Starfish for Faculty and Staff
Starfish is widely used by faculty and staff to support student’s educational goals. A comprehensive inventory of Starfish roles is maintained in Starfish Role Management (SRM). Starfish roles are used in the following areas:
- Academic Advising programs and initiatives
- Calendar Management (for Starfish appointments)
- Campus and College-based programs and initiatives
- College of Medicine
- Educational Equity offices and initiatives
- Enrollment Management offices
- Graduate Education
- Instructors and TAs
- Learning Centers
- Office of Undergraduate Education programs and initiatives
- Strategic Analytics
- Student Affairs offices and initiatives
- Technical Administration of Starfish
- World Campus offices and initiatives
What are Starfish Roles? A Starfish role creates a connection between a faculty or staff user and one or more students. The role also grants permissions to view, create, and manage particular parts of the connected students’ Starfish folder that are relevant to that role’s responsibilities for supporting the student’s educational goals. Users may have multiple Starfish roles and inherit the highest-level view privileges among the roles. At least one role needs to be assigned to a user to permit any access to Starfish.
What are the ethical standards for using Starfish? Role managers are expected to assign Starfish roles to individuals only when needed for a specific job responsibility. Users assigned a role in Starfish are required to 1) protect the privacy of student records and 2) maintain standards of accurate and ethical record keeping
How do I get access to a Starfish role?
- Some roles are automatically assigned based on information in LionPATH or other systems of record.
- Other roles are granted in the SRM by local role managers, provided a legitimate job-related need for that role. Continued access to these roles is reviewed regularly.
What if my unit needs a new Starfish role? Development of Starfish roles is an ongoing process. Creation of a role in Starfish requires collaboration across campuses and colleges. Those who are interested in creating a new Starfish role should reach out to Starfish Administrators using the feedback form.
Starfish for Students
Students at Penn State automatically gain access to Starfish after matriculation and can log in with their Penn State credentials. Students can use Starfish to schedule meetings with faculty and staff who use Starfish and may receive notifications through Starfish that are sent by individuals in their support networks.
Undergraduate students who work with other undergraduate students (e.g., tutoring, mentoring) or as receptionists in academic units may be assigned Starfish roles specifically designed to protect student confidentiality.
