Dear Faculty Member,

Happy third week of the Fall 2013 semester! 

We would like to introduce you to Spartan Connect, a new early alert student referral system, which Peer Connections will be piloting this semester.  This process will allow you to refer students who need to connect to various student support services such as Counseling Services, Accessible Education Center, academic advising (either to a GE advisor, major advisor, or to the appropriate student success center), peer tutoring, peer mentoring, and student success workshops.  The early intervention is critical in assisting the student’s success, retention, and graduation.  Now is a key point in the semester to send that first referral if you notice students having any challenges.

How does Spartan Connect work?  You would refer the student via GradesFirst, a website built with early alert in mind.  On approximately September 16^th you will be receiving an email from GradesFirst stating that your GradesFirst Account has been activated with a User Name and password.  Follow the next steps and login to see your GradesFirst account.  Detailed instructions on how to do student referrals can be found at http://peerconnections.sjsu.edu/spartanconnect/referral/index.  Once the student is referred, a Peer Connections professional staff member will follow up with the student to assess the student’s situation and needs.  Appropriate actions will be taken given the conversation. 

Who should be referred to Spartan Connect?  Any student who may be in need of academic or personal support would be appropriate for a referral.  Referral reasons may include: excessive class absences or tardiness, behavior which disregards the Student Code of Conduct (please see http://www.sjsu.edu/studentconduct), lack of participation in class, poor academic performance or a sudden change in academic performance, personal concerns, health concerns, financial concerns, needs tutoring, or needs mentoring.

In addition to the student referral process, we would like to provide you with relevant SJSU student success websites:

Advising Hub (www.sjsu.edu/advising)

Peer Support Services (http://peerconnections.sjsu.edu/resources/peer_support_services/index.html)

Fact Sheet on Academic Advising and Student Success Resources at SJSU:  (www.sjsu.edu/sass/docs/advising_resource.pdf)

Better for FAQs about Spartan Connect overall.  http://peerconnections.sjsu.edu/spartanconnect/  If they have questions, they can email me (Deanna) or email spartanconnect@sjsu.edu.

If you have any challenges with entering information or need to talk to someone about the Spartan Connect program, please contact Deanna Peck at Deanna.Peck@sjsu.edu or 408-924-2181.

Best wishes for a wonderful Fall 2013 semester!

Sincerely,

&
Maureen Scharberg
Associate Vice President
Student Academic Success Services