What do you mean by “submit concerns” for a student?
By submitting concerns for a student, you are identifying that the student is at-risk of not succeeding in the course or of not getting the grade needed for the major. You can also submit concerns when a student's grade is ok, but the student has shared that they are struggling in some other way (like child care, health issues, etc.). When you change the "Submit Concerns For This Student" drop-down to "Yes", additional questions will populate, including "What is the student struggling with?" which lists multiple reasons for an alert; the reason you select will help us determine what resources to offer. We encourage you to add a comment with any additional context about your concerns.
What Happens After an Alert is Submitted?
When you have submitted Early Alerts for your students, any students for whom you indicated "Yes" for the "submit concerns" question will have a case opened in Slate (the record-keeping system that advisors use to track interactions). Depending on the reasons you choose, students will either receive an automated email offering resources tailored to that reason (after which the case will be automatically resolved) or personalized outreach from their Success Team (including the Progression Team, Athletics Advising, and Academic Advising).
View the flowchart below to see the paths an Alert may take, or click on the image to view the accessible, interactive version.
I already reach out to students who are struggling in my class. How is this different?
We know you do everything you can to support students, and sometimes you need help. We're here to help support you and your students to supplement the work that you are already doing for your students. When a student has concerns submitted for them, their success team (Progression Team, Academic Advising, and Student Academic Support Services) receives that information and can work with the student on the underlying issues that are impacting their academic performance more globally.
If you are reaching out to students and they are not responding, we can sometimes help there as well; we can often see if students have relationships with other staff on campus (for instance, in residence halls, athletics, or other specialized programs) so that we can help them draw from their network. Notably, we have partnered with the Athletics department, so that they can use our Early Alerts in place of the Mid-Term Grade checks that they have been requiring of athletes.
Finally, the Early Alerts Initiative helps us collect data on a larger scale about which students are struggling and when; for instance, we've learned that our transfer students tend to struggle more when they take three upper-division major courses in their first term at PSU. This helps us when we are meeting with them to schedule their first term. In participating, you are helping contribute to that overall body of knowledge.
What if I don’t have grades for my students yet?
That is ok! If you have a concern based on your own observation, we are happy to reach out. We do not tell students what grade was reported for them, just that we are offering support.
Am I violating my students’ privacy by sharing this information?
Every person who interacts with Early Alert information has an "educational need to know," which means that sharing this information is not a violation of FERPA. You aren't required to enter the specific grade or attendance information, just whether you have concerns about a student and what those concerns are.
That being said, we have seen the most success in this program's effectiveness when the faculty tells students that they are participating. This gives students a heads up if they receive outreach from a Progression Specialist, and it often demonstrates that we are all working together to help.
Progression Specialists are in the unique position to see when students may need support that isn't directly related to the academic content of one course. However, we would never want you to feel pressured to provide any information that you are uncomfortable sharing. In the past, instructors have asked about sharing information that students revealed to them in confidence. In that case, please do not share any details. You can always ask a student if they would like to be connected to their advisor for additional support without needing to share sensitive information.
Will the students know which class the Early Alert is from?
Yes. When students receive Early Alerts outreach, they are encouraged to connect with the faculty member teaching their course, along with being offered other resources and ways to meet with their advisor. In the most successful Early Alerts programs, faculty tell their students (either in class or in their syllabus) that the course participates in this program, and that they may be offered some extra support during the term.