Proactive Student Advising-24×7, Linda Paquette – Hennnepin Technical College. Presentation at the Brightspace Minnesota Connection at Normandale Community College on April 14, 2016.

1. Student Advising in
D2L (Brightspace)
available online 24x7
Linda Paquette - IT Faculty

2. Introduction
• Explore the power of using Brightspace as an advising tool
• Share insights about bulk enrolling students in a major area
• Create a repository of student information
Aim is to encourage teachers to think about other possible
ways to use Brightspace to enhance the student experience

3. Importance
• Primary purpose of advising is to encourage students to work
together with advisors and plan their educational course
sequence for upcoming semesters
• This is also a good time to identify any potential barriers or
problems that need to be solved
• These conversations are crucial to student success

4. Contents
Students may schedule a personal advising meeting with
faculty during regular office hours by calling or sending
an e-mail request for an appt on campus or using Zoom
or Skype
Faculty would like to present some helpful online
advising tools to help students graduate as soon as
possible

5. Process
• Information for students with a declared major is always
accessible online (24 x 7) through the Brightspace site
• Login with StarID and look under CONTINUOUS - then see
“CCIS Student Advising" or “Business Student Advising”
• Students will find important, updated information under CONTENT
and various links to help plan their educational journey

6. Other
• Key to retention is developing a relationship with each student
• Communications can be easily sent to students
• Graduation, Internships, new courses or awards, etc.
• Not purged through MnSCU system since it is not tied to a term
• Login to Brightspace - CONTINUOUS - see "Student Advising“

7. Samples
We will show samples for teachers to shorten their learning curve
This demonstrates tips for easily bulk enrolling students with a
major concentration into a Brightspace course site for advising

8. Steps to Bulk Enroll
1
Request report
from Institutional
Research (ISRS
data in MnSCU):
• Current registered
students in ______
with majors of
_________
2
Receive .XLS file,
make copy, then
Scrub data in Excel
3
Save Scrubbed
.XLS file as .CSV
file.
4
Open .CSV in
Notepad, Scrub
again, then Save
As .TXT
5
Send .TXT file to
CSA (Campus Site
Admin) to import
.TXT file into site in
D2L

9. Step 1 – Request report from Institutional Research (ISRS data in
MnSCU): Currently registered students in ______ with majors of
_________
1. Fill out ISRS data request report
2. Submit 2 weeks to 1 month before date needed.
3. Request report day after drop/add period.
4. Request report be sent to you in .XLS Excel spreadsheet format
Instructions – 1

11. Instructions – 2
Step 2 – Receive .XLS file, make copy, then Scrub data in Excel
1. Keep only StarID and TechID columns. Delete all other columns.
2. Add 1st column – Field name: STATUS, Enter ENROLL, Fill down
3. Keep 2nd column – STAR_ID, Keep student’s StarID
4. Keep 3rd column – TECH_ID, Keep student’s TechId
5. Add 4th column – Field name: ROLE, Enter Student, Fill down
6. Add 5th column – Field name: COURSE, Enter name of Brightspace
site (CCIS Student Advising), Fill down

12. Scrubbed Data
Original Data

13. Instructions – 3
Step 3 – Save as .CSV (Comma Separated Variable)
1. On the Insert tab, in the Table group, select the Table
command.
2. Enable the My table has headers checkbox
3. Click OK (all rows and columns selected)
4. File Save As .CSV (saves 5 fields with commas)
5. Click Yes to keep using .CSV format

14. Save as .CSV
Convert to Table

15. Instructions – 4
Step 4 – Open .CSV in Notepad to Scrub and Save As .TXT
1. Launch Notepad. Select File, Open
2. Change type to All Files, then open the .CSV in Notepad
3. Delete first line (header)
4. Remove any commas at the end
5. Save the .CSV as a .TXT file type

16. Scrubbed .CSV File
.CSV file from step 3 opened in Notepad

17. Instructions – 5
Step 5 – Send .TXT file to CSA (Campus Site Admin) to import as
.TXT file into site in D2L
1. Go to Admin tools
2. Go to Users - In users choose Bulk User Management
3. Choose the TXT file
4. Upload, Next, check for errors

18. Message to Site Administrator

19. The Repository
Create a repository of student information
Here’s screenshots of a few examples:

24. Summary
CCIS Faculty work to connect and retain our 660 students
through proactive advising using Brightspace as a
communication tool
You are encouraged to ask questions at this poster session

25. THANKS FOR STOPPING TODAY
Linda Paquette linda.Paquette@hennepintech.edu
The Minnesota State Colleges and
Universities System comprises 31 colleges
and universities, including 24 two-year
colleges and seven state universities.