Advisor FAQ

Below you will find answers to questions we received the most about navigating the STARS 2.0 environment.


Overview Module

Q: Is there a way to add more than one appointment service when completing the appointment summary or adding notes to help it be more specific? [Appointment Summaries]
A: Not currently.
Q: Are users able to use bullet points, bold letters, or use other text features within reports? [Appointment Summaries]
A: Not currently.
Q: Can users add attachments to appointment summaries? [Appointment Summaries]
A: Yes, one attachment can be added per comment. If additional attachments are needed, users will have to add another comment.
Q: How do you make notes for drop-ins? [Appointment Summaries]
A: An appointment summary can be added at the time your "complete" the appointment from your Overview module in the "Check-in" component.
Q: What is the difference between Done and Save? [Appointment Summaries]
A: Save your work. Done means that you want to close the window. You need to save and then click "done".
Q: If you do not check a student in, will they show up on a report later to verify students that were seen? [Incomplete Appointments]
A: If you do not act on the appointment, it will appear in your Activity component as Not completed. You can go back and complete work and edit work.
Q: Can specific days/times be designated for as Campaign appointment time? [Campaigns]
A: There is no specific Campaign appointment time developed at this time.
Q: Can we run the list/campaigns for students who are not our assigned students. [Campaigns]
A: Yes, the Advanced Search will allow you to search for any students and add them to a watch list or a Campaign.
Q: Can the outgoing message be changed on Campaign re-sends/prompts? [Campaigns]
A: When sending follow-up messages, you can change the email message body.
Q: Is there a way to send a reminder to students who did not schedule an appt for campaign after few weeks? [Campaigns]
A: Yes, you can send a reminder in an email or you can resend the campaign invite.
Q: Can units add student assistants as users to check in students in for their appointments? [Check-in]
A: Yes, Student Assistants can be provisioned a Front Desk role.
Q: Can students check themselves in when they arrive for an appointment? [Check-in]
A: No, not at this time.
Q: How do you delete an appointment or mark it as a No-Show? [Appointment Management]
A: Open the appointment up in your calendar, Select Status and mark it as appropriate.
Q: Can we change the order of the tiles for the ones we want to see as priority? [Component]
A: No, you cannot change the tile/component order, but you can close the ones that you do not use regularly.

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Student Module

Q: For depts with multiple advisors can we share student lists so one advisor in the dept can do a search for all majors within the dept? [Lists]
A: No, currently Saved lists or Watch Lists cannot be shared. All advisors can run departmental/major lists through the Advanced Search.
Q: Any limits on the number of students that can be emailed at once? [Emails and Texts]
A: The limit is 500 at a time (Microsoft O365 limit).
Q: Will sent emails save in the student's notes in STARS 2.0? [Emails and Texts]
A: Emails will be saved in Comments.
Q: When emailing several selected students, can each student see who else was emailed? [Emails and Texts]
A: No, students will not be able to view other recipients.
Q: Are we able to Text students? [Emails and Texts]
A: No, text messages are not available currently.

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Calendar Module

Q: Can advisor schedule Campaign availability vs Appointment availability? [Availability]
A: No, currently, you cannot differentiate Campaign and Appointment availability.
Q: Can we limit availability by student service or student population like probation advising? [Availability]
A: No. When you create blocks of availability, this means that you are available to see any student who makes an appointment with you?
Q: How do I add student services to my availability? [Availability]
A: You only need to make yourself available. The "reasons" are attached to you behind the scenes (Biology, SAP, etc.). You cannot add additional servuces yourself.
Q: If I set standing advising availability for M-F 9-4:30, and then schedule a meeting/training in Outlook, will that availability get blocked in my Stars appointments? [Availability]
A: Yes, your Outlook (O365) Calendar events have priority and will block as appointment availability in your STARS calendar.
Q: When will WSU Extension Centers be available at which to set availability?  [Locations]
A: Currently availability is at Main Campus Only (in-person and remote). Extension Center availability will be in the next Stars development phase beginning in summer 2022. [Locations]
Q: Do we have the overwrite capability--for us to schedule appts during busy time in Outlook? [Calendar]
A: You can overwrite your own calendar. Your department can overwrite all in the department.
Q: Will this work/sync with other program calendars (i.e., handshake, university events, etc.)? [Calendar]
A: If there is anything on your Outlook (O365) Calendar, it will show up on your STARS/WAMS Calendar, but the sync is from your local O365 calendar only.
Q: Will the calendar sync with our Outlook calendar somehow? [Calendar]
A: Events on your Outlook calendar will show up as "O365" Blocks.  Advising appointments made in O365 will not populate to STARS as appointments. They will appear as "0365 Busy" with no other detail.
Q: Can you schedule biweekly appts or recurring appointments? [Calendar]
A: Not at this time.

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Appointment Module

Q: How detailed is the calendar from the student view?  Does it only show availability, or does it show event titles as imported from Outlook? [Student View]
A: The student is only presented with available appointment times. No calendar information is visible.
Q: What about students who prefer phone appointments? [Appointment Type]
A: Currently, if you want to give that option, you will need to ask the student (in your special instructions) to indicate their preference for a phone appointment in the Student Comment field when they schedule the appointment.
Q: Will we have to put appointment reasons in or will it capture any advising reason. [Appointment Type]
A: The appointment subject will be chosen when the appointment is made.
Q: Can a department choose different appointment durations for different types of appointments? [Appointment Duration]
A: Configuration of appointment type duration is at the department level. For units with multiple advisors, the administrator can make these specific changes as needed.
Q: Can an advisor schedule more than 1 student at a time such as for group appointments or workshops? [Multiple Students]
A: Not at this time.STARS is set up for single student appointments. Workshops are not currently supported.
Q: Can users push their own reminders? [Appointment Reminders]
A: There is no functionality for that yet. It is an enhancement request for phase 2. 
Q: If a student appointment needs to be rescheduled or reassigned to another advisor in the unit, can the appointment get transferred to the other advisor if they have availability? [Appointment Rescheduling]
A: You must schedule with the other advisor, then cancel the original appointment. Create New, Delete Old.
Q: Will prospective students be able to make appointments?  [Prospective/Guest Students]
A: Prospective Students are not able to schedule at this time. This is a Phase 2 deliverable.
Q: How do Guest Students from other institutions make appointments? [Prospective/Guest Students]
A: Guest student receive an AccessID. They should be able to use the system as any other student with an AccessID.
Q: Can users add advisor notes for guest students? [Prospective/Guest Students]
A: Yes, the appointment summary would be the same.

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Student Profile

Q: Will student minors be displayed? [Minors]
A: All available curriculum for the student should display in the Student Profile.
Q: Will AP, IB, and CLEP courses show? [Transfer Courses]
A: Yes, these will show in the Courses module.
Q: Are we able to see which institution transfer credits are from and the original course number? [Transfer Courses]
A: Yes.
Q: Will the transfer courses that were not awarded by transfer credit show? [Transfer Courses]
A: Yes, all courses from the transfer institution will show.
Q: Can we sort alphabetically within the columns? [Transfer Courses]
A: Yes, table columns can be sorted
Q: Will comments be able to be filtered so you can remove Banner comments to allow for a quicker review of student records? [Comments]
A: Yes, comments can be sorted by types with the option of filtering out Banner comments and bulk emails.
Q: Can you search the comments by appt vs email vs tutoring? [Comments]
A: Yes, comments can be sorted by appointment, comment, and email.
Q: Are there levels to who can view comments on a student? [Comments]
A: Only Staff roles will have access to advisor comments.
Q: Will the Stars 1.0 feature be available forever or will it be phased out? [STARS 1.0]
A: Stars 1.0 will eventually be decommissioned, but only once we have added all the components being used.
Q: If the FERPA indicator in the header shows a "Y", where would that info be? [FERPA]
A: It should present the appropriate FERPA permission in the student's Overview module.
Q: Will financial awards include private scholarships as well? [Financial Aid]
A: Financial Aid information is still being determined.
Q: Will we be able to see financial aid comments? [Financial Aid]
A: Financial Aid information is still being determined.
Q: Will we be able to make referrals to financial aid and have someone from student services or financial aid follow up with a student? [Case Management]
A: Case management and alerts is a Phase 2 deliverable.

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Advanced Search

Q: Will a student pursuing a double major populate in the searches?  Will it only pull the student based on the first declared major? [Majors]
A: If either of the students' majors are in the search criteria, they will populate.
Q: Will we be able to search for students who are minoring in a program within our department? [Minors]
A: Minors can be searched through the Curriculum parameter in the Advanced Search. You can search for one or more specific minors.
Q: Can the lists be exported?  [Lists]
A: Yes, once you select one or more students from a list, you have the option of exporting the list.
Q: Will there be a way that the reports will be able to be run and emailed to a recipient (or two)? [Lists]
A:  Student lists cannot be shared in STARS, but users can export lists and email.
Q: Do we need to know the correct spelling of a students' name or does the wildcard, e.g., % work on a name search like current STARS 1.0? [Searches]
A: No, the wildcard will need to be an enhancement. 

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Advisor Settings

Q: Can I select the Microsoft Teams (default), but also include a Zoom link as an option in the student instructions?  [Settings]
A: Yes, you can add any information you choose up to 1000 Characters.
Q: With the Teams link choice in User Settings, will there be a phone option for students to call in? Showing a phone number and conference ID? [Settings]
A: Additional Instruction like these would be appropriate for "Additional Instructions".
Q: Does the unique URL in the Advisor Settings sync to the appointments in your calendar? [Settings]
A: The MS Teams URL syncs to both your Outlook and MS Teams calendars, but custom URLs only sync to your Outlook calendar. 

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