Early Warning System (Fourth Week Grades)

The 4th Week Grade Program is an Early Warning System (EWS) to help students obtain an academic status update on their academic progress during a regular 16-week semester. This EWS began as a pilot program in spring semester of '98 and has continued to be delivered campus-wide during each regular fall and spring semester. Two hundred and seventy-one sections (41 courses) are included in this EWS program, consisting of students enrolled in 0920 classes, 1000-level classes, and some selected 2000 level classes.

There are several key benefits of the EWS for students and faculty. For students the benefits include the posting of a "real" letter grade four weeks into the semester. The students' perception often may not match the reality of their grade. Students with two or more "D" or "F" grades are contacted and required to attend one of 10 academic intervention workshops facilitated by University College officials. The 30 minute workshops focus on an awareness of campus resources including, but not limited to: various departmental labs for academic support, how and where to access tutoring during day-time and evening hours, access to counseling, financial aid scenarios involved in earning satisfactory academic progress (SAP), etc. One key benefit for faculty is they are highly encouraged to administer one significant evaluation to their classes by the fourth week of the semester. Additionally, faculty submission-rate for the EWS classes has been very close to 97%.