Nexus for Advisors

Nexus, a University of Connecticut software platform, places actionable data in the hands of the advising community to promote student retention and success. Nexus complements the university’s student support services and enhances information sharing between students, staff, and faculty. Tools include dashboards, appointment scheduling, note sharing, event registration, and more.

The mission of Nexus is to support the university’s advising and student support services by enhancing communication between students, staff, and faculty. Nexus tools and data analytics streamline and make processes related to student success more efficient to help UConn advance the academic mission of the university by:

  • Connecting advisors and students through appointment scheduling mechanisms and tools
  • Sharing tools and resources to allow students to gauge their academic progress, communicate with their advisors, and connect with their peers in academic pursuits
  • Creating a common site for advisors to engage with student-level academic data
  • Providing advisors a common platform to keep regular notes on student meetings and interactions
  • Linking the advising community together as they seek to support students developmentally and holistically in the interest of student retention and success

Best Practices for Nexus Use and Nexus Notes for UConn’s Advising & Student Support Community

  • Advisors should only access student information when it is relevant to the educational and/or advising process.
  • The advising community encourages “open” levels of note sharing, when possible. In order for advisors to best serve students’ holistic needs during their time at UConn, open communication is encouraged.
  • Note: Keep only those individual student records necessary for the fulfillment of your teaching and advising responsibilities in Nexus. Private advisor notes concerning a student and intended for the advisor’s own use are not part of the student’s educational records.
  • When possible, review a student’s prior notes before meeting with them, to see what offices and/or people they have interacted with recently.
  • The content of other users’ Nexus notes should not be shared directly with students.
  • However, some advisors do share the content of their own notes with students, and sometimes email them to advisees after meetings to ensure that students understand any necessary follow-up tasks.
  • Do not share Nexus notes with other faculty or staff members of the University unless their official responsibilities identify their “legitimate educational interest” in that information for that student.
  • Make a note as soon as possible after meeting with a student.
  • The note should include the following: the topic/nature of the meeting, what was discussed, and next steps for the student—including follow-up appointments, referrals, etc.
  • You may also include attachments to any notes that you create, such as a plan of study, signed form, or any other documents referenced or shared in the meeting.
  • Notes should be short, succinct, and focus on objective facts—not assumptions or inferences.
  • Caution should be exercised when entering notes regarding sensitive or confidential student information. For example, if a student shares about mental or physical health issues, it is critical that they are referred to an appropriate party or resource on campus as soon as possible.
  • You might note that you “connected student with SHaW regarding health issues,” but you should not share details such as, “Student shared that they were depressed.”
  • “Sensitive or confidential information” might include disability, religious and/or political affiliation, sexual orientation, medical diagnoses, or information that could be potentially detrimental to the student if it were revealed to a third party.
  • When in doubt, err on the side of caution and do not release the content of Nexus notes. Contact the Office of University Advising with any questions.

Key resources/tools in Nexus for advisors:

    Appointment Scheduling
  • Many faculty and staff use Nexus for appointment scheduling. Nexus allows students to search and book appointments online. Videos on how to set up your appointments can be found by clicking “Appointments” in the top navigation bar, then clicking the  video  link towards the top of the page.
  • Appointments scheduled via Nexus can be integrated with your existing Outlook calendars.
    Student Search:
  • Nexus allows you to search for a student and view a student dashboard prior to meeting for an advising appointment. The student dashboard allows you to view a student’s academic and personal information, record notes on the student, and much more. Most data on the dashboard is Nexus data, however there is some data brought in from PeopleSoft/Student Admin each night. When searching for students, you can search by name, NetID, or PeopleSoft ID. To search for a student, click here.
    Student Snapshot
  • After searching for a particular student, you can view a snapshot of their data included on their Student Dashboard. This snapshot view includes their major, plan, advisors, credits earned, GPA, campus, email, any warning grades or indicators, and more. This is a great way to get a quick overview of a student before you meet with them.

    Student Notes
  • Nexus is used extensively across all UConn campuses for recording notes on students. Notes about a student’s prior interactions and/or communications can be viewed and entered in each student’s dashboard. First, search for the student under the “Search” tab in the top navigation bar, then click the student’s name to view their dashboard.
  • Each advisor has control over who can view notes, based on “share level.” Additional information about how the note tool works can be found under the “Notes” link on the top navigation bar.
  • Other tabs of student information
  • Appointments, classes, resources, 60-second profile, terms, and warnings
  • Student-facing information
  • Study groups and room reservations; sharing resources
  • Visit the “Getting Started” page (from “Help”) for additional information and links on these features.


Intermediate and Advanced Features of Nexus
Note: Numerous videos and tutorials for all of these features are available on the Nexus homepage. Additionally, you may email nexus@uconn.edu with any questions or requests for assistance.

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  • Nexus’ rolodex feature allows you to easily create a list or “cluster” of students or advisees, based on student characteristics, that you can email in bulk at once.
  • Emails
  • Emails you send to students using Nexus can be easily tracked to determine if and when they were opened, and copies of these emails can be easily saved in each student’s notes. Emails you archive can be found in the archives. Although the origin of these emails is Nexus, replies to these emails will go to your UConn email account.
  • Events
  • Kiosk Check-In

    • Nexus Videos, Tutorials, and Help

  • Personal settings, including your name, photo, pronouns, contact preferences, and more can be changed by clicking on the “Settings” tab.
    • The “Help” tab provides additional contact information for Nexus-related support.
    • Numerous videos and tutorials for all of these features are available on the Nexus homepage. In particular, we encourage you to visit the “Frequently Asked Questions” link on the homepage.

      • Nexus Video Library:

    • Direct Links here, beginning with Jeff’s best videos—appointment scheduling, kiosk check-in, etc.