Exciting things are in store for our students and undergraduate academic advising professionals as we conclude the soft launch of the Slate Student Success Platform and prepare for the summer training sessions. Read on to review the training plan for the summer cohort, find out how the soft launch went, and learn how you can prepare for Slate’s official launch in fall!
Summer Training Sessions
A new group of undergraduate academic advising professionals will complete their Slate Student Success Platform training this summer in preparation for their full transition to the new system in July and September, respectively. The three-part training will tackle essential tasks needed to get advisors up and running in Slate once they transition.
- Training 1: Advisor Profile Set Up, Calendar Sync, and Appointment Schedule
- Training 2: Managing Drop-In Rooms
- Training 3: Managing Scheduled Appointments
The summer cohort includes:
- School of Business
- Bourns College of Engineering
- College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences
- College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
- University Honors
Advisors from these units should expect to receive an email from their manager inviting them to register for their preferred training dates throughout the summer.
Soft Launch News and Early Adopter Feedback
On April 21, 2025, the Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE), in partnership with Information Technology Solutions (ITS) and XCITE Center for Teaching and Learning, commenced the soft launch phase of the Slate Student Success Platform initiative. Four undergraduate advising groups participated as Early Adopters: the School of Education, School of Public Policy, the Pre-Professional Advising Center, and UCR Athletics.
Advisors reported their transition to the Slate Student Success Platform as a positive experience, stating that they felt “very well supported” throughout the soft launch process. Early Adopters received dedicated training and support from XCITE and ITS, which helped them prepare for the adoption of the new system.
Some of the Early Adopters shared candid feedback in a post-launch survey. Liliana Aguayo, a Professional Academic Advisor from the School of Education, shared:
“Having access to the Slate user handbook made a huge difference. I also appreciated the email alerts about incorrect steps I was making when doing check-in. I appreciate all the support from the team!”
As with any change, there is a learning curve involved. When it comes to using the Slate Student Success Platform, Deisy Vaca, Assistant Director of Student Success from the School of Public Policy, shared, “There is a lot to learn and process. Now that we are live, much of the learning has been trial and error so we are starting to feel better at navigating the system, but we are still catching up. Students are still figuring out the system but that will take time.”
When we asked our Early Adopters what they found to be most beneficial about using Slate, they agreed that it was the convenience of having detailed and organized student records in one platform, which makes it much easier for advisors to understand individual student situations.
Thanks to feedback from the Early Adopters, the project team is actively working to improve the appointment booking process and user experience for students to ensure that they are able to connect with their advisors in a timely manner.
Prepare for the Launch of the Slate Student Success Platform in Fall
The Slate Student Success Platform is set to officially launch in Fall 2025. To prepare for the new system, take some time to review the training documentation available on the Slate webpage.
A Common Advising Portal for All Undergraduate UCR Advisors
The Slate Advisor Portal serves as the universal advising portal for all undergraduate UCR advisors. Through the Slate Advisor Portal, advisors can access student information and manage their appointments and schedules. From here advisors can also go to the Slate Drop-In Management Portal to manage unscheduled sessions requested by students via the Slate Student Success Portal. It has multiple drop-in rooms so that each school or college can manage appointments and availability via one or more drop-in rooms.
Instructions on how to access and navigate these portals are available on the webpage.
A Single Portal for All Students
Students have a dedicated portal for their advising needs called the Slate Student Success Portal. Here, students can make advising appointments for future sessions or same-day drop-in sessions. Additionally, the portal can be used as an access point to other campus resources, such as degree audit, financial aid, and the academic calendar. Instructions on how to access and navigate this portal are available on the webpage.
If you’d like to learn more about Slate’s features, check out Intro to Slate and the Slate Training Documentation and Videos at https://goto.ucr.edu/slate-kb. If you receive a “Knowledge record not found” message, simply log into the IT Service Center by following the instructions in this article.
Should you have any questions or concerns about the Slate Student Success Platform, please reach out to your manager. You may also submit a ticket to receive technical support from ITS.