Alerting students at risk

Faculty members can use the early-alert system to express concern for a student who may be falling behind. (Nick Pearce Photo)

Dalhousie is introducing an early alert system to help identify students who may need help. In advising  circles, it’s called “intrusive outreach,” but Patricia DeMeo says all it means is that rather than hoping that students in difficulty will seek help, a concern is expressed to the students so they can get timely and targeted supports. 

“The act of reaching out is really crucial, especially for first-year students transitioning to university life,” explains Dr. DeMeo, director of Student Academic Success Services. “And, often the students who need help are the ones who don’t seek it.”

The web-based early-alert system will be up and running in January. Faculty members will be able to access it online at earlyalert.dal.ca.

Professors will be able to use the system if they have a concern about a student who is at risk of falling behind, for example, if the student is not coming to class, not handing in assignments on time, not participating in group work, or performing poorly on assignments or tests. Once a professor checks off his or her concerns, the early-alert software program will identify resources that can assist the student — whether that means finding a tutor to provide extra help or suggesting a studying-for-success workshop. This information is then sent to the student via email. The student is also encouraged to meet with the faculty member to discuss their concerns further.

Dr. DeMeo says the system will provide early intervention so small problems don’t turn into large problems.

“I know when I was teaching, if a student wasn’t in class, I’d send them an email, a kind of ‘what’s up?’ If the student was sick or perhaps depressed, they’d be relieved to know someone had noticed they weren’t there,” says Dr. DeMeo, Professor of French. “If they had done poorly on a test, I would invite them to come in and talk it over …

“I know I kind of salvaged a few students who were in danger of disengaging.”

But not all classes are small enough that that kind of personal communication is possible. Or sometimes professors themselves don’t know of all the resources available which can help students. The early-alert system brings all those resources together.

“We’re really hoping that it will communicate to students that people at Dalhousie care,” says Dr. DeMeo. “It speaks to the ‘theory of mattering’ — the student is important and reaching out does make a difference. You don’t need a PhD to figure that one out.”