Academic Early Alert System

Early Alert is an initiative that seeks to provide support to students who have demonstrated behaviors that may hinder academic performance and overall college success. This outreach effort is a partnership between faculty, staff, and the student success team.

Submit an alert

• When "first-year students are not meeting academic expectations at the four-week mark (as measured by attendance, test scores, keeping up with readings, etc.), they are much less likely to earn better than a C in the course, or even graduate"(Dodge, 2018).
• Early Alerts are not just about grades; they are about academic effort, absences, class engagement, etc.
• Advisors are tasked with reaching out to a student when an alert is made. Their goal is to create an open dialogue with the student in order to assess their needs and develop a plan to enable them to succeed.
• If a student is struggling in multiple courses it may be indicative of a larger issue that could benefit from intervention.

Alerts are best when they are submitted early, typically between weeks 3-8 for full-term classes, and before the halfway point for short-term classes. The earlier the better.

The Academic Early Alert process facilitates personalized, meaningful messages of encouragement as well as an opportunity to assess the student's needs and connect them to the appropriate support services. When you make an alert, the student success team is notified and an advisor will reach out to the student to assess their needs and develop a plan to enable them to succeed in a particular course and for the semester.

Other difficulties the student may be facing will also be addressed, and will be provided strategies and resources to resolve those difficulties. If other support services are needed, the advisor will refer students to appropriate resources on campus such as HawkReach Counseling Center and Academic Support Services.

Students will be notified from whom and why the alert was made, and any information provided can be shared with the student. As such, observations in the alert should be objectively stated.

Every attempt will be made to contact the referred student and provide effective resources and strategies to be successful academically. However, any of the outcomes below are possible:

• Student understands challenges and actively utilizes resources / skills to address and overcome academic and/or personal obstacles
• Student may elect to remain in the course
• Student may decide to withdraw from the course
• Advisors may not be able to make contact with the student