There are numerous offices and professionals on-campus to assist students in their success, but nothing quite as collaborative as the Eagle Alert System. This System was implemented in 2013 and has recently resurfaced as an exceptionally helpful tool. The system, coordinated by Mrs. Barbara Martin-Stanley, is implemented every semester.

By the fourth week of the semester a reminder is sent out, by the Provost Office, to each professor requesting a list of students that raise some concerns or impressions. Professors then have the option of alerting a student about something celebratory or something that cautions a student about their performance. The professors confidentially form an alert that can be viewed in the student’s WINGS account.

Fortunately, any professor can provide information at any point in the semester. Though, the best time to reach in-need students is before midterms: “students need feedback regarding their progress early enough in the semester to be able to correct problematic behaviors in time to affect academic outcomes” (http://bit.ly/1RqIzQG).

The few people able to see these alerts are the professor who wrote the Alert, the student involved, and the academic advisors to assist in any way possible. It’s a tool for professors to catch students early in the semester and offer advice on how to succeed through the remainder of class. It’s also a functional way for professors to congratulate students on their achievements in the class, or celebrate their performance by suggesting a leadership role or a possible tutor role. The notifications have endless potential and are solely used to assist students in their academic success.

What Mrs. Martin-Stanley wants students to know is that “It’s a proactive feedback system and the purpose of it is to assist students in being able to know early on in the semester when [professors] might have issues or concerns with their performance. [It’s] a mechanism for success. . . for the students.”

Again, every student has access to this tool through their WINGS account. Simply log in, make sure pop-ups are enabled, head to the Academics header, use the drop down box reading other academic, and scroll to select Eagle Alert System (see image right). If a professor provides any feedback through the system, a student will also receive an email.

The tool is quite successful for students unsure of a particular course. Often times, students are stuck in a class because they were too late to swap it out, but still have time to withdraw. The Eagle Alert System provides feedback before the withdraw date of each semester: this presents ample time for students to reach their advisors and their professors on the Alert before deciding whether or not withdrawing from a class is best.

After interviewing a few students, many expressed that they weren’t aware of the program and the ability it had to help them succeed. Regardless of the feedback, the Eagle Alert System is used constructively and privately, to better the student. Its sole purpose is to strictly help students succeed. Unfortunately, this system can only be a tool if students are using the feedback, and professors are providing it. Mrs. Martin-Stanley urges that, “If students don’t respond to the system, it doesn’t work.”