Instructors: Academic early alert requests coming soon
A population of undergraduates (including freshmen, athletes, Honors Program members, Dean's Scholars, and students served by Student Support Services and the Office of Multicultural Affairs, as well as some other small groups) is included in the campaign this semester.
Instructors will receive an email requesting feedback on any of those students who may be struggling in their classes. The process is secure, meets FERPA requirements and takes only a few minutes to complete.
Students about whom instructors express concern will be contacted by a GradesFirst (GF)adviser, who will work with students to diagnose their problems and will refer students to campus resources to help them be successful this semester and beyond.
The early alert philosophy is to be proactive and helpful, not punitive. Each college has established a core of GF advisors who will do this work for their own students. The more information instructors can provide, the more effective the interventions can be. Institutions that achieve a high rate of instructor participation in early alert programs typically notice a marked increase in student retention rates.
The GradesFirst early alert system is a key component of the Graduation Partnership, the overarching name for WSU's efforts to increase student success. The Graduation Partnership aims to increase student learning, grades, retention, graduation and student satisfaction with the WSU experience.
For more information, go to http://webs.wichita.edu/?u=facultysenate&p=/WSUGradpartnet/ and http://webs.wichita.edu/?u=OFDSS&p=/Faculty/GradesFirst2011/.