Starfish

Starfish (originally developed by Hobsons and now owned by EAB, sitting alongside Navigate360) is one of the most widely recognized and deeply utilized "Early Alert" and student retention platforms in higher education. While Navigate360 focuses heavily on high-level predictive analytics and CRM capabilities, Starfish was built from the ground up to foster deep, immediate communication between faculty (professors) in the classroom and the academic advisors supporting the students outside of it. It excels at breaking down the traditional silos that often exist on large college campuses. The foundational feature of Starfish is the "Early Alert" system. During the semester, professors can easily log into the system and raise "Flags" (warnings) or "Kudos" (praise) for specific students. For example, if a student misses three consecutive classes or fails the first assignment, the professor raises an attendance or academic flag. Starfish instantly routes that flag to the appropriate academic advisor, financial aid counselor, or athletic coach based on complex, pre-defined university workflows. This ensures that a struggling student is surrounded by a coordinated "success network" that intervenes immediately, rather than waiting until the end of the semester when it is too late to save their grade. In addition to the early alert system, Starfish provides robust case management and appointment scheduling tools. It allows universities to map out the entire network of support services on campus (e.g., the writing center, math tutoring, financial aid office). If an advisor meets with a student and realizes they are struggling with calculus, the advisor can use Starfish to instantly schedule an appointment for that student at the math tutoring center, closing the loop and ensuring the student actually receives the help they need. With its profound focus on faculty engagement and coordinated care, Starfish is a critical tool for improving university retention rates.