Nanook Navigator and Student Success Spotlight: Keith Swarner
Portrait of Keith Swarner
Keith Swarner is the Nanook Navigator and Student Success spotlight for March. Swarner is the associate dean and an associate professor of Computer and Information Technology Systems at the UAF Community and Technical College.
Why are you passionate about UAF students and their success?
I am passionate about UAF students and their success because students and their success is our reason for being here. The work we do creates the opportunity to make a significant difference in the lives of our students.
Favorite part about being an associate Dean?
My favorite part of working in the role of associate dean at UAF's Community and Technical College is working with all the talented faculty and staff who lead and support the 40+ programs offered through the college.
What is your favorite feature in Nanook Navigator?
My favorite features in Nanook Navigator are the advanced search, reporting features, and the capability to easily export results. These features make it easy to create data sets that enable us to develop insights that help us better support the students enrolled in our degree programs and our college.
How long have you been utilizing Nanook Navigator?
Since 2018. I view Nanook Navigator as my Leatherman tool in that it contains a number of different tools. And just like my Leatherman, I don't use every tool and there are certain tasks that I prefer to use a different tool. For example, I've transitioned to using Nanook Navigator to look up student information rather than UAOnline or Banner, but rely on DegreeWorks when I need to verify a student's degree progress.
Tips, advice, or ideas to support other Nanook Navigator users or student success practices?
Recognize when you are transitioning to any new tool such as Nanook Navigator, initially, it is going to take more time to complete tasks you are comfortable completing with familiar tools such as UAOnline or Banner. So, why make the transition? For me, I've discovered that modern tools such as Nanook Navigator include enhancements that enable me to do what I used to do with other tools and more. I recommend committing a week or month to take the additional time to look up information in Nanook Navigator that you typically look up in another tool. After a week or month, I expect you will find that you can complete those tasks more easily and efficiently than you can with the legacy tools you were more comfortable using.