Mid-Term Alerts FAQ
What is the University Senate Policy?
University
Senate Policy
"Instructors in all 1xxx courses shall provide a mid-term alert for
students who, on the basis of performance in the course through the sixth
week of the semester, appear to be in danger of receiving a grade of D,
F, or N. Such notification to students will not be a part of their transcript.
The University shall be responsible for developing and administering the
system for collecting the mid-term alerts and distributing them to the
student and to the student's advisor.
Colleges and campuses that have implemented mid-term alert systems that
provide this information, or its equivalent, will be considered to have
met the provisions of this policy."
***As this is a University Senate policy, it only applies to the Morris,
Crookston and Twin Cities campuses. The Duluth campus faculty may choose to
send mid-term alerts, and to use the mid-term alerts website, but are not required
to do so.
When will the system be available for use?
The mid-term alert system will be available from 5:30am on the Monday
of the 4th week of the semester through midnight of the Monday of the 8th
week of the semester. This time frame is consistent with the senate policy
and will allow faculty who want to issue an earlier alert to do so.
The mid-term alert system will be unavailable from 4:00am-5:30am, Monday-Saturday
and 4:00am-12:30pm, Sunday for system backup.
Why are we doing this?
Providing students in 1xxx-level courses with mid-term alerts was part
of the recommendations from the Graduation and Retention Task Force Report
from the Twin Cities Council of Undergraduate Deans. Research shows that
timely feedback can enhance student learning. SCEP believes that if students
are provided early warning that they are performing poorly in a class that
they could have time to improve their class performance. SCEP had a special
concern about students who are new to the University: "timely feedback
to students, especially those new to university-level work, enhances student
learning."
When do mid-term alerts need to be submitted?
University Senate Policy calls for mid-term alerts based on work completed
through the sixth week of the semester so that students who are in academic
difficulty (those who appear to be in danger of receiving a D, F or N for
the course) will have time to improve their performance.
Do I have to assign a specific grade?
No, a warning of "unsatisfactory progress" for a student in
danger of receiving a grade of D, F or N meets the policy. Instructors
may choose to provide additional information to students including any
or all of the following: a specific grade for work to date, comments on
attendance, or comments on any other aspects of course performance.
Instructors can also use the same system to inform other students of their
progress to date.
I already notify students of their midterm grade
status. Do I need to use this new system?
If you are teaching a 1xxx-level course and your college/campus does not
operate its own system of midterm alerts, you are asked to use the new
system. A key difference is that advisers will be notified when students
appear headed for academic difficulty and can help re-enforce the need
for a student to improve his or her study skills and seek appropriate help.
The help from advisers can be especially important when students are having
difficulty in more than one class, a situation that would usually be unknown
to a single instructor.
Is this only for 1xxx-level courses?
The University Senate policy was directed at 1xxx-level courses because
of a special concern about helping students who are new to the University
make a smooth transition to university level work.
Instructors, if they choose, may use the same system to notify students
in other courses of their mid-term course performance.
Do I have to submit the alerts all at once?
No, you may submit any number of alerts at one time. However, you can
only enter a mid-term alert for a student once. You may not submit multiple
alerts for the same student nor may you change an alert once it is finally
submitted. The system will ask you to review alerts before final submission.
How will students be notified of the alert?
An E-mail message will be sent that evening to the student's U of M E-mail
account. Additionally, a copy of the alert will be sent to any adviser
of record in PeopleSoft.
Will the mid-term alerts system be operating
for May session or summer term?
No.
What help is available for students whose work is
unsatisfactory?
Resources available to students needing
assistance.
I teach a large 1xxx course with recitation
and/or lab sections. Do I have to submit the midterm alerts or can my TAs?
If your TAs are listed as the instructor of record for their section,
they will have access to the midterm alert system.
What do students think of a midterm alert system?
Students at the University of Minnesota have supported the development
of a midterm alert system. When the University of Missouri implemented
their "Early Alert System", they surveyed students. The Executive
Summary of their report includes the following:
When students were asked what their reaction was to receiving the Early
Alert notice, the majority said it served as a real "wake-up call" to
do something.
When asked what action students took as a result of the Early Alert
notice, the majority stated that they studied more, talked to their parents
and peers, discussed the issue with their TA or instructor, and/or reduced
time socializing and partying.
Executive
Summary of Student Survey
How do I do this?
Submitting mid-term alerts is very simple. First you will connect to the
mid-term alert system. This system will become available for use on Monday,
September 22, 2003. You will need your Internet ID (X.500 Username) and
password to log into the midterm alert system. Your Internet ID is the
prefix before the @ sign in the University assigned E-mail address. For
many people this is the first five letters of their last name and three
digits. Passwords are individually set. If you need assistance with your
Internet ID password contact you campus helpline at:
Morris: (320) 589-6391
Twin Cities: (612) 301-4357
After you have logged into the system, you will be prompted to choose
the course for which you wish to submit mid-term alerts. Your choice of
courses will be based on the courses for which you are listed in PeopleSoft
as the instructor of record. Once you have chosen the appropriate course,
you will be given a list of students officially registered for the course.
At this point you can choose to send an alert to all students at one time,
called a batch alert, or you can send an alert to students individually.
The batch alert process asks you to first identify those students who
should receive an alert. You can then choose to send a message of "Unsatisfactory
Progress" to all students or you can tailor separate messages for
individual students.
Individual messages, whether in batch or individual process let you choose
from a range of options that include the following
- Student progress (required): choices include Unsatisfactory, Satisfactory,
or a specific letter grade
- Progress based on (optional): choices include percentile ranges of
coursework completed
- Attendance frequency (optional)
- Date attendance stopped (optional)
- Comment (optional) space for an individual comment of your choosing
Sample of Mid-Term alert notification sent to students
SAMPLE OF MID-TERM ALERT NOTIFICATION SENT TO STUDENT
Hello Kelly Student,
Your instructor in "HIST 1601" is sending this message to inform you
that your academic performance to date is unsatisfactory and that you
are at risk of receiving a grade of D, F or N for this class. We understand
that there are many factors that may be contributing to your performance
in class, and every student's situation is different. For example, some
instructors allow students to drop a grade before final grades are determined.
Whatever the case may be, keep in mind that there is still plenty of
time to improve your performance in this class.
Your instructor's assessment is based on the following factors:
- work due to date, your grade would be "D+"
- 10% of total course work for the semester
- attendance records indicate - "Intermittent attendance"
- records indicate that you stopped attending class on Dec19
Additional comments from your instructor:
This is a free form field for the instructor to add additional
comments.
Here are some suggestions to assist you in improving your performance:
Your adviser has been notified of your instructor's concern about your
performance to date and is available to assist you in taking the necessary
steps to insure your future success in this class.
Please do not reply to this message but send inquiries to your instructor
or adviser.
