QuadC Blog

What are Early Alerts in Higher Education and Why Do They Matter?

Written by QuadC | Aug 21, 2023 4:35:05 PM
If your students are lacking motivation and not doing well in class, they may benefit from an early alert system. In this guide, we’ll break down what student early alerts are and why they are so beneficial to students and teachers alike.
 

What are Student Early Alerts?

Faculty can employ a student early-alert program, also known as a student intervention program, to identify students who need help due to poor academic performance, class involvement, or attendance concerns. They can then connect them to specific departments where academics or staff can assist the student in obtaining suitable support services.

This style of intensive advice has been shown to improve the retention and overall academic performance of a wide range of high-risk students. The early alert program’s main purpose is to work with students one-on-one to develop a success plan to them overcome any barriers to college achievement.

It is vital to provide intervention support early in the semester to ensure student persistence and completion. The sooner a student is diagnosed as academically at-risk, the higher his or her chances of succeeding. During the first two, four, and ten weeks of the fall and spring semesters, a good student early alert program usually targets all students, not just freshmen or students in specialized academic areas.

Simply put, this method enables faculty to be proactive, helpful, and involved in helping the academic aspects of student retention. This is done through early detection and intervention of students with difficulties.

Why Early Alerts Are Important

To start, early alert programs benefit both students and faculty. Students may benefit from higher academic achievement, a good self-image, and better progress toward academic and career objectives if they actively participate in this process. Students can access academic and personal success resources through an early alert program.

Faculty can also benefit from early warning systems. Additional help and resources outside of the classroom can be provided. Faculty can then offer comments on the interventions that have been proposed for their pupils.

Outside of these benefits, early student alerts are important because they boost college retention and utilize data-driven insights to improve the college experience for both students and faculty. Aside from strong executive leadership, professional advising assistance, and faculty participation, there is a growing realization that the efficacy of early student alerts is dependent on strategically integrating data-derived insights into learning sciences research.

Not only should educational data be useful, but it should also be understood and used in ways that are compatible with contemporary learning theory. Early warning systems can be used with evidence-based intervention tactics and research-based curricular adjustments to ensure optimal student outcomes.

Reasons Why Some Early Alert Programs Aren’t Working

Perhaps you’ve already implemented an early alert program at your university, but it doesn’t seem to be working well. From advisors’ perspective, it might seem like early alert intervention programs may just be ineffective. This isn’t the case at all. In fact, your alert systems may just be improperly developed.

Let’s consider a few key problems that universities tend to have when implementing early student alert systems.

The Program Doesn’t Have Concise Objectives in Place

A common issue with many university early-alert systems is that they often lack clear objectives beyond simply identifying students who may be at risk.

While this is a laudable objective, it’s the equivalent of interrupting a sentence in the middle. What happens when you’ve identified a student who may be at risk? Faculty end up identifying a lot of possible concerns, which overwhelms personnel with the volume of notifications and their capacity to deal with them. Early-alert systems like this peter out if they don’t have defined aims.

The Program Does Not Consider Advisors, Teachers, and Other Faculty Members

The focus should be on the at-risk student, but there should also be a focus on the faculty.

Even when doing online learning, faculty mentorship can go a long way. All successful early-alert systems have one thing in common: they are all geared to increase and maintain teacher engagement. It’s self-evident that early-alert systems rely on faculty participation: without it, staff won’t be able to identify which students are at risk or provide them with treatment.

When designing an early-alert system that includes academics, there are a few points to keep in mind:

  • To minimize confusion, set and convey clear expectations for instructors.
  • Inquire about faculty opinions on reporting deadlines.
  • Concentrate your messages on the impact of early warnings on individual student achievement as well as wider student success goals.
  • Maintain a regular communication schedule to ensure that faculty members are reminded of important events.
  • Allow enough time for teachers to send early alarms.
  • Request that non-responders be nudged by the leadership.

No Guided Path Between Alerts and Interventions is Implemented

Advisors and student support staff might respond to early alarms in a variety of ways due to a lack of clear instructions or rules, affecting the quality and consistency of care offered to students and diminishing staff efficiency and effectiveness.

Discrepancies in adviser answers to a frequent early-alert cause known as “attendance concern” are widespread. While one adviser may opt to meet with the student, another may direct them to a support office, and still another may send resources to the student through email.

Staff want a design for responding to early alerts so that they may effectively allocate their time to the students who require the greatest assistance.

What Would “Activate” a Student Early Alert?

Several things might be a red flag to faculty regarding student behaviour. The following are some early warning indications that may warrant an early alert referral:

  • The student has a bad attendance record in class. The student has a high number of absences or has ceased attending class.
  • The student is having trouble with his or her academic performance in general.
  • The quality of student work has deteriorated.
  • The student has not completed his or her homework assignments.
  • Quizzes and exams have been failed by the student.
  • The student refuses or is unable to engage in-class activities.
  • The student is failing the course at the beginning of the semester.
  • The student is missing course materials, including textbooks, notes, and other necessary resources.
  • The student lacks the necessary study abilities to succeed in college.
  • The student is struggling to acclimate to college life or is dealing with personal issues.

It’s worth remembering that a good online student success software platform can enable any advisor, mentor, and even faculty member to flag and review early alerts at any time throughout the entire semester.

How was our guide to Early-alert programs for college students?