Faculty are required to submit Early Alert notices for students who are illustrating unsuccessful behaviors in class. Two Early Alert windows for submission are available to instructors with dates provided by Office of Academic Affairs.  

The Early Alert procedure is an intervention process used to support and assist students in overcoming any barrier to college success. The procedure allows faculty, advisors, and academic support staff to be proactive and involved in facilitating the academic components of student retention through early detection and intervention of students who are experiencing academic and personal barriers.

Early Alert Procedure

The Office of Academic and Student Affairs will send an email to faculty indicating the Early Alert period(s) for the term. Submission of Early Alerts should be completed during the time frame announced.

The email sent by the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs includes step-by-step instructions for entering Early Alerts into NFC’s Banner system. Faculty assign an Early Alert descriptor for each student illustrating unsuccessful behaviors:

U1 = Poor Attendance

U2 = Missing/Incomplete Assignments

U3 = Unsatisfactory Quiz/Test Grades

U4 = Unsatisfactory Essay/Paper Grades

U5 = Lack of class engagement/participation

U6 = Multiple Concerns (Instructor should contact advisor with details.)

U7 = Other (Instructor should contact advisor with details.)

Upon the closing of the Early Alert period, academic advisors reach out to each student who received an Early Alert and assist the student by engaging him or her in the use of pertinent campus resources. Academic Success Center staff also work to contact students and offer their support, adding another layer of intervention to the Early Alert process.

Faculty should discuss the Early Alert process with all classes and include information in the course syllabus explaining the procedure and its purpose.