Alert Annual Advisor Conference February 14, 2020 Presented by: - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Assessing Early Alert

Annual Advisor Conference

February 14, 2020 Presented by:

Jill M. Rivera, MA

Director, Student Success Initiatives

WHAT IS EARLY ALERT?

• The Early Alert program allows faculty and staff

members to identify at-risk students and share that information with advisors and other student support staff on campus.

• The goal is to help students get back on track

academically by connecting students to support resources and to improve students’ motivation.

• Prior to 2017: Campus specific with some effort to

systemize (ex: Starfish) but we weren’t institutionally ready to commit to a system-wide Early Alert process.

• Beginning in 2017: Faculty senate presidents

expressed the need for a tool to alert advisors regarding at risk students.

• North Harris had a form that was already in the

student portal, which was then enhanced by tying it into iStar, adding some communication elements (emails) and data tracking.

• Today: The Early Alert tool is in use, however, each

campus has their own process.

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN...

• April 2019: Early Alert is added to the Pathways Action Plan:

“Assess the Early Alert Program and make improvements as necessary”

• November 2019: Early Alert Team comprised of lead and key Early

Alert personnel meets to discuss assessment plan.

• December 2020: Early Alert data (usage and outcomes) requested

from AIR. Separate surveys developed for faculty and advisors/counselors. Campuses complete template outlining the process at their campus.

• January 2020: Early Alert data request fulfilled and Power BI

dashboard is developed to provide data for ongoing assessment.

• March 2020: Surveys going out Faculty and Advisors/Counselors.
• April 2020: Assessment report will be complete and ready to share

with stakeholders.

• May 2020 and beyond: Begin implementation on agreed upon

recommendations.

WHERE WE ARE…

WHAT THE LITERATURE SAYS ABOUT EARLY ALERT SYSTEMS

• Early Alert is consistently listed as a retention best practice along with FYE

courses, supplemental instruction and tutoring, social integration, intrusive advising, and clearly mapped pathways to graduation.

• Early alert systems may be most effective when targeting specific student

populations such as remedial/developmental, educational opportunity (e.g. TRIO), international students, gateway courses, and students on academic probation or who are repeating a course.

• Proper support systems, such as tutoring and advising, must be in place

to follow through with identified students.

• How many Early Alerts are

being generated?

• How do the students

ultimately do in the class?

• How many students get

Early Alerts for multiple classes?

• Do the students persist to

the next semester?

• What are the most common

reasons for sending an Early Alert?

WE’VE GOT QUESTIONS….

LET’S START WITH A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS…

ALERTS OVERALL

• Student headcount is without duplicates.
• Number of alerts indicates that some students

received more than one alert.

• Number is increasing every year.

BREAKDOWN BY CAMPUS

• Increases every

year with few exceptions.

WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON ALERTS?

THE TOP 5 COURSES FOR EARLY ALERTS:

• WITH FEW EXCEPTIONS, THE TOP 5 CLASSES ARE THE

SAME YEAR AFTER YEAR.

• TOP ALERT CLASSES ARE ALSO TRADITIONALLY FIRST

SEMESTER/FIRST YEAR COURSES.

POST ALERT COURSE OUTCOMES: “COMPLETING VS. SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETING”

*2019 FALL: 69% COMPLETED

• 22% SUCCESSFUL (A-C)
• 47% COMPLETED WITH D OR F
• 31% WITHDREW

ALERTS BY MODALITY

AGE AND GENDER STATISTICS

• ALERTS FOR HISPANIC STUDENTS IS INCREASING
• ALERTS FOR WHITE STUDENTS IS LEVEL
• ALERTS FOR BLACK STUDENTS HAS DECREASED

RACE/ETHNICITY BREAKDOWN

DO THEY COME BACK?

• HALF OF THE STUDENTS WHO HAVE

AN EARLY ALERT SUBMITTED ON THEIR BEHALF DO NOT RETURN THE FOLLOWING SEMESTER.

• Do advisors and faculty feel that the tool

is easy to use?

• What is the ideal timing for an alert and

should reminders be sent (e.g. 2 weeks, mid-term)?

• Should we focus on specific student

populations?

• Would it help to add or remove anything

from the Early Alert form?

• What classroom interventions are made

prior to alert?

• Does the process provide for sufficient

communication between faculty and advisor?

NOW WE’VE GOT MORE QUESTIONS…

HOW CAN WE IMPROVE THE OUTCOME?

YOUR FEEDBACK IS NEEDED!

• Right after spring break all faculty and

advisors/counselors will receive a survey.

• Survey specific to Faculty and

Advisors/Counselors.

• Please write in any other suggestions

you have to improve retention through the Early Alert tool.

Thank you! If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out: Jill M. Rivera Director, Student Success Initiatives jill.rivera@lonestar.edu 832-813-6744