Starfish (iCAN) Resources & Support
Quick Links
The Communication & Advising Network (iCAN) is an early warning and student tracking system that makes it possible for Bowie State University to take a more holistic approach to student success rather than concentrating solely on those students with classic at-risk characteristics.
Why should you use iCAN?
For Students
- Know immediately when BSU has a concern about your academic performance and which support services are available to help you.
- Schedule time online to meet with your advisor, tutor, instructor, financial aid counselor, or anyone else at the institution who can help you.
- Receive notifications from BSU in a variety of convenient methods, including email, text, and Facebook messages.
- Get motivated as a result of receiving positive, encouraging messages from instructors and others in your success network.
For Faculty
- Provost's Policy on Minimum Presence in Blackboard
- Communicate concerns about a student to people who are trained to provide help. Reporting concerns takes only minutes!
- Manage communications to all students, both those doing well and those at risk, based on parameters that you set yourself.
- Keep track of student attendance and let iCAN automatically report when a student has an attendance issue.
- Send automatic, positive messages to students who are doing well.
- Save time by accessing iCAN through Blackboard and eliminate redundant data entry by having your grade book entries raise automatic flags on underperforming students.
Privacy Information
- FERPA & Privacy Protection
- Data Protection Policy
- Data Retention Policy
Acceptable Usage
Student education records (such as grades) accessible through Blackboard and Starfish are protected by FERPA from both inappropriate access and release. Under FERPA, a university official may gain access to student education records only if that individual has a "legitimate educational interest" in that information; that is to say, the individual needs the education record(s) to discharge his or her official BSU responsibilities. Blackboard and Starfish, when used for advising purposes, therefore should be used by UC personnel only when performing individual advising work for a student. For example, accessing the education record of a student who is enrolled in the advisor's class, but who is not also the instructor's advisee, would not fall under "legitimate educational interest" and so would not be FERPA compliant. An advising relationship that meets the requirements of legitimate education interest can be defined formally, when a student is assigned to an advisor by the department or dean's office or informally, when a student outside a department or college needs advising that requires access to the student's education record.