Missed Connections: Recommendations to Improve the Success of Early Alerts Through Equity-Based Communications

Early alerts allow faculty and staff to flag students who need extra help with basic needs, academic concerns, finances, and mental health. Yet the majority of alerts do not result in an advising conversation. While some of this can be explained by limitations on advisor time, much of the issue seems to be a lack of student response to intervention outreach. These “missed connections” inhibit our ability to support more students and get more value from our early alert efforts.

Students of color receive a disproportionate share of alerts, so a high-functioning early alert system can also be an essential tool for your institution’s equity work, helping you determine how to allocate staff time and campus resources to better support students and groups who have historically been underserved.