An early alert system is a way for staff at a higher education institution to express concern about a student’s welfare. Think of a teacher who wants to report a marked drop in a student’s academic results, repeated absences or a change in mood. So it’s not an emergency system. This report, which may or may not be made anonymously, is forwarded to student support services, which will then contact the person concerned.
In technical terms, the alert system can take a number of different forms: completion of a form, voice mail, dedicated e-mail address, etc. There are also automated alert systems that use technology to identify students whose average results have fallen considerably or who are failing.
In all cases, once the alert has been received, different monitoring models exist depending on the establishment. Generally, an analysis is carried out to see whether the person is already in contact with the services and/or whether they might need additional support. Sometimes the person is contacted directly by the student support service to better understand their needs and situation. Depending on the case, she will then be referred to the appropriate resource.
University of British Columbia have implemented an early warning system.
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