Advanced Search
The Advanced Search functionality allows staff to layer a series of filters onto a specific query in order to customize student searches. To access the Advanced Search filters, navigate to the Advanced Search magnifying glass icon on the left side navigation menu.
Feature Overview
The Advanced Search function within Slug Success allows you to create unique cohorts of students based on the layering of various search parameters, the results of which can be used as the foundation for building appointment campaigns or tracking student progress. Queries will pull lists of current students that fit the parameters of the search, and information populating in the results will be a current reflection of student data. Thus, the Advanced Search functionality is not meant to be a historical search.
Getting Oriented
Each drawer contains a collection of filters that can be used alone or in conjunction with other filters (within or across drawers) to build a customized search. Some fields will require that you enter free text, while others will provide options in a drop-down menu.
At the bottom of the page, there are additional selection options to further qualify your search:
- My Students Only will limit the possible results to only your assigned students. If you do not have assigned students, you should not check this box as any search results will be empty.
- Include Inactive will expand the possible results to both active and inactive students. By default, the search results only display users who are active in the currently selected term. Checking this box includes students from past terms as well.
How Does the Advanced Search Work?
The Advanced Search uses different logic statements to build queries. Most search filters create AND statements. As you build a search by laying on various filters within or across drawers, the query will identify students that satisfy all the listed requirements.
Example: A search for ‘Major: Biology’ AND ‘Classification: Junior’ will pull a list of Junior students in the Biology program.
However, there are some filters that create ‘OR’ statements, where you can make multiple selections within a given field to increase the scope of your search. These search fields are indicated by the presence of an ‘In Any of these’ identifier in the title.
Filters that allow you to make ‘OR’ statements include:
- Category
- Tag
- Enrollment Term
- College (Division)
- Major
- Concentration
- Degree
- Classification
Example: ‘Major: Biology OR Chemistry’ AND ‘Classification: Junior OR Sophomore’. This search will pull a list of Junior or Sophomore students that are declared in either Biology or Chemistry.
You can also create logic statements within a given field. These filters are identified via a plus sign icon, which expands the field when selected:
While ‘Any’ statements allow for the creation of more inclusive searches, selections made in ‘In All of these’ or in ‘In None of these’ fields serve to limit the scope of a search.
It is important to note that while the Advanced Search does not display historical data for students in the resulting list, you can create parameters based on historical conditions. The following drawers contain filters that allow you to query based on data defined on a term-by-term basis:
- Enrollment History
- Term Data
- Course Data
Example: ‘Term: Fall Quarter 2022’ AND ‘Classification: Sophomore’. This search will pull a list of current students who were sophomores in Fall 2022. The resulting data on those students will also be reflective of their current term information, not information specific to Fall 2022.
Once you have selected the search fields, click ‘Search’ at the bottom of the screen. The results that generate will display the current information for the students that fit the parameters of your search (which are displayed across the top of the results).
From here, you can take action:
- Perform a task via the Actions menu with one, several, or all of the students on this list, such as sending a Message, adding to an Appointment Campaign, or creating a Student List.
- Create a Saved Search by clicking the Save button next to the Unsaved Student Search title. You can also access previous saved searches from this page.
- Modify the search – if you want to add to the original parameters selected, you can select Modify Search to return to the filter drawer view. You can also remove an existing parameter by clicking on the X icon to the right of each selection.
Filters/Drawers List
Filters available for use in Advanced Search include:
Student Information: Use this group of filters to search for students by personal identifying information, such as name, student ID, category (college affiliation or minor), tag, or transfer status.
Enrollment History: Create logic statements to search for students by their enrollment status in a variety of terms.
Area of Study: Combine elements of this filter to search for students based on areas of study, including division, degree, concentration, or major.
Performance Data: Search using these filters to segment student groups by GPA, credits earned, and hours attempted.
Term Data: Select conditions within this group of filters to run a search for students using information associated with a specific term.
Course Data: Utilize this group of filters to query students based on courses, section, and status.
Assigned To: Enter information into fields in this bucket to pull lists of students assigned to specific staff members. Note that users that have the User Type or who have had a relationship in the past WILL NOT appear if they don’t currently have that relationship with a student. For example, an advisor who has no students assigned to them will not appear. This is also the drawer that allows users to search for students WITHOUT a certain relationship type, e.g. students without advisers.
Success Indicators: Run a search using these filters to identify students based on success marker completion status (use of Success Markers is currently limited – if interested in more information please contact slugsuccess-help@ucsc.edu)
For more information about what kinds of queries to run with these sets of filters, please refer to the Advanced Search User Guide (PDF).
Example queries
Finding your students
Each user or department may have different needs, but these are some examples:
Search for all Kresge-affliated students by selecting “Coll: Kresge (KRESGE)” in the Categories field:
Search for all students in the Literature major by selecting “Literature BA” in the Major field:
Frequently Asked Questions
How does historical data appear in Advanced Search?
The Slug Success platform is not designed for comprehensive historical data searches. Instead, please utilize InfoView for historical data reporting, or if you have access to Slug Success Analytics tools, you can refer to the Institutional Reports.
Can I use Advanced Search to run historical searches?
No. While historical data may be in your advanced searches, it is not a tool to analyze historical data.
Is there a maximum number of Student IDs that can be copy-and-pasted into Advanced Search?
299 is the maximum number of IDs you can paste into the Advanced Search that will work consistently and regularly.
What happens if I was an advisor in previous terms but have no students assigned to me in the current term?
Users that have had a relationship type in the past WILL NOT appear if they don’t currently have that relationship with a student. For example, an advisor who has no students assigned to them will not appear. However, you will appear in a saved search if you have appeared in it in the past and the saved search did not delete you.