her advisor instead of using online systems.

“It would be wonderful to have more resources for advising, and resources that take many factors into account,” Holly said. “For example, if (advising systems) took into account the timeline that a student is trying to graduate by, or what the difference in tuition would be when, say for example, they were considering a double major.”

Chaden said the team is currently in the process of developing a plan to notify students of these changes to Campus Connect, including online tutorials, posters and other literature. Academic and faculty advisors will have access to the new system May 1.