Student Needs Assessment eForm & Navigate Integration Pilot

February 4, 2026

This spring, Virginia Western Community College (VWCC) is participating in a pilot integrating a Student Needs Assessment eForm with Navigate to strengthen how colleges identify student needs and connect students to coordinated support services.

This initiative directly supports the VCCS Strategic Plan, Accelerate Opportunity 2030, specifically Objective 4: Goal 5: Increase usage of student wrap-around support services by 10% by 2030 by improving early identification, outreach, and resource connection.

VWCC is one of only two institutions across VCCS selected to participate in this pilot, based on the strong student support structures and effective practices already in place on our campus.

Overview of the Pilot

The Student Needs Assessment is an SIS-based eForm distributed to Spring 2026 enrolled students. The pilot is designed to:

  • Proactively identify student needs
  • Improve coordination of outreach through Navigate
  • Strengthen connections to campus and community resources
  • Ensure student information is managed with strict privacy and role-based access controls

How the Outreach Works

Step 1: Promotion Email (Email #1)

  • Sent automatically via Navigate to Spring 2026 enrolled students beginning January 26
  • Continues daily for newly enrolled students through April 30
  • Encourages students to complete the Student Needs Assessment eForm
  • Includes a direct link to the eForm and personalized merge tags

Step 2: Resource Connection Email (Email #2)

  • Triggered after a student completes the Student Needs Assessment eForm
  • Sent daily as new submissions occur, through April 30
  • Connects students to:
    • The Single Stop screener
    • The institution’s student resource webpage
  • Future phases will include additional, response-based resource connections

What’s Coming Next: Automated Support Connections

Future workflows will further advance Goal 4 by connecting students directly to wraparound supports based on select responses, including:

  • Great Expectations: Students indicating foster care or ward-of-the-state experience may be routed to a GE coach through an automated Navigate case.
  • Food Pantry/Basic Needs Support: Students indicating food insecurity may receive appointment-based outreach to connect with food pantry or basic needs services.

Workflows may vary based on campus configuration and service delivery models.

How Data Is Used in Navigate

  • Survey completion generates a Survey Completion category on the student profile.
  • Additional categories are created for each survey response.
  • These categories support coordinated care, reporting, and future system-wide scaling.

Privacy and Access Controls

Student privacy is central to this VCCS pilot:

  • All responses are housed in a dedicated Navigate care unit: Student360 Services.
  • Only users assigned the Student360 Services Administrator role (or site Super Users) can access survey data.
  • Survey response categories are hidden from general Navigate users, including advisors and faculty, unless explicitly authorized.

Why This Matters

This pilot reflects a system-level investment in wraparound student support and positions VWCC as a model for:

  • Proactive, data-informed outreach
  • Responsible handling of sensitive student information
  • Scalable practices aligned with VCCS strategic priorities

Employees with Navigate permissions can monitor campaign engagement through Navigate message campaign statistics (open rates, click rates, and message volume).

Thank you for your continued work supporting students and helping advance VCCS’s Accelerate Opportunity 2030 goals.

Questions?

Post Views: 6