Early Alert System-Sam Hirsch

The academic early alert system was launched Fall 2008. This initiative was designed as an early and appropriate intervention when students evidence academic difficulty. The early alert system provides students with prompt feedback that directly reflects faculty classroom expectations. Faculty now have a systematic and systemic vehicle that affords them the ability to register concerns with poor academic progress for any student taking a credit bearing class at Community College of Philadelphia.

The early alert system provides faculty with the means and tools to address poor academic performance for individual students at two reporting junctures. Instructors can now indicate concerns with student academic progress when accessing the College’s required 20% mark attendance reporting and 50% mark grade reporting. These tools allow faculty to comment directly on student performance at each reporting mark across five Retention Performance Indicators (RPIs): Frequently Late, Inadequate Class Participation, Inappropriate Classroom Behavior, Missing Assignments/Unprepared, and Other/Conference Requested.

During the 20% mark, approximately three weeks into a 15 week semester/part of term, students will receive a letter regarding classroom performance if the instructor marks any of the five RPIs or identifies the student as having unsatisfactory attendance. Similarly, during the 50% mark, approximately seven weeks into a 15 week semester/part of term, students will receive a letter regarding classroom performance if the instructor marks any of the five RPIs or identifies the student as having unsatisfactory attendance or a midsemester grade of D or F. Letters are personalized and identify the course(s) and which indicators apply to that student. Personalized letters are accompanied with a “Required Actions” sheet. The “Required Actions” sheet provides students with academic resources necessary to improving their chances of success. Required actions consist of, but are not limited to, workshops created and facilitated by the Counseling and Learning Lab Departments. These workshops are exclusively for students who receive early alert letters.

Currently, the program is being evaluated through student and faculty focus groups. A student questionnaire is also providing first semester feedback. Next steps involve identifying students who attended a required action and assessing the impact this intervention had on their academic success. Some preliminary data are listed below.

I. Early Alert – Fall 2008
a. 10,629 letters sent
i. 20% – 3,098
ii. 50% – 7,531
b. Data
i. RPI Frequency
1. Missing Assignments – by far utilized most
a. 20% – 1,362
b. 50% – 2,612
2. Frequently Late – second most utilized
a. 20% – 588
b. 50% – 814
ii. Faculty participation
1. 20% – 333 (38.6%)
2. 50% – 431 (50%)

As noted above, this tool provides faculty an early and direct intervention tool that takes advantage of an existing College system; it provides students an early and direct notice that they are experiencing academic difficulty and provides an array of remedies that may assist them to improve performance. It is the hope that these interventions will result in increased student success and a marked decrease in the numbers of students placed on academic probation or dropped for poor scholarship. As such, it is consistent with the intentions of our Achieving the Dream efforts and marks a significant improvement in how we address student academic performance.