The early identification of at-risk students supports student success and retention. This page describes a new policy requiring assessment of students early in the semester to help determine if students need additional support. This page also gives some practical examples and instructions on how to create these assignments on Canvas.
Starting in Fall 2020, teachers are now required to include some kind of qualitative assessment in their classes due by the end of the second week of the term. Instructors should grade these by the third week and identify then contact or refer students deemed to be at-risk.
These early assessment grades need to be recorded on Canvas so we can generate campus-wide reports.
You can find instructions on creating assignment on Canvas and how to use the Gradebook. It's important to use the Canvas gradebook so that we can do campus-wide reports to determine if a particular student is at-risk in just one class, or in all of their classes.
Many courses already have assignments due within the first two weeks. If this is the case, teachers do not need to make any changes, but will need to ensure that at least one assignment is graded and recorded on Canvas by the third week. Once those grades are entered, teachers will need to identify which students are at-risk.
Teachers will need to add an assignment to courses that do not already have something due within the first week. These assignments / assessments do not need to be a significant part of the student's grade. The main purpose is to encourage student engagement with the course early in the term, and provide a way for teachers to determine if a student is not participating in the course.
Here are a couple of suggested assignments that you could use:
Syllabus Quiz - Create a quiz on Canvas that asks a few straightforward questions about key points in the syllabus. This will motivate students to read the syllabus and gives you the opportunity to highlight important details.
"Introduce Yourself" Discussion - Many of our online classes use this as the first assignment. It allows students who aren't meeting physically to introduce themselves online. Make this a graded assignment to encourage participation.
Introductory Reading Quiz - Create a quiz on Canvas that covers some introductory reading material, or the first part of the textbook. This can help you identify students who are having trouble obtaining course materials.
Using a Canvas quiz has the advantage that it will be automatically graded. After the due date, check the Gradebook to determine which students are at risk.
The important thing is to identify students who may need help early, rather than waiting until late in the term, when it may be too late. We want to do what we can to assist students when it can do the most good.
Once you have determined that a particular student is at-risk, there are several things you can do to help. First, attempt to contact the student to determine possible causes. Next, notify Student Success by sending an alert on EAB Navigate at https://biola.campus.eab.com/