New Starfish Functionality: Direct Links

The Student Success Portal, powered by Starfish, has new functionality – Direct Links. This functionality includes several features that add value for students, faculty, and staff:

1. Direct Links to individual and/or service-based online appointment scheduling
2. Direct Links to personal and/or service profiles
3. Direct Links for navigation to the student Intake Form tab
4. Direct Links for navigation to the student My Success Network tab
5. Direct Links for navigation to the Progress Survey tab
6. The option to embed external links in various communications, such as flag, referral, and kudos messaging

The guide, Using Direct Links, available at webster.edu/success, shares information on how to set up Direct Links for online appointment scheduling and profiles (items 1 and 2 above). Faculty and staff members can share their individual online appointment scheduling and personal profiles with students through Direct Links, allowing students easier access to appointment scheduling and information.

Once the appropriate Direct Link has been copied by the faculty or staff member, it can be added to the faculty or staff member’s email signature or other messaging either as a direct copy or as a hyperlink so that students can just click on the link to schedule appointments or view the individual’s profile. This feature adds particular value for faculty, staff, and students because it cuts down on the email and phone exchanges needed to schedule appointments.

Faculty and staff members can also copy Direct Links for service profiles as well as the individual and service online appointment scheduling options that have been enabled through the Services catalog.

Regarding items 3-5 above, anyone interested in including Direct Links to the student Intake Form tab, the student My Success Network tab, or the Progress Survey tab in their communications should contact studentsuccess@webster.edu to request those links.

Departments that manage flags and referrals should also contact studentsuccess@webster.edu if they would like to explore including internal or external links in their tracking items (item 6 above).