Early Alert
“My early alert helped me to reach out to my professor and clarify why I had received the alert and pushed me to study harder in the class.”
What are Early Alerts?
Faculty teaching 1000-level and 2000-level courses are asked to fill out progress reports for students in their classes during the third and fourth weeks of the Fall and Spring semesters. These Early Alerts allow instructors to indicate concerns related to missing class, missing assignments, or low performance on tests/assignments/class participation. Students receive an email notification if their instructor has indicated any of the above concerns for them.
If I get an Early Alert, what should I do?
First, don’t panic! The primary purpose of an Early Alert is to provide you the opportunity to self-correct and seek help while there is time to prevent a low grade in the course.
Be sure to read carefully the suggestions provided to you within the Early Alert messages and then follow up with immediate action to improve your performance in the course. This would be a great time to ask your instructor for specific tips on your improvement in the specific alerted course.
If I get more than 1 Early Alert, what should I do?
While there is still no need to panic, there is a need for you to take action. Meeting with your instructor during office hours is a good first step. Scheduling a meeting with your academic advisor or peer advisor is another proactive way to learn more about resources that could benefit your performance.
The University Center for Academic Excellence (UCAE) provides a number of ways to help students succeed including one-on-one tutoring, Personal Academic Consultations, Workshops, SOS Mentoring, and Peer Assisted Learning opportunities. You can discuss these with your advisor or reach out directly to the UCAE for services.
The most important thing to do is make an appointment with someone on campus to discuss your strategies to improve in your courses. UNC Charlotte data shows that students who meet with an advisor/tutor/mentor early in the semester, improve their GPA on average than those who make later appointments. These appointments are recommended by week four-six into the semester to be considered an early appointment.
Did my instructor write this message?
It is a message template sent on behalf of the instructor by the CONNECT system. However, the instructor selected the alert, selected the reason, and wrote any comments found in CONNECT under the Reports Tab. An additional message is sent which includes the alert reason and helpful tips. Instructor comments are only found in CONNECT. Not all instructors provide additional comments in CONNECT. You may located CONNECT at https://my.charlotte.edu. Click on the Reports tab to review your Early Alerts and any comments.