Is the action plan an effective tool to get students back on track? Do they take ownership of the plan and problem?
Does the student return the answers to the questions? What is the purpose of the questions?
We have instructors rate every student in the class every week on how much difficulty the student is in (academically or otherwise) and we ask the instructor what they have done to resolve the difficulty. If the instructor's resolution does not result in a postive change in the students' situation other resources are called in.
We too have academic advisement. We do this at each midpoint of the term. We also have an early alert system that recognizes patterns that could potentially lead to an academic issue. Hopefully this early alert can steer the student in the correct direction to prevent any erosion or stagnation from occurring.
Students who are having difficulties are advised by their instructors. They will be offered support and advise on how to succeed in class. At Mid Term, students are given a written form on class progress to let them know how they are doing as well as also offering suggestions for success.
I believe the earlier we can identify a problem, the better chance we have at an intervention being successful. If we wait to long the situaion may become to great for the student to handle or become to late for the institution to step in and have positive results.
We have academic intervention during the term. Our instructors also offer tutoring. Instructors can initiate tutoring sessions or students can initiate.
We have midterm advisory forms that are filled out for students having difficulties. All the students in my class know how they are doing throughout the course as I am available to them on an ongoing basis.
Sounds like a very proactive approach. Has it improved student satisfaction and persistence? Have the faculty embraced this system?
Jerry, who oversees the early alert system? How are results evaluated?
We review academic progress at the completion of each unit. The students are given a "unit grade report" showing them how well the have done.
If satisfactory academics have not been met, then the instructors counsel the student as to why they think this has occurred, and what they can do to improve. The instructor adds suggestions, study habit skill, tutoring, etc..
The student and instructor agree to this "success plan" and move forward to improve academics. These "success plans" are also used for any other difficulties the student maybe having.
If academics or other issues continue then the student is referred to the program's director.
We also use academic advisements to let the students know how they are doing, and to let them know if they are in danger of academically failing.
We work on an internal report of student academic and attendance which we call our "red, yellow, green" program. We use it toidentify students who are in green status - high gpa and attendance, to students who are in red status and not meeting expectations. We meet with our teachers on a weekly basis to discuss these two measures as well as attitudes and anything else that might be a rising concern.
The first step is for the immediate instructor to discuss thee issue with the student. If the instructor cannot accurately assess the situation or needs additional help, the student will be referred to the next level, the department head. We continue to seek the level that provides the help the student needs, assuming that the student is comfortable with each level, of course.
We do a progress every 4th class period. This is vital since our classes are fast-paced and students might get easily overwhelmed. At each progress extra tutoring is assigned. If satisfactory progress is not reached the student is referred to administration for intervention.
Our school is small so we have the advantage of knowing exactly who the student must be referred to. The instructor receives verbal follow-up.
Direct communication with a student is a key link to helping them and making them feel like they can be successful.
Calling the students when they Are out.
we give the students a mid term grade and thats a good time for us to sit individualy with each student and discuss were they are at and any struggles that they are dealing with
When student is behind in assignments,emails are sent to the students reminding them that their assignments are overdue. The students are also offered any help they need. If the students have not responded even after repeated attempts by the faculty, they are referred to their student advisers who in turn follow up with the students and help them in any way they can.
When students miss so many days within the course, an excessive warning is found on the attendance roster. At this point, it is the instructors responsibility to discuss with the student the frequencies of their absences and to provide the reason for the absences. The instructor is to listen to the students concerns and provide the student with a warning form that documents the conversation between the instructor and student. The form also outlines what steps need to be taken in order to help the student from not continuing to be absent from class. This practice addresses Academic Erosion as the it lets the student know that there are individuals that are concerned about their recent absences and want to take steps to correct the issue, to help the student feel less like they are shrinking.
