Driver 1 - Equitable Academic & Social Supports

Resources in this Change Idea

Evidence Base

Research demonstrates when institutions communicate that academic difficulty is not uncommon, that seeking support is a key strategy for success rather than a sign of weakness, and that all students are capable of growing their abilities and succeeding in college, students are more likely to take advantage of campus resources to support their success (Canning et. al., 2019, Brady, Kroeper, Henderson, Ozier, et. al. (In Progress)). Institutions have an opportunity to destigmatize academic difficulty and connect students with resources through their early warning or early alert practices. Early warning practices refer to processes that allow instructors to identify students who, based on course performance in the opening weeks of the term, may not be on track to receive a passing grade and provide interventions that can help students improve their performance. Several SEP campuses revised their centralized early alerts communications, removing stigmatizing language and encouraging students to seek out resources. Institutions utilized recommendations in the Academic Standing Toolkit created by the College Transition Collaborative to redesign their notifications. 

RESOURCE

CONTRIBUTORS

LeeFrederick Bowen
Director of Academic Advising Systems, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Dave Frantzreb
Associate Director, Office of Academic Diversity & Inclusion, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Overview

University of North Carolina at Charlotte revised the early alert emails that students receive through the Connect platform. The messages focus on communicating to students that they can succeed in the course and invites students to talk to the professor or to use other campus resources to improve their performance in the course.

Takeaways

Instructors at UNC Charlotte are also encouraged to talk to their students in the early weeks of the term about the early alert process.

RESOURCE

CONTRIBUTORS

Erika Larson
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Success, University of Colorado Denver, University of Colorado Denver

Amanda Beyer-Purvis
Former Project Manager, Office of Inclusive Excellence in STEM, University of Colorado Denver

Richard Allen
Associate Dean of Teaching, Learning, and Outcomes, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Colorado Denver

Overview

The University of Colorado Denver revised their Early Action emails to connect students to campus resources to support their success.

Takeaways

For institutions that already have a system and practice in place, it can be difficult to unlearn current language and attitude toward early warning systems. Institutions can involve support offices, deans, department chairs and faculty in developing a unified understanding of the purpose of the program, the outcomes you seek to achieve, and why this program is important to student success.

RESOURCE

CONTRIBUTORS

Lynell Spencer
Pathway Advising Director, Portland State University

Overview

Portland State University recently began sending early alerts and is trying to increase student response rates to early alerts. PSU sought student feedback on several versions of early alert messages. In Fall 2020, they began using the new message that students felt gave them the most confidence about succeeding in their courses.

Takeaways

Student response rates increased from 17% to 41% when the new messaging was used.