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Vol 13
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No. 2
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March 2016
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Valencia College Creates Culture of CARE Over Early Alert Early-alert interventions for students within higher education have become a popular strategy for improving retention rates and increasing student engagement. However, the effectiveness of this strategy continues to be widely debated. A review of existing literature on early-alert programs revealed that institutions often depend too heavily on electronic systems, which promise significant outcomes from very simplistic data (Jungblut, 2015; Pfleging, 2002). A 2014 Hanover Research Report found “institutions are more likely to use remote communication (e.g., phone, e-mail) to intervene with students than they are to use face-to-face meetings” (p. 18). Additional findings suggest early-alert initiatives commonly rely on program designs that are not authentic to the learning process and do not result in meaningful or real engagement between students and educators (e.g., faculty, learning support staff, advisors). Not surprisingly, only 40% of respondents to a national survey indicated early-warning or academic-alert initiatives on their campuses led to increased persistence and retention, and less than half realized cost and educational benefits (Barefoot, Griffin, & Koch, 2012). As such, Hanover Research concluded that early-alert systems form a necessary but insufficient component of a successful retention strategy.
Leonard Bass Dean of Learning Support
Daeri Tenery Professor of Chemistry
Christina Hardin Director, New Student Experience Valencia College
Unsatisfied with the traditional approach to early-alert implementation in higher education, a team of faculty and administrators at Valencia College has been working to design an early-alert model rooted in a culture of continuous assessment and responsiveness engagement (CARE). Valencia’s CARE initiative builds upon the College’s Six Big Ideas program for student success, which centers on providing the right kinds of support, such as offering deliberate and meaningful faculty-student interaction. Valencia has a highly collaborative culture. In keeping with this tradition, the development of CARE began with an exploratory process involving key stakeholders, including students, faculty, learning-support personnel, and student affairs professionals. Kicking off the work, in fall 2012, faculty participated in conversations with their newly installed East Campus president. Among the emerging themes from these sessions was the need to establish a systematic process (often referred to as early alert or academic alert) for identifying and supporting struggling students. Subsequently, a program design team, made up of faculty and staff, was formed to explore strategies that would be authentic to Valencia and support its learning-centered mission. After months of research, discussion, and consideration of promising national innovations in the area of early alert, the design team agreed to pursue a process that would rely heavily on faculty involvement, be rooted in shared purpose, and build on the cultural values of the institution.
Return to Front Page Copyright © March 2016 National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience® and Students in Transition, University of South Carolina
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