Early Alert Systems

Learning Objectives

After completing this section, participants will be able to:

Persistence vs. Retention

Student persistence in higher education refers to the ability of students to remain enrolled and make progress towards their degree or other educational goals. It is often used as an indicator of student success, as students who persist are more likely to complete their degree, achieve academic success, and have positive outcomes after graduation.

Student retention, on the other hand, refers to the ability of an institution to keep students enrolled and progressing towards their degree or educational goals. Retention rates are often used as a measure of an institution's effectiveness in supporting student success, as high retention rates indicate that students are satisfied with the academic and social environment and are making progress towards their educational goals. 

In this section, we will focus on Student retention, and how an Early Alert System aids in retaining the students.

Factors Affecting Student Retention

Faculty Support
Higher rates of student retention are associated with faculty members who are capable of effectively preparing their students to succeed in the classroom. An engaged faculty member can have a significant impact on the quality of the course. Students appreciate having instructors who are attentive and responsive to their needs, and who provide them with the necessary support to succeed. Additionally, retention rates are also influenced by a curriculum that is tailored to the needs of the students and provides them with practical skills that can be applied in the workplace. 

Academic and Cognitive Skills
Retention rates can be adversely impacted by students who do not possess the required academic skills to keep pace with their coursework. Similarly, students who are deficient in critical thinking, logical reasoning, and analytical skills are also at risk of dropping out. In such instances, it becomes imperative to provide students with necessary resources. Writing centers, academic tutors, easily accessible faculty, and other support services can serve as effective means to fill the skill gaps and enhance student retention. An effective Early Alert System is crucial in identifying and supporting such students.

Finances
For students, college is a crucial financial decision, and the cost of education can have a considerable impact on student retention rates. A student's financial capacity to afford college, or their belief in the value of their investment can be influential in determining whether they continue with their education. To improve student retention rates, various alternative tuition pricing strategies may be considered to alleviate the financial burden on students.

Community Involvement
Students who actively participate in extracurricular activities or engage with the student community are more likely to achieve stay in school. Involvement in clubs, sports, study groups, and fostering school spirit can all contribute to a student's sense of belonging in the community, which can keep them motivated and engaged in their studies, ultimately leading to a greater likelihood of graduating.

What is an Early Alert Program?

In education, an early alert system is a tool used by educators to identify students who may be at risk of falling behind academically or experiencing other challenges that could impact their success in school. By monitoring factors such as attendance, grades, and behavior, educators can identify students who may need additional support and intervene early on to prevent them from falling too far behind. 

Early alert systems may involve automated notifications or alerts to teachers, administrators, and other school staff, as well as targeted interventions such as tutoring, counseling, or other forms of support to help students overcome challenges and succeed in school. Overall, early alert systems can help schools identify and address issues early on, leading to improved outcomes for students.

Creating an Early Alert Program: Guide for Senior Leadership

Define program goals, make sure they reflect your own culture and values
Begin by defining the purpose of the early alert program and the specific goals you hope to achieve. This will help guide the development of the program and ensure that it is aligned with the needs of the institution

Identify target populations
Which students will be covered by the system? Identify the key indicators that will be used to trigger alerts, such as attendance, grades, or behavior. Determine the threshold for each indicator that will trigger an alert.

Build an early alert and intervention team
Who will manage the system, and who will be able to send early alerts?  the team must develop an active and engaged network of faculty, staff, and community members to serve as go-to “referrers” and “responders.” 

Referrers: Referrers raise the red flags. They are often faculty and advisors. However, increasing the community of people watching out for various student populations increases the likelihood of detecting concerns. And it makes students more aware that help is available if they need it. The key is to establish an effective communications loop between (1)“front line” offices, (2) students, and (3) the early alert team.

Responders: One or two members of the early alert team— preferably those with some knowledge of or relationship with the student—are usually the first to respond to a red flag. This is followed by responses from designated faculty members, academic advisors, staff from the student success office, the office of the registrar, or even the office of first-year programs

Engage at-risk students
To get students' attention, use multiple channels of communication such as emails, postcards, and face-to-face conversations, and assume each student's preferences will be different. Try multiple times and set a deadline for response to reinforce urgency. Make contact info prominent and personalize messages, avoiding generic messages and using plain, appealing language. Offer help instead of scolding and know your target audience to speak to their priorities and concerns, such as getting their degrees, keeping financial aid, or meeting the expectations of family or peers.

Develop intervention strategies
What steps will be taken to address the early alert? In order to create a successful intervention plan, institutions must address the challenges of multiple alerts from various sources, inconsistent intervention plans, and a lack of accountability. It is important to create a single, integrated plan of action that includes multiple points of contact for intervention, clear and concise steps for recovery, and templates and tools for responders. Regular communication and tracking progress is important, and assigning specific team members to at-risk populations is effective. Intervention resources and capacity vary between schools, but the most important thing is that intervention is taking place and students feel they matter.

Make early alerts and interventions part of institutional culture
To motivate stakeholders in an institutional program, celebrate and communicate positive results, and demonstrate accountability. To win over faculty, referrers, responders, executive leadership, and other program champions: provide proven techniques for early alert and intervention, create user-friendly tools, set up automatic acknowledgments and reminders, conduct surveys to address concerns, secure an executive champion, close the loop with referrers and responders, and advertise program impact on student success.

Measure and learn
Decide what measures or indicators will be used to trigger an early alert. Metrics to monitor tactics may include responder follow-through rate, effectiveness of different intervention strategies, and resource allocation. Metrics to monitor outcomes may include student satisfaction rates, increase in retention rate, less drop/withdrawal/fail rates, and increase in average GPA. Regular intervals of progress measurement are recommended to make program adjustments, and an annual review should focus on lessons learned and necessary changes to improve student success. Overall impact metrics can be used to increase participation and justify additional resources for the program.

Further Reading

Lynch-Holmes, K. (2015). Early alerts as a  tool for student success: Defining what “good” looks like. Ellucian. https://www.ellucian.com/blog/early-alert-systems-higher-education

Hanover Research (2014). Early Alert Systems in Higher Education. 

Farnum, J. O. Best practices in early alert programs. East Carolina State University.