OSU Academic Alert Adviser SurveyPrepared by the Academic Alert Task Force1, March 7, 2012

The purpose of the Academic Alert Adviser Survey was to assist with evaluating the pilot of the Academic Alert System by gathering information from advisers who received alerts from instructors during the Fall 2011 term. The survey was designed to: (1) assess the level of adviser satisfaction with the system; (2) assess adviser use of the system – their follow-up with students; (3) assess adviser perceptions regarding the effectiveness of the system—whether they detected student behavior changes as a result of academic alert notices; and (4) determine whether aspects of the system should be changed for future terms. The full survey instrument is included in Appendix A.

Of the 202 Academic Advisers who received alerts from instructors during Fall 2011, 189 were still employed by OSU at the time of the survey and were invited to participate. The initial email notification was sent February 6, 2012, with a reminder notification on February 16. During the time period February 6 – 17, a total of 89 completed surveys were obtained, yielding a response rate of 47.1%.

Alert Receipt Statistics

During the period between September 7 and November 11, 2011, a total of 3525 academic alerts were submitted by instructors, involving a total of 202 Academic Advisers. More than 50% of advisers (N = 126) received fewer than 10 alerts. Just over 10% of advisers (N = 21) received more than 50 alerts. The mean number of alerts received per adviser was 17.2, and the median was 5.

College Advisers Received Alerts Mean Alerts Per Adviser NotesA&S 42 23.1 5 advisers received more than 50 alertsCASNR 63 5.7 11 advisers received more than 10 alertsCEAT 33 16.5 5 advisers received more than 50 alertsCOED 9 44.0 2 advisers received fewer than 10 alertsCOHS 34 5.5 4 advisers received more than 10 alertsSSB 13 39.7 1 adviser received 200 alertsLASSO 11 59.5 7 advisers received more than 50 alerts

Survey Results

Advisers were asked to report their advising role:

Academic Adviser-Staff

60%

Faculty Adviser- Tenured

29%

Faculty Adviser- Tenure Track 6%

Faculty Adviser- Non-Tenure Track 4%

No Response1%

Advisers were asked to report their college/unit:

1 Academic Alert Task Force Members: K. Celeste Campbell, University Registrar; Pamela Fry, Associate Provost; Ed Harris, Professor, Educational Studies, and Academic Standards and Policies Committee Chair; Amy Martindale, Director, Arts and Sciences Academic Student Services

1

A&S28%

CASNR16%

CEAT13%COED

4%

COHS16%

SSB 7%

LASSO6%

Athletics2%

Honors College6%

No Response2%

Advisers were asked if the Academic Alert System improved communication with students:

Strongly Agree Somewhat Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree

Somewhat Disagree Strongly Disagree0.0%

10.0%20.0%30.0%40.0%50.0%60.0%70.0%80.0%90.0%

100.0%

11.2%

58.4%

16.9%10.1%

3.4%

Advisers were asked if the Academic Alert System will improve student retention:

Strongly Agree Somewhat Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree

Somewhat Disagree Strongly Disagree0.0%

10.0%20.0%30.0%40.0%50.0%60.0%70.0%80.0%90.0%

100.0%

4.5%

49.4%

22.5% 19.1%

4.5%

Advisers were asked whether the five alert categories should be retained for future terms. The vast majority of responses favored retaining all categories:

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Attendance Poor Quality Work Missing Work Cannot Pass with Remaining

Coursework

Instructor Comments

0.0%10.0%20.0%30.0%40.0%50.0%60.0%70.0%80.0%90.0%

100.0%

88.8%71.9%

82.0%92.1% 90.0%

9.0%25.8%

15.7%5.6% 6.7%

DeleteRetain

Some of the advisers (N = 5) suggested additional categories for reporting alerts. Verbatim responses are contained in Appendix B.2 advisers would like a category to indicate if the student and instructor have already addressed the issue.1 adviser requested a test score category.1 adviser requested a category for online courses to indicate participation, distinguished from attendance.1 adviser requested a category, “will not pass if work quality or quantity continues.”

Advisers were asked about their first method to make contact with a student upon receiving an Academic Alert:

Phone; 24.7%

Email; 69.7%

Other; 5.6%

Advisers were asked about their “other” first methods of contacting students in response to alerts. Verbatim responses are contained in Appendix B.2 advisers indicated in-person contact.2 advisers indicated that someone else was responsible for contacting their advisees.

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Advisers were asked about how many of their advisees they successfully contacted regarding an alert:

0% contac

ted

1-20% contac

ted

21-40% contac

ted

41-60% contac

ted

61-80% contac

ted

81-100% contac

ted0.0%

10.0%20.0%30.0%40.0%50.0%60.0%70.0%80.0%90.0%

100.0%

4.5% 6.7%13.5% 12.4%

20.2%

39.3%

Advisers were asked about how many of their alerts they responded to in SIS:

0% recorded 1-20% recorded 21-40% recorded 41-60% recorded 61-80% recorded 81-100% recorded

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

90.0%

100.0%

23.6%

5.6% 3.4% 3.4%10.1%

52.8%

Advisers were asked about their satisfaction with the Academic Alert System:

Strongly

Satisfi

ed

Somew

hat Sati

sfied

Neither

Satisfied

nor Diss

atisfi

ed

Somew

hat Diss

atisfied

Strongly

Dissati

sfied

0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

80.0%

100.0%

14.6%

51.7%

20.2%9.0% 4.5%

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Advisers were asked to indicate the observed level of improvement in students’ academic success after receiving Academic Alert notices.

Some advisers observed significant improvement in students’ performance following an Academic Alert. Others were not aware of students’ improvement:

Most Students Some Students No Students Adviser Unaware0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

40.0%

1.1%

27.0%30.3%

37.1%

Some advisers observed some improvement in students’ performance following an Academic Alert. Others were not aware of students’ improvement:

Most Students Some Students No Students Adviser Unaware0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

5.6%

53.9%

11.2%

28.1%

Approximately two-thirds of the advisers (N = 55) responded to Question 12: “What comments do you have regarding the Academic Alert system?” Some themes are described here. The complete set of responses is provided in Appendix B.15 advisers made comments regarding the need for students to be held more accountable for their performance.9 advisers made comments regarding the burden of time it takes advisers to respond to academic alerts 8 advisers made comments regarding students’ lack of response to their contacts6 advisers made comments regarding the system increasing students who drop classes6 advisers made comments suggesting that advisers should not be involved in the Academic Alert system

Another 4 advisers commented that their contact was redundant5 advisers made comments indicating that some students resist acknowledging their academic problems5 advisers made generally positive comments about the system

Approximately half of the advisers (N = 32) responded to Question 13: “What suggestions do you have to improve the Academic Alert system?” Some themes are described here. The complete set of responses is provided in Appendix B.9 advisers made comments regarding the usability of the system (adviser entry screen, emailed excel reports, etc.)4 advisers made comments regarding the need for accurate student contact information4 advisers made comments regarding instructors’ misuse of the system (vague comments, positive reports, trivial issues)

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Appendix A. Survey Instrument

1. My advising role can most closely be categorized as _________________.a. Academic Adviser--Staffb. Faculty Academic Adviser—Tenuredc. Faculty Academic Adviser—Tenure Trackd. Faculty Academic Adviser—Non-Tenure Track

2. I work for _________________.a. Academic Services for Student Athletesb. College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resourcesc. College of Arts and Sciencesd. College of Educatione. College of Engineering, Architecture and Technologyf. College of Human Sciencesg. Honors Collegeh. LASSO Centeri. Spears School of Business

3. I believe the Academic Alert System has improved communication with students.a. Strongly agreeb. Somewhat agreec. Neither agree nor disagreed. Somewhat disagreee. Strongly disagree

4. I believe the Academic Alert System will affect student retention.a. Strongly agreeb. Somewhat agreec. Neither agree nor disagreed. Somewhat disagreee. Strongly disagree

5. Currently instructors may use the Academic Alert system to report concerns in the categories below. Please indicate whether you think these categories should be retained in the alert system during future terms.

a. Attendance retain deleteb. Poor Quality Work retain deletec. Missing Work retain deleted. Cannot Pass with Remaining Coursework retain deletee. Instructor Comments retain delete

6. If you would like to see additional categories for reporting options, please list them here.

7. When you received an academic alert regarding a student, what was the first method of contact you most frequently used to contact the student?

a. Phoneb. Emailc. Text Messaged. Other (please describe)

8. Of all the academic alerts you received for your advisees during the Fall 2011 semester, what percentage would you estimate that you contacted regarding the alert?

a. 0%b. 1-20%c. 21-40%

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d. 41-60%e. 61-80%f. 81-100%

9. Of all the academic alerts you received for your advisees during the Fall 2011 semester, what percentage would you estimate that you recorded a response in SIS (via QWS3270, also known as “black screen SIS”)?

a. 0%b. 1-20%c. 21-40%d. 41-60%e. 61-80%f. 81-100%

10. Please indicate your level of satisfaction with the Academic Alert system.a. Strongly satisfiedb. Somewhat satisfiedc. Neither satisfied nor dissatisfiedd. Strongly dissatisfiede. Somewhat dissatisfied

11. In general, what level of improvement in students’ academic success did you observe in relation to their academic alert notices?

Most students Some students No students UnknownSignificant

improvement detected

Some improvement detected

12. What comments do you have regarding the Academic Alert system?

13. What suggestions do you have to improve the Academic Alert system?

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Appendix B. Verbatim Responses to Open-Ended Questions

6. If you would like to see additional categories for reporting options, please list them here. (34 responses)

Respondent ID

Response

1 It would be nice if comments from the instructor were a mandatory accompaniment to the indicators above. The alerts can be pretty vague at times.

10 A category indicating if an instructor has already addressed the issue with the student, or indicating what follow up they expect from the adviser.

11 I really liked being able to discuss with students who had not done well on a first exam.

32 test scores

48 It will be useful if faculty can comment if the student contacted them. Some students email me back saying that they are working things out with the faculty member and I have no way of verifying this information.

52 add online participation" to distinguish it from the mis-named "attendance" now used for online courses. students' first response when we mention attendance for an online course is "that's stupid this is an online course. right or wrong it doesn't reflect what they're doing.

55 comments are the most useful

74 Will not pass if work quality or quantity continues.

14. When you received an academic alert regarding a student, what was the first method of contact you most frequently used to contact the student? Other (please describe)

Respondent ID

Response

4 Face to face44 in person50 My academic alerts were fielded by Angel Ray on the Tulsa campus54 one person in our office contacts the students. So, I did not.71 phone if available otherwise email

12. What comments do you have regarding the Academic Alert system? (97 responses)

Respondent ID

Response

1 I think in some cases, instructors sent alerts and felt their responsibilities had been met, without attempts to contact or work with the student themselves.

3 I am a new advisor and have only received a few academic alert notifications. As a result, I have not had the opportunity to observe any major outcomes.

4 For faculty who are teaching a full load and advising 60+ students this is pretty hard to keep up with. It is useful, but it is one more thing to do that I don't really have time to do. I think the students shoe be held more accountable, and it should not be the adviser's responsibility to track down the students.

5 I think it's greatest benefit is alerting students to the potential need to drop a class before receieving a failing grade. I don't know that it does much for getting students to turn around their work in the class or for them to start attending, but at least many of them come in and drop before they fail.

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6 This program makes significantly more work for advisers and does not provide the student with any new information that will help make passing the class any more of a possibility. Students should know if they are not passing a class or attending a class. Student's I had interaction with still failed the course despite my contact.

9 The most common result for my students was to drop the course. I did not see any who improved their work in the course. But that's not bad. This way they avoided getting poor grades on their transcripts.

10 It has proved very useful for getting students to withdraw from classes that they cannot pass. Many students had already spoken with their teacher when the email was sent to them. Often my communication was redundant.

12 Most students don't respond to my emails. I guess they either don't care...., or they are too embarassed to respond.

13 This is a good tool for instructors to communicate with students. Some students intend to drop and forget. this is a good reminder. Some students think that they have dropped a class and this informs them otherwise. Again, I think that this is a good communcation tool between instructor and student that otherwise does not happen.

16 My student had multiple issues over time - which we had discussed previously. I was working with a senior who had become discouraged at least partly because their skills did not match well with the major requirements.

20 The alert system is useful in that it gives me a chance to inform a student that I am aware of academic issues that should be addressed. Some students respond immediately and provide an explanation or plan of action to address the issue. Most never respond and I do not have the time to try to contact them by phone.

21 Every piece of information helps us in reaching out to students. It creates more work for us but provides us with valuable information we can use to reach out to students in trouble sooner.

22 Grade of W is better than a grade of F, however, it is hard to feel enthusiastic about student dropping classes. Many academic alerts reflect situations where dropping the class is ultimately the outcome. The system is great for helping students find ways to improve if early enough in the semester or cut their lossses if later in the semester. In either event, having Academic Alert data and communications is much better than not having them, regardless of outcome.

23 It is most beneficial when instructors provide specific comments, as a box checked with excessive absences or missing work could mean a variety of things depending on each individual’s perception. Also, some of the comments lead me to believe the instructors think we receive the info immediately, not a day (or over the weekend) delayed. I've received info saying a student must do something by that day, but I do not get the info until the next day at the earliest. By then it’s sometimes too late to provide the assistance the instructor is recommending.

24 If there was no communication between instructor and student before, then I like that students are getting warnings, but I worry that the system is using technology to replace the simple direct contact of student with instructor. Instead of talking to a student after class about her work or lack of attendance, now instructors can handle the situation with a click of a mouse instead of an actual conversation. And I don't necessarily think having a conversation with your advisor is as good as having a conversation with the instructor of the course itself, but I feel like the system wants to get advisors involved at the expense of the first natural step, seeing one's instructor. As for the role of advisors, I also think there are more important things than student retention, such as a sense of self-responsibility. College is where you are suppose to develop that more. But have we not created a model of the hovering advisor who comes ringing you up at the first sign of trouble. I don't think these big picture concerns about student development were considered fully enough when this system was adopted. It was a rush to improve retention numbers at all costs, or so it seems to me. Take for example, attendance. Are advisors suppose to be high school truant officers now calling students up about their attendance? There should be some separation, some sense of I am now on my own and responsible for getting myself help when it comes to college life. In loco parentis, I think it is a scale and I am afraid we are in danger of going too far to one end of it with the academic alert system.

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25 It would be nice to see" what the student has been sent as generated from the Academic Alert concern so I can also send a follow up email without being redundant at the same time. I am taking quick action on all Academic awell as the AV1/AV2 information that I am entering on SISAlerts. It would be nice to see an example of the email the student is receiving that is generated from the Academic Alert concern (itself) as well as the AV1/AV2 information that I am entering on SIS. Students may decide not to respond to my personal email thinking it's just too much to deal with-- maybe they are confused by multiple emails? Not sure... just a thought.

26 I like it, however I wonder about if it really has a an impact on student retention. But I am sure we will find out! Also, I would like to mention that it can be really hard to get a hold of the students, due to out-of-date contact information. We need to find a way to get them to update their contact information on a regular basis, otherwise the best alert system can't help them!

27 It can be time consuming and another thing for advisers to do. I feel like students need to know when they are failing but I think following up on attendance is not a good use of time.

31 The numbers of students contacted may be a little lower for The Honors College, because we knew their academic advisors were going to contact them, and did not want the students completely overwhelmed with emails and phone calls. If I saw that an advisor had not made a comment on the Academic Alert system after a few days, then I contacted the student.

32 I think it will continue to improve as more faculty and advisors use the system and report what they are doing with students

33 I find it redundant. I communicate with my students in class so that they know their status as the course progresses. For my advisees who are not taking one of my classes, I meet with them each semester and we discuss their progress then.

34 I think it is a good idea. Evaluation before failure should help student take corrective actions. I think it is of more value in a large class than a small one. At least for myself, I can keep close track of 30 or less students and encourage them if they are struggling. Larger classes present a problem for individual attention.

40 Way better than what we did before(nothing). It puts the advisor in the loop. I think it i8t most successful with new freshmen and has the lest effect with the hardened" upperclassmen."

43 I wasn't able to get a response from the student for whom I received the alert. The instructor did let me know that the student finally turned in the work that was required.

46 A good idea and a good start to improving the retention problem at OSU. 48 For those students that have a good academic record, the academic alert system helped identified mistakes

that was jeopardizing their progress like computer issue, or justified absences, or that they forgot to drop the class etc. These students always replied to my email and updated me on their situation and solved any issues they had with the instructor of the course. The students that have a record of poor academic progress they don’t respond to my emails or phone calls. I offer them alternative and suggest where to find assistance and welcome them to come visit me so they can receive the help they need. These students do not reach out and when they come and see me for enrollment I bring up the issue and they just brush it off.

50 While I understand the decision to have the Tulsa student alerts filtered through Angel Ray, I would prefer to have the contact with my own students regarding their performance as I am more familiar with their situtaion, their goals, and also the faculty involved. I hope at some point the Tulsa campus can revisit this decision and shift it back to the advisers.

51 Still is somewhat cumbersome and awkward to use. 52 I can tell we're causing students to drop classes earlier than without the alert, and helping reduce the

number of late drop and tuition appeal petitions. I have received some thank-yous, but not a ton, and don't have a good feel for the prevailing opinion among students...

53 We shoudl be training our students to be self actualizing and responsible for their own education. I wonder if we do them a service to follow up so carefully. It's possible some students do not belong in a university setting. How much is toomuch?

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55 Great system to let advisers know about struggling students before it's too late. Is a bit clunky, but gets the job done. Some students don't improve or change after the notice, but at least we can say we've done all we can. Some instructors seem to use this instead of talking to their students. Instructors are responsible for student success just as much as advisers.

56 I feel it is a useful system, but needs improving.58 For advisors in the School of Business, we don't have time during peak enrollment to follow up with

academic alerts (according to our associate dean, the school of business advisors see 40% more students than any other advising office on campus. I'm not sure how valid that is). I think we need to find the funding to hire 1 or 2 Academic Alert" positions and these individuals jobs will be identifying and calling/emailing/trying to contact students on acadmemic alert for the entire campus. If I actually do get a hold of my academic alert students nothing changes. They just say "oh yeah..I know I missed a few days but I'm good now." Because I have so many students I try to facilitate and promote success but sometimes I just don't have the time to be a "helicopter parent." At what point do we just send one notice to the student and if they can't learn Accepting Self-Responsibility Discovering Self-Motivation Mastering Self-Management Employing Interdependence Gaining Self-Awareness Adopting Life-Long Learning and Critical Thinking Developing Emotional Intelligence Believing in Oneself...then maybe we need to look at a new framework for success and retention as an institution. "

60 I seems that most if it is us (advisers) acting as parents making sure the students a going to class. I'm not sure how effective it is at improving retention. I'd like to see some data supporting this system.

62 As an Honors College advisor, I usually just contact the student but do not put notes since I am not the student's main advisor. I keep my own spreadsheet of communication and contact all students that do not have any indication in SIS that their main advisor has not contacted them. I'm not quite sure if I'm able to put notes in SIS because I'm not the student's main advisor, but I would if I could. Just a note. :)

66 I would encourage instructor comments. Some areas identified on the alert need further clarification67 I think that the email alert is a nice feature. But I feel that that should be enough. The alert could tell the

student to see the teacher and/or their advisor. I feel like we are not treating our students like adults. I don't think this system is getting students ready for the real world". I also feel extremely UNCOMFORTABLE calling students because of FERPA and the normal means of communication with students. I do not mind sending them an email and asking them to come see me but I feel that asking us to call them is too invasive."

70 I believe there should be more extensive training pertaining to the functions and purpose of the system. Many instructors seem to use this system as a way to let students know they are doing well (usually in the instructor comments) and I think this is confusing. Many students initially panic thinking they are doing poorly, when in fact the instructor is 'reporting' their positive progress.

71 The notification system points out the need for accurate information in the SIS including phone numbers and working emails. I have had and still have students that do not have accurate or complete information in SIS.

72 Most of the academic alerts that I received cast the adviser as an additional TA" to the professor. The academic alert system in its current form simply allows an Instructor to pass responsibility to the adviser."

73 Faculty and advisors were already communicating. I hope more advisors actually followed up; as an instructor, I did not see a lot of evidence of follow-up on SIS, but I only had a few alerts to deal with. Some students may not drop even when they know they cannot pass - it would be wrong to blame faculty or advisors for this.

74 It is a bit cumbersome to get daily emails.75 Some of the students contacted indicate appreciation at the concern expressed, but usually at least half do

not respond. College students supposedly are adults. If they do not go to class or do the work, then they may be suffering from factors such as family and finances that do not relate to their academic career. Or they may not belong in college or at least not in that course. In many cases there is little the university can do. Some students do become lost, and it is good to offer to help. But most of the time retention is not dependent on course work or on what the university can do. Whether a student stays is outside the control of the university. Nor should all students be retained. Numbers are not more important than providing a quality education.

76 Communication should be happening between the professor and the student.

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77 Communication should be happening between the professor and the student. 78 It seems to support the premise that students should not fail and that failing grades are unacceptable. It

seems appropriate that students who fail to do the work should fail a class. Our last drop date is far too late in the semester. Students are not being taught to persevere, improve and/or take the consequences of their actions. OSU grade point averages are not indicative of whether our students are nationally or internationally competitive. All people do not need a college degree.

79 I've only had to deal with it with one advisee so far. It feels like it could be overwhelming to deal with if one was contacted about a number of advisees in a number of classes.

80 My only concern is whether we are actually being helpful to a student. Yes, it's important to be aware if a student isn't succeeding in her/his classes, but doesn't this take the responsibility out of the hands of the students? One could argue that THEY should be responsible for doing the necessary follow-up if there are academic issues. It is their degree not ours. I'm not saying that we should have such as system, but we also need to stop and think whether the current system is fostering responsibility in the students.

81 I think it is an effective retention tool. However, some students won't see improvement in their academic endeavors until they are willing to make the changes necessary to be successful in their courses. They need to show up to class to know what is going on in class. They need to do the homework to try to better grasp the material presented. Sometimes it takes a setback or two before they start taking their education more serious.

82 Student response has been underwhelming. I'm happy to make every effort to help struggling students, but there is only so much that can be done to get students to take action. Many of my phone calls and emails are never returned, even after multiple attempts.

83 This system (especially contacting students regarding attendance) makes me feel like a high school attendance clerk. This is not the type of relationship that I try to cultivate with my students. I see myself as someone who helps them reach their goals and make academic and career plans. I am their advocate in many situations - not the attendance police. Since students are copied on the academic alert email, they've already seen the instructor's message. I think that the reminder/alert sent to them and the electronic record is enough action. Many instructors are clearly using this to deflect the management of their own classrooms to advisers. My time is better used towards the hundreds of other responsibilities that I have regarding students. I absolutely know that my advising/counseling functions contribute towards retention much more significantly than this.

84 The reporting and response system is cumbersome and need improvement to be successful. I can live with the digest" type weekly excel files we receive on students in trouble but the SIS-based reporting back system is archaic not user friendly and needs significant improvement."

85 I believe the whole concept of the Academic Alert system wrongly shifts the majority of the responsibility for academic success and preparation from the student (where it rightly belongs) to the university's advising staff. Accepted developmental theory suggests that the period of young adulthood should be one of an increased sense of responsibility for the outcome of one's actions and an increased self-awareness, as well as a time to learn to forge more meaningful relationships. In its current format, the Academic Alert system goes directly against the grain of these crucial developmental concepts. It doesn't encourage students to learn how to respond to the cues they're receiving about their academic behaviors (poor grades, contacts from professors, etc.); it doesn't suggest they take time for any self-reflection about a different approach to try; and it doesn't direct students to the knowledge that building meaningful relationships with their instructors/professors is of considerable value to their academic success at the university. Instead, it suggests that the adults" of the university should take actions much more suitable to a secondary-school setting where it could be considered appropriate that teachers and counselors take a more intrusive approach to student success. I do not see the Academic Alert system as a way to enhance each of my advisees’ personal commitment to their progress here at Oklahoma State and surely that personal level of commitment is a vital part of increasing student retention. The reason I say that the bulk of the responsibility in using the Academic Alert system rests on the university advising corps is because even though instructors are encouraged to make their initial alert through the e-mail part of the system advisors are asked to phone students personally and/or encourage them to come in for meetings. Given that nearly all of the alerts on my advisees were about non-attendance behaviors and its logical results this tends to be students who are not very amenable to responding to a phone message left about those activities. Phone calls can also be awkward given that everyone now carries cell phones everywhere. You

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can't possibly know where your student might be when you're trying to initiate a sensitive conversation about their poor academic performance. Another reason I suggest the burden is falling more on advising personnel is because instructors/professors have always had the opportunity to notify students of absences and/or poor performance through existing university portals like the Excessive Absence notifications and the 6-week Grade System. These avenues are under-utilized and at times misused. Why is there no consequence for instructors/professors when they fail to turn in 6-week grades for 1000/2000-level courses? And there have been a few instances that I've verified during my time as an advisor at OSU where an instructor/professor simply gave all students in their course midterm grades of "C" rather than actually evaluating individual performance. Now advisors are being asked to pick up the slack on a new system when the existing systems available to university personnel most knowledgeable about the academic performance of students (i.e. their instructors/professors) are not being fully or correctly utilized. The Academic Alert system also increases the administrative tasks for advisors as most of us already keep files on our advisees. So now we have to keep up our own files and make sure not just to follow up with alerts but to also provide a duplicate set of responses in SIS. Finally my students are declared majors not freshmen. My total of 33 alerts actually represents only 23 different students (14 students had 1 alert; 8 students had 2 alerts; 1 student had 3 alerts). Of those 33 total alerts only 6 were about poor academic performance that was unrelated to non-attendance. So 81.8% of Academic Alerts I received were about sophomores juniors and seniors whose poor grades are simply reflective of the fact that they don't attend their classes. Thus the majority of my alerts weren't really about poor performance; there were about NO performance. Only 2 students acted on the first Academic Alert message from their instructor/professor by contacting their professor directly for help. Most who initiated contact with me before I sent a message came asking to drop the course in question without any plan to get in touch with the instructor/professor. Overall the quickest response to alerts phone calls or e-mails came from my younger sophomore students. The final results were that 3 students showed significant (2-letter grade) improvement; 3 students showed some (1-letter grade) improvement; 3 students showed no improvement; 1 student showed some (1-letter grade) decline; and 15 students Withdrew from the class in question. (NOTE: The number totals may seem off but that's because 2 students each had alerts for two different classes.) ALL 3 STUDENTS WHO SHOWED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT told me during subsequent advising appointments that it was only because they directly contacted and worked with their instructor/professor and if needed a tutor. In my view the strongest point of effectiveness of the Academic Alert system is where it acts to enhance the development of the relationship between the student and the instructor/professor since this is what I saw lead to actual and significant improvements for my students."

87 The system seems to duplicate existing efforts that are alreaduy in place i.e., reporting six week grades. 88 This is a good system. The main challenge for me was finding time to record responses. I will try to do

better this semester.

13. What suggestions to you have to improve the Academic Alert System?

Respondent ID

Response

4 From an adviser's point of view this information would be more helpful if it was streamlined with the advising process. Like you could view this on the transcript screen in SIS for the current semester while you were advising for the next semester.

5 IF instructors are reporting attendance issues, it would be nice if they could indicate whether attendance is required for their class.

10 Provide a faster stream of communication between the professor and the adviser so redundant conversations are not taking place and the student does not tune out the bevy of messages sent to them.

12 No16 I'm not sure this is that effective with upperclass students - perhaps the focus should be on

underclassmen. Also it would be interesting to know what percentage of struggeling students are having trouble paying their bills, using alcolhol or drugs and/or experiencing a personal crisus or mental health issues. Does this system help these high-risk students?

19 Why not just have course instructor send email to the student and cc the academic advisor.20 None at this time as it seems to work well for our students.

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21 The system needs to be more seamless. As of now, we receive the alerts in Excel format from E-print, then contact students via email or phone, then respond back on a third system (SIS). This is problematic when we are in the middle of enrolling students and teaching courses. I am hopeful that Grades First will assist in creating a less cumbersome system.

23 I am just curious what faculty think about the system. To my knowledge I have not seen any data or comments from them.

24 How about an automated system that calls students' cell phones and leaves an automated message of you have excessive absences in MATH 1513" for example? Or a text? How about an option for students to choose if they want to be contacted by their advisor? Some might see this as very helpful and want to be contacted with each misstep. Others might very well want to be left to their own devices. I think they should be allowed to declare themselves in this way."

25 ALL departments must enter early academic alerts, or the system will simply not be effective. Our office is trying to retain every single day, and we might discuss SOC 1113 with them, but if the other three courses (they may be failing) are not turned in for a concern-- after midterm grades they will not volunteer information to me that they are failing. We may dance around the topic, but I don't have any hard data/evidence directly from the instructor, so after mid-terms with no academic alerts, I'm shooting in the dark to make sure my students are getting in here to get tutors, to stay focused, get an Academic Facilitator, etc. I'm really happy when I see faculty members using the early academic alert system, especially when students are failing more than one course. But, again-- all faculty from all departments have got to be on board. This is just bottom line.

26 None so far.32 Will the system intergrate well with Grades First?34 I need to learn to use the SIS green screens. I was ill and missed my tutorial. Is there an online tutorial

that can bring me up to speed?38 Deliver directly to the assigned advisor. Have one system where reports and feedback can be seen so you

don't have to switch back and forth between e-mail and SIS. Have an easy way to see all alerts and their status.

40 I need a better way or more user friendly way to document my interaction with a student as a result of the alert notice""

43 None right now. I think it needs to be used for awhile to give us a better chance to see how well it will work.

46 It’s a very cumbersome process that doesn’t always allow the proper communication between instructor and advisor.

52 I think there should be a way to allow faculty to make positive comments about students accessible to advisors. Even good students need feedback, and good news can be an equally good reason for an advisor to contact a student. It could help in building relationships and give advisors a reason to contact a student they may not know very well. In addition, it could be a source of generating tutors for LASSO and other services.

53 One could try to make it a one action system where the alert is sent to the advisor and the advisor would respond on the same form without the extra step of entering the SIS system. It is time consuming.

55 Find a way to get students to update phone numbers in SIS. Spend far too much time calling disconnected numbers. Entry of adviser comments into SIS is clunky. Would be great to have adviser view and entry in SIS-Web. Really hope this can integrate nicely into GradesFirst. Would be really nice to only type my response once and have it go into student's file and back to instructor.

56 Instead of prducing a daily report, we could receive a weekly report. ALso, I received notes from students indicating that their instructor put them on the list by mistake! This creates a rather embarrasing situation, when they should not be on the list, but you have called or e-mailed them with concerns:(

58 Finding a loophole with FERPA so we can notify parents. Even if it is just a general statement that says, Your son/daughter has been placed on acadmemic altert. Per FERPA this is all we can tell you." Or something to that effect. I think if parents were notified we'd see a different tune in the students. "

60 make sure the professors only use the system when a student is having problems. Some professors are submitting alerts saying that a student is doing great in his/her class. That just adds more work on the academic advisers because we have to contact all of the students with the alerts

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67 Keep the automated email. Ask the student to see the professor and/or advisor. The responsibility should be on the student at that point.

68 As a faculty member who has participated in the Alert system as both an advisor and as a professor, I think that some faculty members who have submitted comments may need some training to more fully promote the successful remediation of students performing poorly in their class. For instance, I received a comment concerning a student suggesting that they didn't really have the capability to succeed in a particular course. I met with the student as their advisor, encouraged them to talk to the faculty member ( which they did) and suggested ways of altering their study habits---they implemented those changes and had a 30% improvement in their exam scores...and the professor of the course did not say one word to them....following the improvement in their course performance.

71 Have better information in SIS so we can directly use a phone number whenever possible. The space for writing comments must be enlarged. It is difficult if there is an ongoing issue to keep track when the space is limited.

73 I can take it or leave it as long as it is not made more complex. Is there a way to provide advisors with a positive incentive to record follow-up using the Alert system? I suspect some did folow up but never bothered to enter their actions in the Alert system.

78 Students generally know they are failing unless they are unable to access d2l or do not attend class. Because we admit 80 percent of those who apply, it must be acceptable to have a percentage of students who do not succeed. Frankly, some of the students to who we are granting degrees are barely literate. And we need to stop suggesting to the public that they are. Examples of students who cannot put a subject and verb together in a properly punctuated sentence are earning an A in Comp II. Others cannot do basic algebra or arithmetic without using a calculator. Some tell me they have never had to multiply or divide without a calculator.

83 I think the notation of an academic alert on SIS is helpful so when I meet with my students I can ask them about the class in question. On occasion, I could contact them as alerts come in if I believe it could be beneficial. I do not think advisers should be encouraged to contact each and every students with an alert about attendance. I truly believe this has zero impact on retention. I also think that if OSU wants to address attendance, it would be better to start with attendance mandates. Half the students I contacted are still within a posted attendance allowance.

84 see above85 My advice is regarding not only the Academic Alert system, but several OSU systems currently in place

to aid in student retention and to help students keep abreast of their academic progress: 1. For the Excessive Absence System: Use the system only for Freshman students (27 hours earned or less) and student athletes (where the students' NCAA participation requirements suggest a legitimate reason to monitor attendance past the Freshman classification). Have the Provost's Office make it clear to colleges and departments that this is a retention initiative they should respond to, and have the Provost's Office provide substantive support towards realistic use of this existing retention initiative. Since SIS is able to flag athletes and Honors students, I would hope it could be adapted to flagging students with 27 credit hours or less. When an instructor accesses the system, only the Freshman students and athletes eligible for monitoring would show up. This would reduce the number of students instructors/professors had to report on, thus making reporting less onerous and hopefully increasing compliance. It would also introduce students very early to the concept that important academic evaluations come from a variety of university sources, not just their academic advisor as in high school. Once a student has earned 28 credit hours, the flag on their record would be removed. Two semesters is plenty of time to understand you need to attend class. 2. For the 6-Week & 10-Week Grade System: Use the systems only for Freshman students (27 hours earned or less) and student athletes (where the students' NCAA participation requirements suggest a legitimate reason to monitor attendance past the Freshman classification). I also suggest NOT limiting the system to 1000/2000-level courses because some Freshmen students with advanced abilities do meet prerequisites for 3000/4000-level courses during their first year. Have the Provost's Office make it clear to colleges and departments that this is a retention initiative they should respond to, and in a way that provides LEGITIMATE feedback on where a student actually stands at those points during the semester. Have the Provost's Office institute the same process for contacting teaching faculty who fail to turn in 6-week and 10-week grades that is used when faculty fail to turn in final grades. This would

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increase the feedback that Freshman students get on their academic performance while they are most open to learning the new skills that college life requires. This might make them more aware of the importance of accessing all the campus resources for student success. Once a student has earned 28 credit hours, the flag on their record would be removed. Two semesters is plenty of time to understand you need to ask about how you're doing in a class, even if no one is volunteering the information. 3. For the campus advising system in general: Hire more professional advisors across the board to increase access for students who are making the grade. I think that the recent increase of advising support in the LASSO Center may have an unintended effect: more students coming to this campus asking to be undeclared" or "unsure" because they know that there is more access to one-on-one advising and career help than if they come to college with the age-appropriate social maturity and decision-making skills. Without a greater (or a least commensurate) increase in the advising support for students who came with a major (or at least a starting place) and high school grades that matched their ACT or SAT test performance there's now an inherent unfairness in the advising system. Shouldn't students get what they've earned? If someone comes on campus ready for college why is it they often have to fight for time with an advisor in comparison to students who view the university as grade 13? I don't suggest reducing LASSO Center advisors; I suggest increasing the general university advising corps so that we have more time to spend with students who come to OSU ready to do a good job. 4. For the Academic Alert system: Only continue its use if the above interventions do not have an effect. If it is (or must be) continued limit its use to Freshmen and athletes but first have the Provost's Office work through Undergraduate Admissions and/or the Registrar's Office to institute a method that makes sure all undergraduate students have a current phone number THAT REACHES THEM AND NOT THEIR PARENTS listed in SIS."

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