Case Study: University of Illinois Springfield achieves 75% faculty engagement and improved early intervention with Hobsons' Starfish

University of Illinois Springfield - Customer Case Study

The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS), a public campus serving about 5,100 students — including many transfer and online learners — struggled with fragmented advising data and limited analytics that hindered early identification and intervention. Advisors relied on paper files, spreadsheets and legacy tools, and faculty reporting was under 30%, so UIS sought a user-friendly, comprehensive system to better manage and track student-success efforts.

In February 2011 UIS implemented Starfish, integrated with Blackboard and Banner, to consolidate data, expand role-based access, and run Progress Surveys at three points each term. The platform raised faculty response rates to roughly 75%, increased student engagement and office visits, enabled departments like Chemistry to manage appointments, and produced measurable early returns that UIS says paid for the system while supporting ambitious retention goals.

University of Illinois Springfield

Carmalita Kemayo

Undergraduate Academic Advisor