Early Alert

Early Alert is an intervention system designed to identify, reach out, and provide support to students who are experiencing challenges or having difficulty with their coursework. The Early Alert program is a collaborative effort among faculty, staff, and administrators with the goal of increased student retention and success. The Early Alert committee is comprised of representatives from Academic Advising, Academic Success, Dual Enrollment, Financial Aid, First Year Experience, Housing, Registration, Student Support Services, and college faculty. This committee meets to determine best practices for the Early Alert program. All trained Early Alert respondents track their interactions with students and communicate their results back to faculty members in a timely manner.

The Early Alert Process

The Early Alert process is driven by faculty members who care about their students and who want to provide every opportunity for their students to succeed. To begin the process, an instructor fills out an Early Alert for a student online. Once the notice is received, our office gathers additional information about the student and distributes the alert to an appropriate Early Alert Representative who then contacts the student directly. After the initial contact, students have greater knowledge about the resources available here at FSW and can then take steps to improve their performance in the class. Students may be identified for Early Alert for a variety of reasons, including excessive unexplained absences, tardiness, low participation, low test scores, and missing assignments or trouble understanding assignments.

Time is of the essence in regards to the Early Alert process. The sooner a student is identified through the Early Alert process, the more time the student will have to improve his or her academic performance and successfully complete the semester.

“Each day provides countless chances to make a difference.”