Academic Alerts
At various times during the semester, students who are performing poorly in a class may receive an academic alert from the course instructor. Academic alerts serve as an early warning for students facing academic difficulty. In the alert, the instructor will indicate one or more reasons why the student may be struggling in that class. The most common reasons for poor performance are:
- Missing classes
- Missing assignments
- Lack of participation in-class activities
- Lack of academic preparation
- Difficulty with taking tests
Academic alerts are intended to galvanize a student’s academic team, and this is why notifications about academic alerts are sent to the student, the faculty advisor, and Academic Advising. Students who receive academic alerts are strongly encouraged to meet with the instructor issuing the alert, their faculty advisor, and to contact Learning Support Services or Academic Advising. A slipping grade can often be improved with quick action.
How to send an Academic Alert
Log into your Etrieve account and select the ADV Academic Alert in the Forms tab. This form will ask for the term, class, and student for whom you wish to submit an alert for. Select the appropriate Attendance and Academic information boxes. You will also be able to submit comments that are viewed by the student and comments that are private and not seen by the student. Private comments are used to communicate with the Care Team and/or advising staff and Learning Support Staff.
Students should be apprised of their performance as soon as issues arise (poor performance on exams or written work, frequent absences, troubling behavior, etc.). Specifically, send alerts to students earning less than a grade of C. Include explicit recommendations to improve their performance: e.g., “You need to earn an 85% on the next two exams and complete all homework to earn a C in the class. Visit me during office hours for study help.” When issuing alerts, take note of drop and withdrawal deadlines. Be sure to send alerts, if needed, prior to these deadlines. The option of withdrawal should be suggested to students whose chances of passing are impossible or extremely unlikely.
Once an Alert is submitted, the student is notified by email that an alert has been submitted and the alert form appears in their Etrieve account. The form is also routed to Academic Advising who will then send the form to the student's academic advisor.
How a student receives and reads an Academic Alert
If a student receives an academic alert they will be notified through their Linfield email account. An email will direct the student to log in to Etrieve and access the Alert Form in their "inbox". The alert will include the faculty member's checked boxes, comments put into the comments (for student's review) box and instructions on how to access additional support services based on the student's campus (McMinnville, Portland, eCampus).
Questions regarding the academic alert system should be directed to Academic Advising.