Frequently Asked Questions of the Early Alert System

What is the Early Alert System at Wartburg College?
Our Early Alert system is a proactive, formal, early intervention that helps to identify, alert, and provide timely information and resources for at-risk students. The earlier the student connects to peers, resources, advisors, and faculty, the more likely the student will persist and retain to the following term successfully.

Who is involved with the Early Alert System at Wartburg College?
Early Alert systems should be a campus-wide collaborative effort. Therefore, all faculty and staff should be prepared and willing to use the system if they encounter a student that needs extra assistance and resources to be successful. The Early Alert team consists of a great group of diverse individuals from multiple departments throughout campus that are dedicated to helping students succeed academically and connecting students with the necessary resources that they need. Also, keep in mind that we are always seeking new members to join our dedicated team. Questions or concerns about the early alert program should be directed to Grace Mangrich, program administrator.

When should a faculty or staff member submit an Early Alert?
Please keep in mind that it is best for you to submit an alert as soon as you feel that the student may need assistance. The sooner that we can offer at-risk student resources, the more likely we are able to help that individual succeed. Faculty and staff should submit an early alert for a student if any of the indicators below are identified:

• Poor Class Attendance
• Poor Performance on quizzes/exams
• Difficulty completing assignments
• Sudden decline in academic performance
• Concerns about their major
• College adjustment issues
• Financial problems
• Mental health concerns
• Physical health concerns
• Alcohol or substance use concerns
• Roommate difficulty
• Disruptive behavior
• Other concerns that you may have

Why should you use the Early Alert system at Wartburg?
The #1 reason that you should use the Early Alert system at Wartburg is because it’s designed to connect students with resources and individuals on campus that can help them succeed. Here at Wartburg, we are dedicated to providing all students with the necessary resources to help them advance academically and obtain their degree.

The Early Alert system is designed to help faculty and staff build relationships with students who may need assistance socially, mentally, physically, or academically. The process allows direct contact with students that allow faculty and staff to identify issues that the student is encountering, while possibly building a meaningful relationship that will help that individual moving forward. Research on retention efforts for students shows that building relationships between faculty and students is seen as crucial to the success of the students (S. Baker & Pomerantz, 2001; Bryk et al., 2010; Moore, 2007; Project on Academic Success, 2009), especially students who are experiencing difficulties at the institution. The Early Alert system allows users an opportunity to initiate these relationships and lead that student to success.

How do you submit an Early Alert?

• Click on the Early alert link on either the home page of your Infocenter or My.Wartburg.
• Once you are in, follow the prompts to start the process and enter the alert.
• Choose one of the many options for “Nature of Concern”.
• It is very helpful if you complete the “Additional Comments” section, so the Early Alert team has specific details on the student’s issues.
• Submit
• Once you have submitted, the Early Alert Administrator will receive a notice of your alert. It will then be reviewed to determine the best course of action to support the student. The Administrator will assign the alert to an appropriate faculty or staff member. The alert submitter will be notified via email of any updates.

Common Challenges in Alert Implementation

Faculty/staff buy in – In order for an Early Alert system to be successful there is a need for faculty and staff to pay attention to their students and take the time to get that student the necessary resources available if they are not able to help them directly. All that faculty or staff must do is take ten minutes out of their time to simply submit an alert and get the process started. Ten minutes of your time could be the difference between a student passing or failing.

Too many alerts received by advisors and counselors – The Early Alert team is designed to help advisors, faculty, and staff work with the student to achieve success if needed. Therefore, the responsibility to help the student overcome their issues is a shared responsibility that is welcomed by the ARC and Early Alert team.

The intervention plans varying within campus settings – The Early Alert team is building relationships around campus with all departments to ensure that we are working together to provide the student with a universal plan and resources to succeed.

After responding to alerts, no identified way to “close the loop”– This is an issue that we are still struggling to address because it takes everyone involved in the process to communicate effectively in order to document the student’s progress. By doing so everyone is aware of what the students current state is doing the course of the term and whether they need to continue to help or move on to another student of need.

Important Things to Remember

The Early Alert system does not replace the efforts of the faculty or staff member in reaching out to the student. The faculty or staff member should also reach out to the student in order to start a line of communication. Sometimes the issue can be resolved by the faculty or staff member and the Early Alert team can use the documented alert to put the student on our radar.

An Early Alert can be submitted simply to inform the Early Alert team that a faculty or staff member is working with a student that is having issues. This allows the Early Alert team to put that student on our radar and check on their progress in other courses that they may be taking. It also allows us to retain documented information on the student’s situation that can be used for future references.

Key findings

• Early Alert systems may be most effective when targeting specific student populations, such as athletes or at-risk students. Even though Wartburg allows any student to be flagged, we need to pay close attention to first-year students, multicultural students, student-athletes, and students with demonstrated academic difficulties. This population makes up a large number of the students that will need our resources.  
• There is no clear-cut evidence for the “perfect timing” to start the Early Alert process. Most would encourage the earlier the better. The more time we have to work with the student the better chance we have to help the student in the timeframe allowed.
• The Early Alert system is not one hundred percent effective by any means, but it will surely be the difference between some students passing rather than failing. Yes, there will be students that will not be receptive to our assistance, but we must not let that discourage us from helping the ones who are willing to accept our help. Last year, more than half of the students that received alerts used resources on campus to successfully resolve their issues. As we continue to grow each year, we welcome all faculty and staff to help us increase that number and retain as many students as possible.