Building a Comprehensive Early Warning System from the Ground Up

1. Building a Comprehensive Early Warning System from the Ground Up Marcy EslerDirector of Student RetentionState University of New York The College at Brockport

2. The College at Brockport • Total undergraduate enrollment – 7,000 • New Freshmen – 1050 • New Transfer Students – 1,300 • Public • Masters • Selective • Comprehensive

3. The Mixture

4. “Student Life Cycle”

5. Components of System • Early Warning Questionnaire • Faculty alerts • Contact with advisors at midterm

6. Early Warning Advisement Questionnaire (EWAQ) • Through Angel – locally developed • 287/882 Transfer Students (33%) • 823/1050 Freshmen (78%) • Prizes for completion • Automatic responses • Statement: I have my schedule of courses for the semester all settled. • Response if Disagree: If you don’t have your course schedule settled by now, discuss this with your academic advisor ASAP. Your academic advisor is the instructor of your freshman seminar course. • Use for appeals decisions

7. Most Problematic Responses for Freshmen

8. Early Warning Advisement Questionnaire

9. Early Warning Advisement Questionnaire

10. Early Warning Advisement Questionnaire

11. Early Warning Advisement Questionnaire

12. Early Warning Advisement Questionnaire

13. Early Warning Advisement Questionnaire

14. Early Warning Advisement Questionnaire

15. Early Warning Advisement Questionnaire

16. Early Warning Advisement Questionnaire

17. Early Warning Advisement Questionnaire

18. Early Warning Advisement Questionnaire

19. Early Warning Advisement Questionnaire

20. Early Warning Advisement Questionnaire

21. Early Warning Advisement Questionnaire

22. Preliminary Analysis * (T)WAQ score is created by assigning a value of 1 to each problematic response and a value of 2 to each non-problematic response then summing the values for each student.

23. Semester GPAs

24. Faculty Alerts • Early feedback and fast action • Proactive methods • Focused efforts

25. Third-week Letter to Faculty Early Warning System As many of you know, The College at Brockport implemented a Banner based Early Warning System this fall and the third week of class (this week) is a good time to begin entering alerts for students with poor attendance and/or academic problems. Although you may enter an early warning at any time, a warning that comes at the first sign of student difficulty maximizes the likelihood that we can successfully intervene in time to make a difference. The Early Warning System recognizes the importance of: • Early feedback from course instructors and fast action to address at-risk student behavior in an proactive manner • More active methods of supporting students who are exhibiting at-risk behavior • Focused retention efforts on those students who need it the most How can faculty use the Early Warning System? To enter an early warning, go to the Faculty Services tab in Web Banner, just as you would access this system to enter midterm or final grades. Once you choose a particular class and student, the drop-down choices, instead of being letter grades, will include check boxes for some important risk indicators and a text box in which you can enter any special comments on the student. Faculty who enter a warning will receive follow-up information for each student. For more information about the Early Warning System, contact Marcy Esler, director of student retention at mesler@brockport.edu or http://www.brockport.edu/retention/ew/.

26. Entering an Early Warning

27. Faculty Input Screen

28. Report Includes • ID • First, Last Names • Cohort • Admit Term • Admit Type • Entry Type • Student Type • Advisor Name • Academic Standing • Institutional GPA • Earned Hours • Major(s) • Email • Course Instructor, Name, Number and Title • Report Count • Date Reported • Non Attendance (Y or N) • Poor Attendance (Y or N) • Academic Problems (Y or N) • Comments

29. Sample Student Email(s) You are receiving this notice because your HLS 3xx instructor, Professor G, indicated through our Early Warning System that your writing and research skills need improvement.  I am particularly concerned about this warning because your academic standing is Probation 1.  I encourage you to: • Discuss your performance in HLS 317 with your professor, and/or • Talk with your academic advisor, Professor S., about strategies to return to good academic standing, and/or • Make an appointment to meet with our transfer-year experience coordinator, Erin Rickman, and/or • Take advantage of the academic support at the Student Learning Center.  The Center, located in B14 Cooper Hall, offers a workshop on the “Research Paper Process” on three days during the month of March.  The dates are: • Thursday, March 82-2:50 p.m. • Wednesday, March 2110:10-11 a.m. • Tuesday, March 279:30-10:20 a.m. You can also schedule a writing appointment by contacting Ms. G at xxx-xxxx.  I have copied the above mentioned individuals on this email so that you have their contact information.

30. Sample Student Email(s) You are receiving this notice because your BUS 3xx instructor, Professor T., indicated through our Early Warning System that your attendance in this course is problematic and that your are experiencing some academic difficulties.     Make your decision about dropping a course before Monday, February 20, 2012.  You can still withdraw from a course until 5:00 pm on Friday, April 6, 2012 without anyone’s permission but after that you will need the departmental chairperson’s permission (this is hard to get).  I am particularly concerned, as your academic status is Probation 1.  This is not the first time you have been on probation, and your previous semester was particularly poor. I encourage you to: • Discuss the issues with your instructor, Professor T., and/or • Speak with your academic advisor, Dr. R, about your plans to return to good academic standing, and/or • Make an appointment to meet with the transfer-year experience coordinator, Erin Rickman. The above mentioned individuals are all copied on this email so that you have their contact information. To request a tutor for a Business class, please call the Student Learning Center at (585) xxx-xxxx or fill out an online tutor request form.

31. Sample Student Email(s) You are receiving this notice because your instructor for THE 211, Professor K., indicated through our Early Warning System that you have not attended this course.  I encourage you do discuss this with your advisor, Professor N., whom I have copied on this email. If you plan to drop the class, be sure to do it by 5 pm on Monday, February 20, 2012.  But since dropping this course will bring you below full-time status (<12 credit hours) I also suggest that you check with our Financial Aid Office to see if dropping below full-time will impact any financial aid you may be receiving.   

32. Sample Faculty Email • I received an Early Warning System Alert that the above student has not been attending his THE 2xx course.  Has he been attending yours? See schedule below: • Thanks!

33. Alerts Fall 2011120 alerts on 98 students

34. 98 Unique students

35. Issues • Faculty confidentiality • Faculty overuse • Time intensive

36. Thank you! Questions?