Yes, we do ask the faculty to complete a written contact form which becomes part of the student advisement file. The dean oversees faculty-student interaction.
It is an electronic data base and a student's records are stored under his/her student ID #.
Any teacher or administrator that has a need does has access to the data base.
There are "secured comments" that are hidden from view for everyone except the people that need to see them, so the privacy of the student is preserved.
As a teacher we use this tool to document our efforts to assist at risk students and what we did as instructors to attempt to assist the student. Typical entries would be documenting tutoring outside of scheduled class time, how long the student was in tutoring and the subject the student was tutored on. Similarly, if a student showed low test scores and was offered tutoring but refused, it would be noted as well that the student was reminded the resource was available and we are willing to provide it, but participation in tutoring is voluntary.
Chana, are student grades visible to anyone who has access to the portal, including other students? If so, has this caused any problems?
Catherine, are these contacts part of the student's file? How do you assure that the faculty is making the required contacts?
Bob, is this a paper/pencil process or does it become part of an electronic data base? How do people access the information and are there any concerns about privacy?
Sounds like a good plan, Shannon. Does the plan include asking students for names of prospective students?
Pamela, is this a verbal communication or something done in written form?
Nancy, what percentage of your students are engaged in this formal advisement process? I would think that the required documentation for the process would be very useful.
Travis, how does the appeals board related to changing student behavior? I think of an appeals board as being an opportunity to overturn a negative disciplinary action.
We also use the portal system to post students grades on the discussion board. We have our own platform for the discussion board and grades.
Our college addresses Academic Erosion through our online advisement program. We require professors to contact students a minimum of three times during the semester to discuss their progress and goals. The first contact occurs soon after the term begins and the second occurs at mid-semester. Because we are an online college, students communicate with us by e mail. Follow-up is conducted by the professor and/or the Dean of Students. Professors complete an academic advisement form, which is stored online. The Dean has access to these records.
Our school uses a Student Advisement form to track contacts made to the student. Any time a teacher or administrator counsels a student or has discussions concerning their schooling, it is recorded for future reference. We can build consistency of support through this process by knowing a history of past problems and solutions that have helped move the student forward.
In previous threads I've talked about our school's student service "check-ins," meetings that we hold at various times/stages through a student's academic progress.
At 25% of program completion, students are asked several questions. The usual, "how are things going?" "Do you have any questions or concerns that you'd like to talk about before we start?" are addressed; however, one of the most important questions is always: "How do you think you're doing in your classes?"
In my experience, no student experiencing Academic Erosion or Academic Stagnation is going to lie about where they feel they stand. If given the chance, self-doubters (those with poor paradigms) will become very vocal about their perceived weaknesses.
At the 25% mark, students are used to Student Service meetings. They understand the tone of the meeting and I will normally let them know, well in advance, what the meeting may go over. If I see their 25% date approaching I may grab the student in the halls and give them a heads-up. Especially since they are non-traditional, most of our students crave structure.
I will typically go and get the student from the classroom on their check-in date, which gives us the added walk to my office and allows me to lessen any anxiety a student may feel if they were expected to wait in a waiting area for me. All of these little things are designed to de-escalate what can be a very intimidating process.
For our school, students will have met with me three or four times and academically they will have at least three or four midterms under their belt. We've built a relationship, in short.
I believe that relationship, in combination with where students are academically (at 25% of program completion,) allow our school to give and receive the best answers to/from our students about where they feel they stand and whether their perception is realistic or imagined.
Follow-up strategies such as reaching out to academic instructors, peers, and/or offering outside resources, also help attrition.
We give 2 week evaluations with an update on their attendance and grades up to this point. We discuss any issues which may reflect a negative change in their grades or attendance. This does seem to help by providing better communication between the student and our deparment.
There is an "Advisement" form that is used by the faculty to address any academic, absence or behavioral issues with a student.
The form is used to open an official written dialogue (after repeated verbal warnings). If necessary, a higher level educational administrative staff member can sit in (Dean, Ass't Dean, Campus President) depending on the severity of the issue.
The discussion and form contents are then placed into the Campus Vue" system, as a second written document that the advisory was given and addressed in a one on one meeting setting.
If a problem has a workable solution, then we try to find that soution as a group. Attrition that is beyond our control is then addressed with either a later remediation or reassessment of the student's realistic career goals, due to skills and/or commitment.
My institution has an "appeals board" process to try and access how to change student's behavior and to help them solve personal problems. It also addresses solutions to help attendance and/or their academics.
Lisa, what method do you use to identify students suffering from Academic Erosion? How long do you track them after the initial intervention?
Jamie, is Student Resource Services local? Can students physically visit or is this an online/phone resource? How effective is it?
We routinely meet as a group in order to identify students who are affected by Academic Erosion. Perhaps they were very good in a prior class and now their behavior has changed, etc. At that time, the instructor will meet with the student first in order to determine if the issue is confidence, etc. If the instructor is unsuccessful, the instructor will refer the student to both student affairs and the Dean in order to provide further support to the student. Our institution also has student mentors and will assign a mentor to a student in order to provide peer to peer communication where the student may feel more comfortable opening up.
We use a written intervention that helps us track students academic progress. We also use an outside referral service called Student Resource Services that we refer students to, in order to help them with any issues they are having.
