SAILS TRAININGNorthern Virginia Community College

Training Agenda• SAILS at NOVA• How Does SAILS Work?• Description of Flags & Kudos• Demonstration and Hands On• Accessing SAILS• Progress Surveys• Flags & Kudos• Clearing a Flag• Closing the Loop

• Student View in SAILS• Business Process Review

SAILS BACKGROUNDStudent Assistance and Intervention for Learning Success

SAILS is the VCCS name for the Early Alert SystemThe proprietary name for the Early Alert System VCCS is using is “Starfish”

SAILS at NOVA• Starfish Implementation Team

• AL: Rhonda Myers• AN: Joann Credle, Ray Orkwis• LO: Jeremy Cook• MA: Lynn Bowers• MEC: Beatrice Veney, Kim Nicely• WO: Bryan Brown• ELI: Preston Davis• CS: Keri Bowman• IT: Sue Liller

How Does SAILS work?

Instructors

• Raise flags when appropriate.

• Submit a progress survey when emailed.

Student Services Staff

• Receive email notifications or login to SAILS to view activity.

• Record follow up actions in SAILS:• Add notes• Clear flags• Close the

loop

Students

• Receive email notifications when flagged.

• Contact appropriate support office.

VCCS FlagsFlag Name Description

Assignment Concerns

Raise this flag if you have concerns about a student receiving low scores on assignments.

Attendance Concern Raise this flag if you have concerns about a student missing class or being late to class.

In Danger of Failing Raise this flag if a student is in danger of failing your class and requires immediate intervention.

Low Participation Raise this flag if you have concerns about a student's low participation in class.

Low Quiz/Test Scores

Raise this flag if you have concerns about a student receiving low scores on quizzes or tests.

Never Attended Raise this flag for students who have never attended the course section.

General Concern Raise this flag if you have a general concern about a student that does not fit one of the other flag categories. Comments will be required to describe the concern.

VCCS KudosKudo Name Description

Keep up the Good Work Raise this kudo when you want to encourage a student to keep working hard and producing positive results.

Outstanding Academic Performance Raise this kudo to congratulate a student on producing excellent academic work.

Showing Improvement Raise this kudo when a student is showing improvement from previous performance or behavior.

All Flags and Kudos are disclosable under FERPA

ACCESSING SAILS

Logging into SAILS – My VCCS

Accessing SAILS - Blackboard

• Login to Blackboard• Click on SAILS listed under the Tools menu

Progress Surveys

• Progress Surveys are deployed for certain courses (to encourage use of SAILS):

ENF ENG 111

MTT MTH 163

BIO 101 SDV

• Courses that do not receive progress surveys can still report academic concerns.

Example Survey Reminder to Instructor

Dear Instructor Name,As you know, we are utilizing the SAILS (early alert) system to help us make the process of reporting on the academic progress of our students as easy and efficient as possible. Through a Progress Survey you have a quick way to inform us of your students' progress in class.

To access the Progress Survey for your course(s): Go to: https://my.vccs.edu Click on the SAILS link to access the system.Login using your MyVCCS credentials (same credentials used to log into Blackboard).

You will see a link(s) to your Outstanding Surveys at the top of your SAILS homepage. Once you reach the survey, simply check the box next to the particular student's name for whom you would like to report progress. You will have options to add comments. Click Submit. If you don't have any progress to report, it is important that you click Submit, so we know you reviewed the survey. You will receive a confirmation email. Items you raise will be addressed by the appropriate individuals from our institution.

You have # surveys, which need to be completed before date survey closes.Outstanding Surveys: Name of survey(s) to complete

Your responses will help us know which students to reach out to and offer help. What if I want to add more details?When you check off a box to raise a flag on a student you will see a small yellow icon appear next to the student's name. Click that icon to add a comment. Name of Chief Academic Officer

Progress Surveys• Email sent to instructor with reminder to complete

progress survey(s).• Click on Progress Survey tab to access survey(s).• To complete survey, check the appropriate boxes and

click Submit to raise flags.

Raise a Flag or Kudos Directly

1.Click My Students tab.

2.Search for a student by

a. Typing the student’s name into the Search field.

b. Choosing your Connection to them

3.Click the student’s name then select Raise a Flag or Add Kudos..

Raising a Flag - Instructor

• Tracking item is the type of flag being raised.

• A comment is optional• The student will see the

comment.

• A course contact must be selected.

Taking Attendance

Clearing a Flag

Clearing a Flag

Closing the Loop

STUDENT PERSPECTIVE

Student Flag Email Notification

Student View in SAILS

COLLEGE BUSINESS PROCESS REVIEW

Business Process for Flags Raised by Instructor

Support

Having trouble?

Please contact your campus Implementation Team memberor Alison Thimblin at athimblin@nvcc.edu