The Student Success Collaborative presented a new software called EAB Navigate for students and staff Aug. 28 in the University Center, which will soon be coming to campus.

Navigate, for students, takes steps toward making things more convenient for them, such as giving important reminders to apply for FAFSA or to set up an appointment with advisors, tutors or the financial aid office. Its other features include helping students choose their major from their interests and preferred field of work.

Navigate is personalized for the student through a very crucial element – data. Navigate uses data from past students as a reference to see what would work best for the current student, giving students the best options when it comes to choosing advisors and tutors. The same can be said when choosing classes, which is also personalized.

However, there were concerns over the anonymity of students. One of the most valued things for a customer is trust, and EAB made sure to consider that when designing this app. Their solution is to put faculty into certain kinds of roles, where personal information is blocked off depending on the role. “We want this to be a transparent and collaborative process.” said Coordinator of Early Success, Jessica Stein.

For faculty, their options are vast when it involves students. Professors can see who is in their classes, as well as academic records. Staff can also make reports on students, whether it’s to give assistance or to raise concerns making it so faculty are more connected with each other.

The option to coordinate with different departments comes as good news for staff, especially for Associate Vice Chancellor Matt Aschenbrener.

“It is absolutely an improvement, where before we had to send students to different buildings in the past, now they can get in touch with any department in one place,” said Aschenbrener.

Navigate is planned to be introduced in Spring 2020, with some students just recently finding out more and more about it. EAB hopes that Navigate can bring a more straightforward and convenient experience for Warhawks that need extra support. The application also serves as a replacement for Mapworks, a program that offers surveys to students.

EAB aims to improve on what the UW system already has in place. As mentioned before, Navigate replaces Mapworks due to the implementation of surveys. Convenience for the student is a major focus since any faculty member can be contacted in multiple ways at the press of one’s fingertips. One of the major factors that help a student succeed is the implementation of a timeline for the student, detailing the classes and scores needed to meet their goals, along with any extra support they may need.

“It’s definitely going to be a transition, but I think this can be a helpful tool for both students and the UWW staff.” said Katie Pollock, a sophomore regarding the implementation of Navigate.

Pollock is a Warhawk who aims to do the best she can with a fairly heavy load of credits to back it up. However, with Navigate, the path forward towards a degree would be a lot smoother with the right guidance and support. The same can be said for countless other Warhawks in the coming years; even though every journey is unique, the goal is all the same, which is Student Success

For more information, visit the EAB’s website at https://www.wisconsin.edu/ss-eab-project/.