Student Advising in D2L (Brightspace) available online 24x7  

Linda Paquette - IT Faculty

Introduction

• Explore the power of using Brightspace as an advising tool • Share insights about bulk enrolling students in a major area• Create a repository of student information

Aim is to encourage teachers to think about other possible ways to use Brightspace to enhance the student experience

Importance

• Primary purpose of advising is to encourage students to work together with advisors and plan their educational course sequence for upcoming semesters

• This is also a good time to identify any potential barriers or problems that need to be solved

• These conversations are crucial to student success

Contents

Students may schedule a personal advising meeting with faculty during regular office hours by calling or sending an e-mail request for an appt on campus or using Zoom or SkypeFaculty would like to present some helpful online advising tools to help students graduate as soon as possible

 

Process

• Information for students with a declared major is always accessible online (24 x 7) through the Brightspace site

• Login with StarID and look under CONTINUOUS - then see “CCIS Student Advising" or “Business Student Advising”

• Students will find important, updated information under CONTENT and various links to help plan their educational journey

Other

• Key to retention is developing a relationship with each student• Communications can be easily sent to students• Graduation, Internships, new courses or awards, etc.• Not purged through MnSCU system since it is not tied to a term• Login to Brightspace - CONTINUOUS - see "Student Advising“

Samples

We will show samples for teachers to shorten their learning curve

This demonstrates tips for easily bulk enrolling students with a major concentration into a Brightspace course site for advising

Steps to Bulk Enroll

1Request report

from Institutional Research (ISRS

data in MnSCU):• Current registered

students in ______ with majors of

_________

2Receive .XLS file, make copy, then

Scrub data in Excel

3Save

Scrubbed .XLS file as .CSV file.

4Open .CSV in

Notepad, Scrub again, then Save

As .TXT 

5Send .TXT file to

CSA (Campus Site Admin) to

import .TXT file into site in D2L

Step 1 – Request report from Institutional Research (ISRS data in MnSCU): Currently registered students in ______ with majors of _________

1. Fill out ISRS data request report2. Submit 2 weeks to 1 month before date needed.3. Request report day after drop/add period.4. Request report be sent to you in .XLS Excel spreadsheet format

Instructions – 1

Instructions – 2

Step 2 – Receive .XLS file, make copy, then Scrub data in Excel

1. Keep only StarID and TechID columns. Delete all other columns.2. Add 1st column – Field name: STATUS, Enter ENROLL, Fill down3. Keep 2nd column – STAR_ID, Keep student’s StarID4. Keep 3rd column – TECH_ID, Keep student’s TechId 5. Add 4th column – Field name: ROLE, Enter Student, Fill down6. Add 5th column – Field name: COURSE, Enter name of Brightspace

site (CCIS Student Advising), Fill down

Scrubbed Data

Original Data

Instructions – 3

Step 3 – Save as .CSV (Comma Separated Variable)

1. On the Insert tab, in the Table group, select the Table command.

2. Enable the My table has headers checkbox3. Click OK (all rows and columns selected) 4. File Save As .CSV (saves 5 fields with commas)5. Click Yes to keep using .CSV format

Save as .CSV

Convert to Table

Instructions – 4

Step 4 – Open .CSV in Notepad to Scrub and Save As .TXT

1. Launch Notepad. Select File, Open 2. Change type to All Files, then open the .CSV in Notepad 3. Delete first line (header) 4. Remove any commas at the end5. Save the .CSV as a .TXT file type

Scrubbed .CSV File

.CSV file from step 3 opened in Notepad

Instructions – 5

Step 5 – Send .TXT file to CSA (Campus Site Admin) to import as .TXT file into site in D2L

1. Go to Admin tools2. Go to Users - In users choose Bulk User Management3. Choose the TXT file4. Upload, Next, check for errors

Message to Site Administrator

The Repository

Create a repository of student information

Here’s screenshots of a few examples:

Summary

CCIS Faculty work to connect and retain our 660 students through proactive advising using Brightspace as a communication tool

You are encouraged to ask questions at this poster session

THANKS FOR STOPPING TODAY

Linda Paquette linda.Paquette@hennepintech.edu The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System comprises 31 colleges and universities, including 24 two-year colleges and seven state universities.