Information for Faculty
BoilerConnect
Progress Reports give faculty a quick and effective way to provide feedback on students' academic performance early in the term. Through BoilerConnect, instructors can flag concerns —helping connect students with the right campus resources. Submitting progress reports supports proactive advising and helps students stay on track academically.
Progress Reports Faculty Quick Guide
What is Forage?
Forage is a free online platform for Purdue students that offers virtual job simulations, certificates, and opportunities to earn real-world skills.
With Forage, you can:
- Provide free career resources to students in your courses
- Provide experiential learning opportunities within classroom
- Incorporate Forage resources and tools within curriculum
Using Forage in your course:
- Create a curated landing page and select simulations for your students to choose from
- Use a pre-built pack, choose your own, or select the entire catalog
- Track engagement in your dashboard
- View and share landing pages created by other Purdue educators
- Duplicate or edit landing pages for future semesters
Help us get the word out! Find everything from flyers to social posts to promote the new BoilerConnect Student platform using the link below.
For any questions about BoilerConnect, please contact boilerconnect@purdue.edu.
Smart Plan
Bring Smart Plan to Your Students
Faculty are welcome to request a classroom visit from our team to introduce and explain Smart Plan (EduNav)—Purdue’s interactive degree planning and registration tool. During these brief sessions, we’ll walk students through key features, demonstrate how to build and adjust academic plans, and answer common questions. To schedule a visit, please contact us at mypurdueplan@purdue.edu.
- Curriculum/smart rule plan review timeline and how that compliments the current curriculum timeline (Coming Soon)
- Request a curriculum/smart rule plan review (Coming Soon)
- Things to consider when updating curriculum (Coming Soon)
Q. What is Smart Plan?
A. Smart Plan, previously called EduNav, is a degree planning platform that provides a guided, personalized, and optimal pathway to degree completion for students – think Google or Apple Maps for degree planning! Students and academic advisors will be able to visualize the full pathway from matriculation to graduation in a detailed and term-by-term view. Thinking about a course or program change? You can see and understand exactly how that change will impact time to degree!
Q. Is Smart Plan replacing myPurduePlan?
A. No. Academic Advisors and students will use myPurduePlan and Smart Plan together for a full degree auditing and planning experience. myPurduePlan will continue to serve as the official degree audit platform, while Smart Plan provides dynamic course planning.
Q. Who can use Smart Plan?
A. Smart Plan is currently available to to select majors with a planned rollout for all undergraduate majors in the coming months. Both students and academic advisors will have access to the tool. Students will be able to access the platform by clicking on the "Smart Plan Degree Planning" link located on the Degree Planning & Audit card in myPurdue.
Q. Where can I find a list of programs currently working in Smart Plan?
A. Click here to see the current list.
Q. Why should students use Smart Plan?
A. Smart Plan clearly shows students how to map out their remaining course requirements to efficiently earn a degree in four years or less. To do this, the system takes into account pre-requisite courses and advising recommendations to generate a degree path starting point for each student. When students plan and select courses for future terms using Smart Plan, it helps the university know how many sections of a course should be offered in a particular term.
Q. Why does Smart Plan sometimes recommend taking several challenging courses within a single term?
A. Smart Plan attempts to generate the most timely path to degree based on and advising roadmap provided by the unit. It also takes into account key pre- and co-requisites, and when courses are typically offered. Smart Plan does not attempt to evaluate the mix of courses planned in a term as many factors can contribute to the appropriateness of the schedule for an individual student. The planned degree path should be reviewed and adjusted by the student and advisor in order to maximize the student's ability to succeed.
Q. Does Smart Plan capture a failed course?
A. Yes. If a student fails a course required for their degree, the course will repopulate in a future appropriate term within Smart Plan.
Q. How does the What-if Plan in Smart Plan compare to a What-if Report in myPurduePlan?
A. Similar to myPurduePlan, the Smart Plan What-if Plan provides information based on their intended major. The Smart Plan What-if Plan provides a suggested path to complete the intended major in a semester by semester view, while the myPurduePlan What-if Report is a more comprehensive look at all degree requirements.
Motivation Code (MCode)
Motivation Code (MCode) is a story-based assessment designed to help students better understand what motivates and energizes them and influences how they approach goals, decisions, and challenges. Through personal stories and guided reflection, students receive a personalized motivation profile that helps them better understand their experiences, engagement, and approaches to success.
MCode can be used in courses and learning experiences to support self-reflection, leadership development, career and major exploration, teamwork, and student growth. Faculty may choose to incorporate MCode into class activities, assignments, discussions, or reflection exercises.
MCode is designed to supplement Strengths, not replace it. While Strengths helps students understand their natural talents and patterns, MCode offers additional insight into the motivations that influence how they engage, make decisions, and pursue opportunities. Together, they can provide students with a more complete understanding of themselves.
Faculty do not have access to student MCode results in BoilerConnect; however, students may choose to share their results as part of classroom activities or experiences when appropriate.
Q: What is MCode?
A: MCode (Motivation Code) is a student-completed, story-based assessment designed to help students better understand what motivates them and influences how they approach goals, decisions, and challenges. Students receive personalized results that identify patterns in their motivations and what energizes them.
Q: How does MCode relate to Strengths?
A: MCode is intended to supplement Strengths, not replace it.
Strengths helps answer: What do I naturally do well?
MCode helps answer: What motivates and energizes me?
Together, they can provide a more complete picture of the student experience and support deeper self-awareness and reflection.
Q: Why might I use MCode in a classroom setting?
A: MCode can support classroom activities and discussions that encourage self-awareness, reflection, and student engagement. Faculty may find it useful when helping students:
- Reflect on personal experiences and motivations
- Explore goal setting and decision-making
- Connect motivations with academic or career interests
- Strengthen self-awareness and personal development
- Participate in group discussions and reflective activities
Q: Do students have to complete MCode?
A: No. MCode is an optional tool designed to support student reflection and growth.
Q: How long does MCode take to complete?
A: Completion time may vary by student, but most students can complete MCode in approximately 20–30 minutes. Students are encouraged to complete the assessment in one sitting when possible. Faculty may encourage students to think ahead about a few fulfilling experiences or activities they have participated in, as having these examples in mind may help reduce the time needed to complete the assessment.
Q: Will I be able to see students’ personal stories?
A: No. Students’ personal stories are not shared with faculty and are not uploaded into university systems. Only the student sees the stories they entered.
Q: Will I be able to see student MCode results?
A: Faculty access to student results may vary based on role in BoilerConnect. Students may also choose to share and discuss their results as part of classroom activities or reflection exercises.
Q: How should MCode results be used in the classroom?
A: MCode is intended to support reflection and discussion rather than evaluate student performance. Results should be used as a tool for self-awareness and conversation, not as a measure of ability, potential, or academic success.
Q: Are there example classroom activities or discussion prompts available?
A: Yes. Classroom activities, discussion prompts, and workshop ideas will be available on our website to help faculty explore ways to incorporate MCode into courses and student learning experiences. These resources are intended to provide flexible ideas that can be adapted to different course goals and settings.
Q: What if students disagree with their MCode results?
A: MCode results are intended to support reflection and conversation rather than define a student. Encourage students to think about whether the results resonate with the experiences they shared during the assessment and use the information as a starting point for discussion.
Q: Can students retake MCode?
A: Similar to Strengths, students should not retake MCode. The assessment is designed to provide meaningful insights based on a student’s experiences and is intended to be completed once.
Q: Will training and resources be available?
A: Yes. Additional resources, examples, guidance, and training opportunities will be shared to help faculty understand MCode and explore ways it can be incorporated into classroom activities and learning experiences.
Q: Can faculty take the MCode assessment?
A: Yes! Purdue faculty and staff can also take MCode at no cost. Completing the assessment yourself can help you better understand the student experience while also providing insight into your own motivations.
Q: I have more questions, where do I get help?
A: Email Student Success Technologies at sst@purdue.edu.
Boiler TechCheck: Supporting Student Technology Innovation at Purdue
Boiler TechCheck is a staff-led service dedicated to assisting Purdue students with technology-focused projects that intersect with campus systems and infrastructure. Our team leverages in-depth knowledge of Purdue’s digital environment to provide tailored feedback, practical recommendations, and comparative insights to help student projects align effectively with existing systems.
Whether students are developing new applications, designing digital tools, or proposing system changes, Boiler TechCheck offers valuable guidance to enhance project viability, integration, and impact within the Purdue ecosystem.
Faculty Engagement and Referring Students
Faculty are encouraged to refer students who are working on technology-driven projects that may benefit from expert feedback and alignment with campus systems. Referring students to Boiler TechCheck can help ensure their work is informed by institutional knowledge and positioned for success within Purdue’s infrastructure.
To refer a student, please:
- Share this service with students developing tech projects
- Encourage them to submit their project plans for review by emailing us at sst@purdue.edu