Starfish for Students

• MyNMU is for "official" business such as paying your ebill, registering for courses, and receiving final grades.
• Educat is a platform for instructors to share class assignments and grades.
• Starfish allows you to easily schedule appointments with instructors and your adviser, as well as indicate you need assistance with any aspect of college success.

The link to log in to your Starfish account can be found in the "Starfish" box on the Student Services tab in MyNMU. 

Access your profile information and intake form by clicking on your name in the upper right corner of Starfish.

• Profile Tab: Update your email, phone number, and email preferences.  Click “submit” to save your changes.
• Intake Tab: This tab contains required profile questions that instructors, advisers, and NMU service departments will use to better assist you when you need help.  If any of this information changes throughout the semester, be sure to update your answers.

To receive text messages alerts in addition to emails, add your phone number and the respective @ for your service provider (found by clicking on the phone icon on the right) under "Alternate Email" on your profile page.

Instructions for setting Gmail as your default email client are available for Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari.

• Dashboard: View appointment reminders, flags that need to be resolved, and kudos you have earned (please note that your dashboard will appear empty until items are added by your adviser or instructor)
• Messages: Messages about your appointments, flags, and kudos
• My Success Network: Contact information for ACAC, the Student Service Center, your adviser, and your instructors
• Raise Your Hand: Ask for help with a course, finances, or anything else.  This creates a flag in Starfish that will notify the people on campus who can assist you
• Courses: View what courses you’re currently enrolled in, as well as past semesters you’ve attended Northern
• History: View all Starfish activity related to you

• Contact information for all student service departments on campus.

“Raising your hand” means a “flag” has been raised for your profile in Starfish.  A flag alerts a department or instructor and lets them know you have a question or need help. 

Select “Raise Your Hand” on the left side navigation to request help.  Choose the type of help you are looking for, select a course if it is relevant to your needs, and be sure to add detailed comments about your request so the NMU faculty and staff have the information they need to best assist you.

• I Need Help (use this option when the other options are not applicable to your question)
  • Your Primary Adviser will be notified and answer your question or direct you to the appropriate office.
• I Need Help in a Course
  • The instructor of the course you selected will be notified of your for help, and instructed to reach out to you.
• Questions about Finances, Paying Bills, Etc.
  • The Student Service Center will address your concern.  Adding detailed comments will help the SSC better assist you.
• Questions about Financial Aid
  • The Financial Aid office will address your concern.  Adding detailed comments will help the FOA better assist you.

Yes, instructors and other staff members can raise flags for concerns about students. Here are four examples of flags in Starfish that are your responsibility to respond to:

• Attendance Concern
• Low Course Grade
• In Danger of Failing
• Missing/Late Assignments

You will be notified via email if one of these flags are raised on you.  Respond to the flag raiser (this will usually be your instructor) by clicking “reply” in the email message and ask what steps you should take to solve the problem.  You will also be able to view your flags and kudos on the right hand side of your Dashboard tab in Starfish.

Adviser Registration Holds (also treated like flags) are visible in Starfish as well as MyNMU.  After meeting with your adviser to discuss lifting your hold, it will take FOUR HOURS for the flag to clear.  Do not wait until the day you need to register to meet with your adviser.

As a student, if you have a question that does not match any of the other more specific "Raise Your Hand" options, and you are unsure of who you should contact, please use the “I need help” flag. This flag notifies your assigned adviser of your question and instructs them to help point you in the right direction to get your concerns answered.  

A kudo is a way for an instructor or adviser to say “good job” in a class.  Your six most recent Kudos will appear in the upper right corner of your Starfish Dashboard screen and will remain active until the end of the semester they are given.  You do not need to take any action after receiving a kudo. 

An instructor or adviser has referred you to a student services department on campus to receive help.

One of your connections has assigned you a task you need to complete, such as meeting with your adviser to discuss signing up for classes, or completing your FAFSA. 

Go to the “My Success Network” in the Home tab. If you are unable to view your entire success network, zoom out by pressing "Ctrl -"

If the person you are trying to schedule an appointment with has set up their office hours in Starfish, “Schedule Appointment” will be available as a clickable link underneath their email address.

After clicking on “Schedule Appointment,” you can view your instructor or adviser’s available hours.  If there are open hours on a particular day, the date on the left side calendar will be bold.  Scroll using the arrows in the upper right corner of the hourly calendar to view additional days or weeks. 

When the instructor or adviser has open hours, the available slot will have the words “Sign Up” next to a green and white plus sign symbol.  Click on an open time, and answer the required questions, such as the reason for appointment and the requested duration. 

Click “submit” after filling out the appointment information, and wait for a confirmation email.

To cancel an appointment, find the appointment on your Starfish Dashboard and click the "x" in the upper right corner, enter a reason for the cancelation, and click submit.

You will receive a confirmation or cancelation email and the appointment will be viewable on your Dashboard and History tabs in Starfish.

Your instructor/adviser has chosen not to use the calendar feature of Starfish so you will need to call or email them to set up an appointment.

You cannot schedule appointments through Starfish with specific departments; you can either "Raise Your Hand" or directly call the office.