Frequently Asked Questions

BoilerConnect is a technology platform that combines predictive analytics with communication and workflow tools that will be used by academic advisors, Student Success Programs staff and other professionals across campus who support undergraduate students.

BoilerConnect provides seamless communication among professionals who work with undergraduates by creating a coordinated support system. When used properly, BoilerConnect can help us identify which students need the most attention so we can intervene, ensuring that all students get the support they need when they need it. This platform will also help us identify and eliminate institutional barriers to student success. We hope that BoilerConnect will help Purdue achieve its goals of improving undergraduate retention and graduation rates and eliminating achievement gaps for low-income and first-generation students.

To gain access, the official role requestor in your department needs to request the appropriate role for you in BoilerConnect. Click here for the role request website.

BoilerConnect uses a distributed training model, meaning that each department using the system has identified local experts to be primary trainers. There may occasionally be optional trainings offered by BoilerConnect staff, but for the most part your departmental colleagues will train you.

Your first step should be to contact your department trainer. If that person is not available, email ITaP@purdue.edu and put BoilerConnect in the subject line so your question can be routed to the proper BoilerConnect staff.

Students can make appointments with anyone assigned to them in Banner as an advisor or coach (including secondary advisors). In some departments, there are specific appointment reasons that are open to non-assigned advisors. Other units such as the Academic Success Center allow students to make appointments with anyone available.

Yes, a BoilerConnect user can make an appointment with any student by searching for them in Appointment Center or by using the “Schedule an Appointment” link on the student’s profile. Campaigns could also be used to allow non-assigned students to schedule appointments.

Yes, BoilerConnect is designed to sync with Purdue’s Exchange system. If you are using BoilerConnect for student appointments, then part of your training includes how to sync the two calendars. If you have time blocked off on your Exchange calendar, this will show up as “busy” in BoilerConnect and students will be unable to schedule appointments during that time. If you are having trouble getting your calendar to sync properly, please check with your department trainer for help.

Yes, BoilerConnect syncs with the schedule of classes for both instructors and students. Students are not able to schedule appointments that conflict with assigned class time (although staff can schedule appointments for students as needed even if there is a conflict). If you are assigned to a class in Banner as an instructor, then that time will be blocked off in BoilerConnect.

Creating drop-in times is an option in BoilerConnect, but each unit will determine whether or not it makes sense to do so based on their own workflow needs.

That is up to the individual. If a student shows up without an appointment and the advisor is available, they can meet with the student and create a report on advising to document the appointment. Setting up drop-in availability is mostly important if the advising unit has a front desk or a kiosk to manage the drop-in queue.

Yes. Students can cancel their appointments at any time, but if it is less than 24 hours before the appointment then it is reported as a no-show.

Yes, any reply from a text message in BoilerConnect will be sent to the BoilerConnect user’s Exchange inbox.

Check your Outlook rules to make sure you are not filtering out all BoilerConnect messages.

Every time a student schedules an appointment with you, you will get a confirmation email plus one or two reminder emails. If you do not want to have to delete these emails, follow the instructions in the “Training and Resources” section to set up Outlook rules by subject line. Just be sure not to filter out all emails that have BoilerConnect in the subject line, because students might send important messages through the system as well that you do not want to miss.

Students’ cell numbers are pulled from Banner. Students can change their cell number in Banner by updating their personal information in MyPurdue. To do so, they should look on the Academic Tab under Personal Information and click on “Student Cell Phone for Text Messages.” They can also update the number in BoilerConnect when they schedule an appointment and request a text reminder.

If a BoilerConnect user sends a message from BoilerConnect, an email is sent to the student’s Office 365 account and saved under the conversations tab in BoilerConnect. When the student responds, their message is saved under the conversations tab as well but is also sent directly to the initial sender’s email address. This is one reason you should not filter out all BoilerConnect emails.

There are two ways to capture emails in BoilerConnect. The first is to initiate them within BoilerConnect (see previous question). The second is to send an email from Outlook (or another email system) and add “boilerconnect” to the email address, e.g. purduepete@boilerconnect.purdue.edu. Those emails and subsequent replies will also be tracked in the conversations tab on BoilerConnect as long as the student is not forwarding their Purdue email to an outside email server.

It is recommended that the BoilerConnect users ask their supervisor for guidance on handling messages with sensitive information given that such messages are not confidential.

Email Yes, BoilerConnect users who are able to read advising notes will also be able to view messages sent through BoilerConnect to all students.

No.

A category is information about a student that comes directly from Banner, such as their minor or whether they belong to a specific group like Purdue Promise or International Students. This information is updated automatically every night from Banner and is visible to all users.

A tag is information about a student that is added by a BoilerConnect user. This is information that is not available in Banner but instead comes from someone who knows the student, like whether or not the student is planning to study abroad or apply to medical school.

No, only the system administrator can create a tag. If you would like to request a tag, please email ITaP@purdue.edu and put BoilerConnect in the subject line so your request will be forwarded to the system owner for consideration.

Yes, any user can assign or remove a tag.

A watch list is a static group of students that you can continually monitor over time. You can add any student to a watch list, even if they are not assigned to you in Banner. You are the only person who can see a watch list that you created.

If you are interested in knowing which students fall into a specific group at any point in time, you can use a saved search. You would use the Advanced Search function and enter the parameters that interest you, such as all students in a certain minor, or all students who are registered for fewer than 12 credit hours. Then you save the search so the next time you want to find out which students fall into that group, you don’t have to recreate it.

See above questions for details about each, but think about two questions: First, is this a list of students that is updated automatically when information in Banner is updated, or does the list of students stay the same? Second, is the list visible to others, or only by you?
Categories are updated automatically and visible to all BoilerConnect users.
Tags must be updated by individuals but are visible (and editable) for all BoilerConnect users.
A watch list must be updated by an individual and is only visible to the creator.
If you run a saved search, the results will be updated automatically each time, but the search criteria is only visible to the creator.

Yes, this functionality is under the “Student Information” section within advanced search.

In BoilerConnect, most alerts should be thought of as referrals. BoilerConnect users with appropriate permissions have the ability to issue an alert on a student at any time by clicking the “Issue an Alert” button on the student’s profile page. Some alerts will lead to an individual reaching out to a student, but others are configured to simply send the student an email with information. If you have an urgent concern about a student, call or email the appropriate colleague rather than issuing an alert.

In BoilerConnect, you make a referral by issuing an alert. However alerts are configured differently depending on the resource. Some alerts result in individual attention to the student and others only generate an automated email.

Yes, all advisors assigned to the student in Banner (including coaches and secondary advisors) will receive this alert.

Each alert generates a configurable email to the student. Most of the time this includes general information about the resource. In other situations, issuing an alert opens up what BoilerConnect calls a “case.” For example, if you issue an alert to the Academic Success Center, a staff member will follow up by individually reaching out to the student.

Yes! If you are seeking outreach to a student from ODOS, it is important to submit a Student of Concern report. The BoilerConnect alert for ODOS simply generates an email to the student with hours and contact information, and should be used when a student has non-urgent needs (e.g. grade appeal, withdrawal from the university, emergency loans, etc.).

There are two ways to identify students with alerts. In the top right corner of each individual student’s profile page, it says “Current Alerts.” The number inside the yellow circle tells you how many alerts have been issued for that student. It is reset at the start of each semester. Additionally, BoilerConnect users can run the “Alerts” report which is found on the reporting tab under Alerts and Cases.

A campaign is a way to target a specific group of students and make it easy for them to schedule appointments with you. Students in a campaign receive an email with a link directly to your availability (which you can designate specifically for the campaign). Campaigns also allow you to track which students have completed appointments, and resend the invitation only to those who have not already scheduled an appointment.

Yes, the goal of any campaign is to create a targeted way for students to schedule appointments within specific constraints set by the advisor. Designating specific times for a given group of students would be a typical use of the campaign functionality.

BoilerConnect users define their own availability during the campaign. If you want to limit the campaign to certain days or times and have other appointment or drop-in availability within the time period of the campaign, that is fine. You could even have appointment availability at the same time as the campaign (for example, if you used a campaign for probation students but wanted to be available for other students as well), but if you want certain days or times to be only available to students in a campaign, then you would have to restrict your appointment availability.

Yes, users can edit saved Reports on Advising.

The Report on Advising is the standard place to document interactions with students, including all in-person and phone appointments.

Students cannot log in to BoilerConnect and see Reports on Advising. However, under FERPA, students have the right to inspect and review their education records including those in BoilerConnect.

Yes, a BoilerConnect user with appropriate permissions can view any Report on Advising when they have an educational need to know. These reports can be found under the Reports/Notes tab.

The note option is used for personal reminders, or to document information about the student that didn’t involve an interaction.

The default is set up so that notes are not visible to students. However, this option is available by selecting the student’s name under “Visibility.”

A note is accessible to any BoilerConnect user with appropriate permissions unless the user selects their own name under “Visibility.”

No. If you feel a note needs to be deleted or edited, contact your supervisor for guidance.

No. If you want students to be aware of something you add to BoilerConnect, you should either ask the student to check the Notes section or use the Messaging function instead.

BoilerConnect users with appropriate permissions have the ability to access all student profiles and add appropriate documentation, regardless of whether they are assigned to the student in Banner.

BoilerConnect is only accessible through the website or through a campaign link they receive by email. They can find the website link on the Purdue homepage, and many academic advisors include the link in their email signatures.

At this time, BoilerConnect is pulling names from Banner and cannot access preferred names. If a student requests that you use a different name, that information could be shared in the documentation on the student’s profile.

Your Purdue career account password is used to access BoilerConnect. To change your career account password, please go to the following web page and follow the instructions: https://www.purdue.edu/apps/account/ChangePassword