Welcome and introductions

Defining and Identifying At-Risk Students at Your Institution

The conference will open with an overview of how at-risk students are defined at different institutions based on retention theory and practice. You will brainstorm how your institution is defining at-risk students and which current interventions are in place.

Afternoon break

Sample Early Alert Systems: Identification

Throughout the event, three different models of early alert systems will be highlighted: a large, public university's second version of its system; a small, private college's very collaborative system; and a community college's recent focus on first-year and developmental courses. This session will walk through how different early alert systems identify their students and how they have made decisions about whom to target on their campuses.

Working session: Identifying Student Data

Through a guided worksheet, you will identify data points you should collect back on campus to begin identifying which students are at risk. You will also have discussions with like institutions on collecting data and working with partners to gain more faculty buy-in.

Networking reception (included in registration)

Continental breakfast (included in registration)

Outreach activity

Once you have contacted students to let them know they are academically at risk, how do you enable them to take advantage of the resources your campus has to offer? This session will showcase some methods for getting students involved in the intervention process and connecting them to your resources.

Morning break

Sample: Outreach

Drawing on the expertise of the combined faculty, this session will walk through how different systems reach their identified students. Conference faculty will share sample student correspondence, follow-up techniques, and lessons they've learned.

Working session

Now that you have several ideas about how to encourage student follow-up, this session will allow you to note thoughts of how to apply this to your campus.

Lunch (included in registration)

Technology panel

The attendees and a sampling of technology vendors will discuss how technology can support campuses through identification, outreach, intervention, follow-up, and assessment of their early alert program.

Intervention

Your campus already has many resources to help students attain success, including advising centers, tutoring services, and supplemental instruction. On the back end of the early warning system, how are you collaborating and connecting these resources to create a viable safety net for students? This session will discuss how to connect campus resources to the early alert process and help ensure administrators are connected with each other.

Afternoon break

Sample: Intervention

This session will walk through how different early alert systems organize outreach efforts. Faculty will also share best practices for giving students a variety of follow-up options.

Day 2 Wrap-Up

Participants will discuss and take note of the ideas garnered from the intervention portion of the model.

Continental breakfast (included in registration)

Student Follow-Up or Closing the Loop

Many systems do a great job of identifying students and reaching out to them, but have a harder time tracking their progress and tying it back to key campus indicators such as persistence and GPA. This session will showcase some methods of follow up with students involved in the intervention process and how to think about tracking these students.

Morning break

Sample: Follow-Up and Closing the Loop

Faculty will show how they are tracking identified students and collecting meaningful data over time. They will also offer their next steps in this ongoing process.

Assessing Your Process

Participants will discuss their current assessment strategies, and faculty will share ways to report this information to the rest of the campus.

Action Plan

Throughout the conference, participants will have thought through each element of the early alert model. This final session will be an opportunity for attendees to reflect on and modify their plans. Faculty will be available to meet with attendees and offer advice on implementation or overcoming common challenges.