Care Referrals are used for common areas of concern such as mental health, social or interpersonal conflict, and balancing life commitments both on- and off-campus.

Submit a care referral for a student or yourself

Care Referrals are reviewed by the Director of Student Care and Support, who will work with the Linfield Care Team on follow-up and support.

Lainie Sowell
Director of Student Care and Support
Phone: 503-883-2352
Email: care@linfield.edu
Office hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

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.

Advisors working with students: please keep in mind that some students may need to remain at full-time status (12 credits or more) due to a variety of reasons, including financial aid, student visa status, veteran's benefits, intercollegiate athletics, etc.

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).

How an Advisor receives an Academic Alert for an Advisee

Advisors will be notified via email once an Academic Alert is available in their Etrieve account for one of their advisees. An Advisor can review the contents of the Alert by logging into Etrieve. Advisors can use the "reviewed" button to indicate they has read the alert. In the process of the workflow for Academic Alerts, the Academic Advising Office must manually select the advisor, and this process is not automated. Thus, some delays may occur between when an Alert is submitted for a student and when the Advisor is notified of the Alert. While Academic Advising tries to keep delays to a minimum, there may be some occasions where a delay of a few days may happen.

Questions regarding the academic alert system should be directed to Academic Advising.

Academic Advising | advising@linfield.edu | 503-883-2250

Supports students with services related to academic goals and planning

Financial Aid | finaid@linfield.edu | 503-883-2225

Supports students with services related to financial aid and funding their education

Learning Support Services | LSS@linfield.edu | 503-883-2562

Supports students with services related to academic planning, tutoring and accommodations

Registrar’s Office | 1reg@linfield.edu | 503-883-2211

Supports students with services related to academic records, registration and transcripts

Residence Life | reslife@linfield.edu | 503-883-2354

Supports students with services related to on-campus living

Student Health, Wellness & Counseling | SHLT@linfield.edu | 503-883-2535

Supports students with both physical and mental health services