The Importance of Early Alerts in Higher Ed

Crucial Role of Early Alerts in Enhancing Student Success

Supporting student retention has become a top priority for higher education institutions. As students navigate various academic, financial, and personal challenges, it’s essential to identify those at risk of disengagement before it impacts their progress.

Early alert systems have emerged as a key strategy in identifying at-risk students by leveraging data and real-time insights to detect early signs of struggle. By intervening proactively, colleges and universities can offer timely support, helping to reduce dropout rates and improve overall engagement, creating a more supportive and responsive educational environment.

Let’s dive into what early alerts are, how they work, and the signs your university could benefit from them. We’ll also examine their impact on student success and how they can be customised and scaled to fit your institution’s unique needs.

What are Early Alerts?

Early alert systems are data-driven tools that monitor key student metrics like attendance, grades, and participation. They automatically flag students exhibiting signs of academic or personal struggle, prompting alerts for staff and support teams to intervene early and provide targeted assistance before issues escalate.

By providing real-time, actionable learning analytics, early alerts enable a proactive approach to student support, ensuring that challenges are addressed swiftly and effectively, creating a more successful and engaged student body.

Indicators Your University Could Benefit from Early Alerts

Declining Retention and Graduation Rates: If retention and graduation rates are dropping, this often points to issues like disengagement or unaddressed student challenges. Identifying these patterns early can help institutions intervene and support students before they consider leaving.

Academic Struggles: When students consistently face academic difficulties, it suggests they may not be receiving timely help. Detecting these struggles sooner allows universities to offer targeted support, such as tutoring or mentoring, to keep students on track.

Limited Insight into Student Engagement: A lack of data on how students are interacting with their studies can hinder effective decision-making. With better visibility into key areas like attendance, participation, and performance, universities can make informed, proactive decisions that directly benefit student outcomes.

Communication Gaps Between Departments: Disjointed communication among faculty, advisors, and staff can lead to fragmented support. Streamlining these interactions ensures that everyone involved in student welfare can collaborate efficiently, providing more holistic and coordinated assistance when students need it most.

A Success Story: SEAtS Transformative Impact at KUL

At Kingston University London (KUL), tracking student attendance and engagement was a priority. In 2017, they adopted SEAtS Attendance and Engagement Analytics to centralise student data and intervene promptly for unengaged students. By merging attendance data with virtual learning data, KUL ensured a holistic approach to student engagement.

Over the years, KUL has made notable findings:

• Students attending less than 20% of classes are primarily contacted via text messages.
• Approximately 3000 students per academic year are contacted for low engagement.
• About 150 students annually are removed due to non-engagement.
• Student disengagement often occurs after vacation periods.
• Students entering via Clearing, those with BTECs, and those from IMD quintiles 1 & 2 attend less.
• Students in private rented accommodation in the local area are more likely to disengage with their studies.

Through automated communication and visual student progression tracking, SEAtS has transformed KUL’s approach to student welfare, improving retention and progression outcomes while supporting wider participation initiatives.

Customisable and Scalable Solutions

A key strength of early alert systems is their customisability, enabling institutions to tailor them to their student population’s unique needs. Schools can set criteria to track attendance patterns, monitor academic performance, and identify engagement levels based on students’ challenges.

SEAtS is highly scalable, making it suitable for any institution, from small colleges to large universities. This flexibility ensures that early alerts can adapt as the institution grows, providing consistent support that promotes both short-term improvements and long-term student success.

Conclusion

Investing in early alert systems is essential for institutions dedicated to enhancing student success. By enabling proactive support, promoting data-driven decision-making, and streamlining communication, colleges and universities can significantly improve retention rates and cultivate a more engaged, successful student body.

Implementing an early alert system can profoundly impact student outcomes. The SEAtS Early Alert System, enables academic staff to monitor attendance and engagement by utilising data from multiple sources to identify students at risk of dropping out or underperforming. This facilitates timely interventions, providing targeted support that empowers students to thrive.

Interested in learning more about how SEAtS can help you implement Learning Analytics to your institution?Contact Us Today!