You (or your unit point person) will receive a document to review before you have your Starfish onboarding session that lists the items that can be customized in your Starfish profile. If you’d like to make unit level decisions about how your team configures their information, we encourage you to have a conversation about those decisions using this document as a prompt. Some units have found it helpful to have one person take notes on this document and print out copies for everyone so they can follow along during their onboarding session. However, this is an optional step. Below you can find more details about each of the sections listed on this document.
Institutional Profile
A. Title
Do you want to use a consistent format for your student-facing titles? Please use student-friendly language, like “Academic Advisor” (instead of “Student Services Coordinator.”)
B. Photo
It may be helpful to make note of headshot locations or requirements in this section – for best results please use a photo that is least 250×250 px.
C. Phone Number
Will your team list direct phone numbers or your general office number on your individual staff profiles?
D. General Overview
Under your individual profiles you have space for a General Overview Message. What kind of information do you want listed? Will it be the same for everyone, or different? We suggest a brief (3-5 sentence) description of the services your office provides students.
- The Office of Student Financial Aid offers 30 minute appointments either in person or over the phone to discuss your specific financial aid questions. Advisors in the Office of Student Financial Aid are happy to meet with students regarding the financial aid application process (the FAFSA), the cost of attendance, budgeting, types of aid, scholarships, and more.
Appointment Preferences
E. Minimum appointment length
What is the minimum amount of time you want to be available for a student appointment? This can be different for individuals, but you may want to determine this as an office.
F. Scheduling Deadlines
You can set the deadline for when students can make an appointment. For example, you could allow a student to schedule up to 1 hour before your appointment availability, or you could set the deadline to be 5 pm the day before your appointment availability.
G. Allow drop-ins after deadline has passed? Y/N
Checking this box will allow students to view drop-in availability after the deadline has passed.
H. Locations
Make a list of all the locations students can meet with you and choose a consistent format. We recommend using how the location is listed in Google Maps and/or Campus Maps. Please note, you have the option to add location instructions for additional details.
- Ex. 333 East Campus Mall
- Instructions: 9th floor
I. Calendar Managers
You will have the option to allow other professional staff and student/administrative support staff to manage your calendar.
Professional Staff: Most UW professional staff are loaded in Starfish and can be added during this step.
Student or Administrative Support Staff: Cannot be added manually from Starfish. Please let your Starfish onboarding support contact know if you wish to do this option.
Appointment Availability
J. Process for Scheduling Out Appointment Availability
How far in advance will you schedule out your availability? Students are not limited to how far out they can schedule an appointment if you have availability scheduled. If you create appointment availability, students can find it and schedule whether it’s 3 weeks, 3 months, or 3 years out.
Our general recommendation is 2-4 weeks, or up to a semester at a time.
K. Additional appointment instructions
Starfish allows you to include appointment instructions (note, these are different that location instructions). If you have a standard message you would like to include as an office, note that in this section.