Dear Faculty and Staff,

I am writing with several fall Student Success updates.

 

Schedule Builder

Schedule Builder is a new, easy-to-use course planning tool that helps students build their schedule more efficiently within COIN. With Schedule Builder, students can compare course options, avoid time conflicts, and build a schedule that works for them in just minutes. While this is a student-facing tool, your advisees may ask you questions about it, so I am attaching a job aid for faculty, which includes step-by-step instructions for using the tool. Students were sent job aids directly and additional guidance is available under the How Do I Use Schedule Builder question on the Registration website.

 

MTPR Update

As of Monday, Nov 3, mid-term progress reports were entered for 79% of students in 100 and 200 level classes. Thank you to all of you who provided your students with this very valuable feedback on their status in your classes. I am sincerely grateful for your contribution to student success.

 

Academic Standing Changes

Effective in the AY 25-26 catalog, our campus has made changes to some Academic Standing titles. Academic Probation is now Academic Alert; Academic Warning is now Academic Caution. Importantly, the Rebranding Probation Working Group is in the final stages of developing a Canvas toolkit site called Academic Improvement Map (AIM) for professional advisors to use with students on Academic Alert and Caution. We look forward to rolling it out as a resource for the Spring 2026 semester.

 

Brainfuse Training Video

If you missed the Brainfuse training session for faculty, you can view the recording to learn how you can help your students get the most out of this resource. Brainfuse is our online 24/7 tutoring partner. Students can access live on-demand tutoring from within their Canvas course sites.

 

S4SS Training and Access

Many thanks to those who have attended the recent Slate for Student Success training sessions. We now have 62% of faculty advisors with access to the platform. With every member we add to this network, the value of the network increases and allows us to better support and communicate about students. If you haven’t been to training yet, contact your respective college liaison or me for information about future training opportunities.

 

College S4SS Liaisons:

Charlton College of Business – Alexia Orphanides, aorphanides@umassd.edu

College of Arts & Sciences – Kevin Curow, kcurow@umassd.edu

College of Engineering – Jennifer Murphy, Jennifer.murphy@umassd.edu

College of Nursing & Health Sciences – Michele Bourgeois, mbourgeois1@umassd.edu

College of Visual & Performing Arts – Jason Loete, jloete@umassd.edu

Online & Continuing Education – Shannon Friel, Shannon.price@umassd.edu

LAW and SMAST – Sarah Cosgrove, sarah.cosgrove@umassd.edu

 

Many thanks for your continued efforts to improve student success.

 

Best regards,

 

Sarah Cosgrove

Associate Provost for Student Success

 

Schedule Builder - Faculty & Staff Guide