As Bemidji State University employees, we get to know our students in a variety of contexts. We often learn about issues affecting them both personally and academically, and a new Division of Student Affairs pilot program introduces an easy-to-use answer to the question, “Who can I talk to about this?”

Starting today, all BSU employees have the ability to share directly with the Dean of Students concerns they have regarding any BSU student using Minnesota State’s Starfish online student success platform. Any concern that could impact a student’s academic or personal well-being can be shared using Starfish.

Every university employee can access Starfish by logging into MyBSU and selecting it from the menu under your name in the upper left-hand corner of the toolbar. In Starfish, flags are available by selecting “My Students” from the “Students” menu in the application’s toolbar, then selecting “BSU Student SSC” from the following screen.

Faculty and staff with multiple existing roles in Starfish can set their connection to “General Employee BSU” to access the student concern flag.

Employees submitting a concern flag must include the student’s name and a description of the concern. As the flags are being submitted for a generic profile, concerns can be raised about any person, even if that student is not currently enrolled at BSU for the active term in Starfish.

It is vital to note that since these flags are created using a generic profile, students will receive no notification or other indication that a flag has been raised for or about them. Concern flags may only be submitted using the generic profile and cannot be submitted using a student’s actual Starfish profile. Also, employees are unable to see which students have had concern flags raised on their behalf, and will receive no notification or other indication regarding how or when a submitted concern has been addressed.

Submitted concerns are visible only to Dr. Jesse Grant, interim dean of students. No other person has the ability to access or review these flags.

Once submitted, student concern flags cannot be edited or canceled by the employee who submits them. Employees who submit a flag on a student and later have additional information or updates can submit additional flags.

A complete guide to submitting concern flags for users with no other roles in Starfish is included in the attached Word document.

Dr. Grant invites comments on this pilot program, which will be in operation through the end of the spring semester.

In an emergency situation where you believe a student is in immediate danger or is an imminent threat to themselves or others, please immediately contact Campus Security and Safety at 3888 or call 911.

— Office of Academic and Student Affairs
(218) 755-2015

— Dr. Jesse Grant, Dean of Students (interim)
(218) 755-2075
JGrant@bemidjistate.edu