Idaho State University has released an
app with the help of the Education Advisory Board that is intended to increase
student retention. The new app, called
Navigate, focuses on finding and repairing gaps in student support systems so
that students can get assistance before
they feel like dropping out of either a single class or college entirely. According to
the Education Data Initiative, over a quarter of students who drop-out have said
that their reason for dropping out is them
not being able to handle the academics
in college. Using predictive technology,
Navigate helps professors and advisors
see which students are likely to have issues with the classes they are taking, so
they can jump in and provide extra support where needed. If faculty members
need a bit of help using Navigate there
are guides on ISU’s website.
EAB is a company that is committed to
helping students stay in school and get
the most out of their education. According to their mission statement, “EAB’s
mission is to make education smarter
and our communities stronger.” Their
services are designed to help schools,
colleges, and universities support their
students.
Navigate has functions that instructors
can use to look at where their students
are headed and whether or not they need
more help with their schooling. It does
this using information collected from the
students, such as enrollment data, majors, transcripts, and GPA. On top of that,
it uses data provided by faculty members
about student interactions. Furthermore,
its database is updated daily.
When asked about the application, Michelle Havens, an academic advisor at
ISU’s College of Technology, said that she
uses Navigate everyday. She finds it to be
an incredibly useful tool to help students
and advisors communicate, as well as accessing the resources that ISU offers.
“I especially like that I can text students
and have a central location to keep notes
on meetings with students,” said Havens.
Navigate has functions for more than

just faculty however. Some of the resources that students can access through the
app include a to-do list, a schedule and
a study group coordinator. In the case
of a crisis, it can even be used to get an
intervention team in for a student with
the simple click of a button. Additionally, Navigate also has a browser version
which students can access from their
desktop. Student login information is
identical to Bengalweb and Moodle.
For those who are interested in trying Navigate for themselves, it is available for free on both the App Store and GooglePlay