Penn State is implementing a technological overhaul this spring, headlined by the universally celebrated replacement of Angel and eLion with Canvas and LionPATH. The newest system to complete the trifecta is Starfish, an innovative digital advising program designed to help connect students, faculty, and advisors more efficiently.

Educational technology giant Hobsons acquired Starfish Retention Solutions, the leading provider of higher education student support and advising systems, in February. The critically acclaimed Starfish Enterprise Success Platform will more effectively track and share student performance, including class attendance, grades, tuition payments and more. The software will also emphasize when a student is succeeding in class, with the hope that they will continue on their scheduled graduation path.

Starfish also seeks to improve communication across various campuses and schools with the goal of creating a more connected system. With so many students to manage, it’s inevitable that a few will fall through the cracks, but Penn State hopes instances of that nature will become less prevalent with Starfish.

One category where Starfish comes up short is its lack of a more complex degree audit. For any student, meticulously analyzing the degree audit can be challenging, as its contents can be difficult to understand and could potentially hinder a student’s ability to graduate on time. Penn State plans to implement Starfish as is for the short term, and will focus on improving the system in the long term.

Penn State will implement Starfish this May, which is around the same time Angel and eLion will be replaced.