GradesFirst
Student Advising & Retention System
Tosha Giuffrida
Learning Center & SupportNet Coordinator
Campus-Wide Student
Support System
O Centralized Student Documentation
O Enhanced Early Alert
O Online Appointment Scheduling
O Text Messaging and Email Support
O Facebook Integration
O Tutor Management
O Student Kiosk for Visit Tracking
O Calendar Synchronization
Centralized Student
Documentation
O Ability to quickly review all student
communications, notes, schedules,
information and captured conversations
O Shared notes between advisors, faculty and
tutors
O All early alerts on a student
O All evaluations from tutor and advisor
GradesFirst Highlights
O Automatically send out text messages to
O
O
O
O
O
students to remind them of their appointments
(captured for historic record)
Facebook application to display appointments,
scheduling advising, book tutoring
Integration with Blackboard and PeopleSoft
Advising records in one location (progress
reports from faculty, advisor reports, tutor
reports and reports from other staff)
Easy faculty referrals generated via email
Currently used by Student-Athlete Services
Identify At Risk Students
O Faculty can generate an early alert based on
student performance or attendance
O Advisers can generate an advising campaign
to alert students who need to schedule an
advising appointment
O Programs can identify at risk students within
given parameters (<1.5 GPA, Freshmen, EOP
student)
Engage Students
O Communication via:
O Text messaging
O Smart phone mobile applications
O Facebook integration tools
O Email communications
American students send/receive nearly 80 text messages per day
and only 11% use email as their primary means of communication
(Nielsen Co, 2009)
Support Students
O Log and track student interactions through
online appointment scheduling , centralized
documentation and tools to schedule followup interactions
O Student are able access where they can
receiving tutoring and advising from their
GradesFirst portal
Analyze Data
O Integration with PeopleSoft to measure
retention efforts
O Allows advisors and administrators to utilize
data and maximize efficiencies
Faculty Perspective
O Emails contain direct links for Progress
Reports (single sign-on)
Faculty Progress Report
Only
students
requiring
progress
reports
will be
listed
Faculty GF Home Page
Faculty Generated
Progress Report
Best Practices
O “Intrusive or proactive advising is based on
the philosophy that we should not wait for
students to get into trouble before reaching
out to them.” – Dr. Robert Glennon
O “Advising is viewed as a way to connect
students to the campus and help them feel
that someone is looking out for them.” –
George Kuh
Contact
Tosha Giuffrida
e: tgiuffrida@csufresno.edu
d: 559.278.5716