Important Updates

"Expired Session" Error preventing login on February 11, 2019

Starfish by Hobsons experienced a technical issue last week which is resulting in some users receiving an “Expired Session” error message when trying to log in. If you are receiving this error, clear your cache and cookies in the browser you use to access Starfish, close the browser completely, and then relaunch a new browser window.  

Web browser support for TLS 1.2 required to use Starfish as of January 2, 2019

Beginning January 2, 2019 people accessing Starfish must use a web browser that is TLS 1.2 enabled.  All versions of major browsers released after 2014 have TLS 1.2 enabled by default so no action is necessary.

Instructions for verifying that one’s browser supports TLS 1.2 are available online (https://knowledge.digicert.com/generalinformation/INFO3299.html). Users whose browsers do not support TLS 1.2 will not be able to load Starfish in their browsers.

Starfish is making this change to ensure that Starfish security protocols continue to meet industry recommended best practices.  

Access Issues

 If you are experiencing issues accessing Starfish, it is usually caused by one of two issues:

1. Pop-Up Blocker - Starfish opens in a new window so it is required that your pop-up blockers are turned off in your browser (on your computer or phone)
   • Instructions for disabling pop-up blockers can be found here: https://www.wikihow.com/Disable-Popup-Blockers
2. Browser - If your browser is not up to date you may experience issues accessing and/or navigating Starfish.  Starfish recommends using Google Chrome.
   • Browser supported by Starfish
     • Internet Explorer 11 (Note that Starfish does not support Microsoft Edge, which is the default browser on Windows 10. IE11 should also be available on Windows 10 so Starfish recommends to use IE11.)  
     • Firefox Latest Version (56) and 1 previous and most recent ESR version (see https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/faq/), information at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefox_version_history#Current_and_future_releases, and https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/releases/  
     • Chrome Latest Version and 1 previous version, information at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Chrome_version_history  
     • Safari Latest Version and 1 previous version, information at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safari_version_history (Starfish does not support Opera.)
       
       

Fall 2017 Updates

1. Due to the change in the academic calendar the Academic Progress survey dates have been adjusted.  They will be available as follows for this year:
   • Academic Progress survey 2171-1 will be open weeks 4, 5, and 6
     • Opening Monday September 18^th @ 7am and closing at 11pm on Sunday October 8^th.
   • Academic Progress Survey 2171-2 will be open weeks 8, 9, and 10
     • Opening Monday October 16^th @ 7am and closing at 11pm on Sunday November 5^th.
    
2. The Academic Alerts and Kudos have been updated as follows:
   • Attendance/Participation
   • Low Assignment/Quiz/Test Scores
   • Multiple Academic Concerns
   • Performance Improving
   • Keep Up the Good Work
     
     
3. Roster Verification Pilot: The University Writing Program, and the Math and Physics Departments are participating in a pilot survey to help identify student who have not shown up to RIT.  This is in addition to the No Show survey that YearOne (RIT365) completes annually. The following courses are participating:
   • MATH-161, 171, 181, 181A, 182, 182A
   • PHYS-111, 112, 207, 211, 211A, 212, 216, 217
   • UWRT-100, 150

You asked…we responded! (Fall 2016)

Student, instructor, and advisor feedback gave us the opportunity to make a few enhancements to the Starfish Early Alert system for fall semester 2151.

1. Faculty and advisors requested we rename “Early Alerts” to “Academic Alerts” to send a consistent message of concern throughout the term.
   • While the system is Starfish Early Alert, we will now refer to alerts as “academic alerts”.
2. Students, advisors, and faculty pointed out that the subject line "Early Alert..." was problematic for a) students who were being alerted later in the term and b) students receiving positive feedback via Kudos.
   • Email communications to students will have new subject lines, for example:
   1. • For all academic alerts: “Academic Alert for Jane Smith in General Biology I”
      • For Keep Up the Good Work: “Kudos for Jane Smith in General Biology I”
3. Faculty advisors have requested to receive the “Recent Tracking Item Summary” summary email.
   • Faculty advisors will now receive one “Recent Tracking Item Summary” email for all advisees who received an academic alert or kudos within the last 24 hours.
   • Faculty advisors can opt out of this feature by changing their “Email Notifications” in their Starfish profile.
4. Faculty suggested discontinuing the use of an auto-populated instructor signature in the emails that are automatically generated to students when flags and kudos are raised.
   • The email templates that notify a student that flags or kudos were raised have been revised. There is no longer a signature line with the instructor's name but the course name and instructor name are included in the body and the subject line respectively, along with any personalized comments you add.  
   • Sample communications for all flags and kudos can be found here.  

Have a question about Starfish? Contact us at starfish@rit.edu