If anyone needs a little extra help with their student education plan, look no further than Fresno City College’s Starfish app to get you in touch with a counselor today.

“Starfish is a tool that empowers students to take ownership of their academic success,” said Evie Contreras, an FCC counselor who currently oversees the Early Alert aspect of Starfish.

Students can simply log on to “My Portal” where they’ll be given a few different applications to check out. Here students will find Self Service, Student email, Canvas and Starfish.

The Starfish icon is a bright blue starfish with a gray background, making the application easily stand out.

Users are met with the dashboard which gives them access to their personal “my services”, “school calendar,” “notifications,” and “my connections.” “My services” grants access to available counselors in whichever department students may need assistance in.

The calendar will break down a student’s schedule for them. Notifications will Keep students up to date on what they need to know. Lastly, Connections are a student’s direct contact with the name(s) and email address(es) of their professors.

“One of the benefits is the ability to make appointments to be seen by a counselor more quickly,” Contreras said.

She went on to say that they follow through and do outreach to students who are experiencing challenges through the Early Alert program.

According to the FCC Early Alert page, Starfish Early Alert is “designed to promote student success through communication between students, instructors, and counselors.”

Essentially, this program can ensure that students, their teachers and their counselors are all on the same page, trying to make it as seamless as possible for students to succeed.

“Starfish also offers a more personalized support,” Contreras said. “The platform enables the ability to connect with a counselor through their instructors.”

If at any point a student may need assistance for anything beyond the platform they can press the link with the red hand that says, ‘Request Assistance.’

This ensures students have access to resources that can address their specific needs and challenges,” Contreras said.

Here students will be given various options to get assistance in the way that will best suit them.

From assistance in finding a job, to food insecurities, Starfish will point them in the right direction to get the necessary help they need.