Approved by Academic Policies and Curriculum Committee 6/22/21
Approved by Faculty Senate 7/23/21
Approved by President 9/9/21
Rationale
Student success is the first institutional goal of East Georgia State College (EGSC Strategic Plan FY 2020-21 – 2022-23). To that end, EGSC is committed to increasing its retention rate of first-time, full-time freshman to at least 60% by Fall 2023. Retention rates of first-time, full-time students currently fall below this benchmark (Table 1). The At-Risk Alert Procedure is designed to connect students to faculty and staff for academic support and campus resources with the aim of improving student academic success and increasing retention.
Table 1. EGSC First-Time, Full-time Students Retention Rates
| Fall Cohort | Number of Students in Cohort | Number of Students Retained | Retention Rate |
| 2019 | 1,074 | 541 | 50.4% |
| 2018 | 1,123 | 536 | 47.7% |
| 2017 | 1,029 | 512 | 49.8% |
| 2016 | 1,070 | 524 | 49.0% |
| 2015 | 1,148 | 594 | 51.7% |
| 2014 | 1,059 | 554 | 52.3% |
| 2013 | 1,040 | 565 | 54.3% |
| 2012 | 1,319 | 650 | 49.3% |
| 2011 | 1,699 | 729 | 42.9% |
| 2010 | 1,162 | 626 | 53.9% |
(Source: USG/CVIOG Qlik Analytics Portal/Retention 10-Year Trend)
Associated Policies and Procedures
The At-Risk Alert policy replaces the Early Alert policy (http://www.ega.edu/policy/03-early-alertpolicy.pdf) approved in 2018 and is ancillary to established Midterm Grades and Progress Reports policy. This policy further defines the role of the reporting faculty and the academic advisor, as well as the composition and responsibilities of the Retention Team. This policy compliments the EGSC Advisement Plan and supports the EGSC Mission and Strategic Plan.
At-Risk Alert Reporting Procedure
At-Risk Alerts can be generated by faculty in Grades First at any time and for many reasons (Table 2). Issuance of an At-Risk Alert in Grade First automatically notifies the student’s academic advisor as well as the chair of the Retention Team that the student is not making satisfactory progress toward completion of the course. Record of these alerts can be found in the Reports/Notes section of each student’s Grades First profile. Academic Advisors, Faculty, and Retention Team members can access alerts at any time.
Per established EGSC policy, progress reports are currently required within the first quarter of each course term. The Director of eLearning initiates progress reports in GradesFirst for students making unsatisfactory progress at four weeks (16-week courses), two weeks (eight-week courses), or six days (four week courses) into the semester. Unsatisfactory progress is defined as actions or activities that are predicted to result in a grade below a C for the course. Progress reports trigger the same notifications as an At-Risk Alert. Record of these alerts can be found in the Reports/Notes section of each student’s Grades First profile. Academic Advisors, Faculty, and Retention Team members can access and comment on progress reports at any time.
Table 2. General At-Risk Alert Types Available for Use in Grades First
| Alert Type | Justification |
| Retention Team Attendance Alert | Student has accumulated three or more unexcused absences. |
| No Textbook | Student does not have access to required materials, to the detriment of their ability to participate in the course. |
| Needs Tutoring | Student has been advised by faculty to seek academic assistance and is still not performing well academically. |
| Needs Counseling | Student has given the faculty member reason to be concerned about their state of mental health. |
| Participation/Performance Issues | Student is not participating in class and/or performs poorly on assessments (e.g. homework, labs, exams). |
| Transportation Issues | Student has informed faculty of their difficulty to attend class due to lack of transportation. |
| Student Conduct Violations | Student has displayed behaviors that inhibit academic progress of themselves or others within the course or has displayed issues with incivility. |
Academic Advisor Role
EGSC carries out the job of academic advising as a team, with each member of that team having a clear understanding of his or her role in advising students. The team members include students, who have a responsibility to define their academic goals; professional academic advisement staff, whose training and expertise will guide students through the variety of programs that are available to them; full-time faculty, whose experience in their disciplines is an invaluable resource to students. Each member of the team works in harmony with others in order to assist students as they select from the courses and programs of study offered at EGSC (See Academic Advising Plan).
Advisors may or may not enjoy an established personal relationship with their advisees for a number of reasons. Students and advisors may or may not share a campus, advisees are periodically reassigned to maintain a reasonable number of students per advisor, new students are advised during an orientation event, and students who change majors often require a new advisor. To that end, when an At-Risk Alert is triggered, the Academic Advisor may or may not be the most appropriate individual to initiate an effective inquest into the alert. However, reaching out to an advisee who has been issued an alert is encouraged as the nature of the alert may affect the student’s academic plan and progress toward their degree.
Faculty Role
It is critical to recognize the impact of classroom interaction in enhancing student learning and improving student learning outcomes. Attendance and early grades are important predictors of overall student performance and retention rates. At-Risk Alerts, especially those issued early in the term, are useful in identifying potential barriers to student learning and are more impactful when combined with efforts to provide students with access to support services such as tutoring, financial aid, and mental health counseling. Students may not be aware of the resources available to them until an individual faculty member recognizes potential at-risk behavior and issues an alert.
Faculty issuing an At-Risk Alert at any time for any reason are responsible for providing detailed information as to the nature of the alert as well as any steps that have already been taken to improve student outcomes. Any pertinent communication between student and faculty member that precedes an alert should be included within the comments section. Any actions or communications that take place after an alert has been triggered can also be communicated through Grades First. This ensures cohesion between faculty communication and retention outreach to further empower students for success.
Retention Team Role
The Retention Team is charged with responding to alerts issued by faculty. The Director of Retention will delegate alerts to the appropriate member of the Retention Team. The Retention Team is composed of staff members who work in specific support areas to address student concerns based on the type of alert sent by faculty member. These individuals direct support services such as tutoring and counseling that are imperative to the success of the whole student. In collaboration with faculty efforts inside the classroom, members of the Retention Team act to provide students with critical support services early in their college careers. This directly strengthens the impact of alerts and enhances use of the Retention Team as described in the EGSC Strategic Plan.
Once activated by the Director of Retention, the Retention Team member will attempt to contact student through email and/or phone number to initiate the necessary support service(s) reflected within the alert comments. Actions of the Retention Team can include but shall not be limited to providing tutoring appointments, restructuring academic plans, assistance navigating financial aid services, placement in academic success workshops, arrangements for supplemental instruction, and referrals for mental health counseling. Communication regarding support intervention activities will be placed in GradesFirst by the Retention Team members. This ensures that faculty or advisors are able to refer to actions performed to improve their student’s academic performance. Follow-up messages will be sent by the Director of Retention to prompt student to action in addition to other team efforts.
Retention Team
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- Director of Retention (Chair)
- Director of Learning Commons
- Director of Academic Support Services
- Director of Student Conduct
- Director of the Office of Counseling and Accessibility Services
GradesFirst Training
Per EGSC policy, a GradesFirst training course is available for all faculty members; new faculty members are required to attend a GradesFirst training and should alert their dean or the Director of eLearning to be added to the training course.
Assessment and Evaluation
Data from the GradesFirst system and USG Retention Trend Rates will be used to make informed decisions related to improving the At-Risk Alert process.
