Early notification programs

VCU's two Early Notification Programs help faculty to encourage and support good academic habits by detecting and addressing at-risk behaviors by undergraduate students early in the semester. This is accomplished by first identifying students who may not be performing to the best of their abilities and then connecting them to appropriate support resources across campus. Midterm grades are essential summaries of performance to date, that students use to determine what additional efforts they should devote to a course to earn a sufficient grade, change to the pass/fail grading option, or if absolutely necessary, withdraw from the course.

Progress Reports (early alert)

• Progress Reports foster the development of good academic habits in your undergraduate classes by:
  • Letting students know that we see them and that we care about their success.
  • Notifying students about small performance issues that can be easily corrected early in the semester.
  • Connecting students with support resources that can help them to improve their performance in your class.
    
    
• Students exhibiting the following behaviors in your class during the second to fourth weeks of class should receive a Progress Report. Please only submit one Progress Report per student per class. If your concern for a student spans multiple areas, please pick the concern that may have the greatest impact on success in your course:
  • Excessive absences
  • NEVER attending this class or no logins to Canvas
  • Missing assignments or participation concerns
  • Would benefit from tutoring, Supplemental Instruction or academic coaching
  • Would benefit from a Writing Center consultation
    
    
• You should not wait for a major assignment grade prior to submitting Progress Reports. Poor attendance and missing assignments are key early indicators of success in classes.
  
  
• Make an announcement in class before you submit Progress Reports. Your announcement should include:
  • How you determine who should receive a Progress Report.
  • That you know that all students have the opportunity and ability to be successful in your course.
  • That the submission of Progress Reports is done out of a place of care and desire to guide students to success by connecting them with appropriate support services.
  • Your recommended steps students should take if they receive a Progress Report.
  • That students should contact you during your student/office hours or via email with any questions.
  • That the students' advisors and/or the Campus Learning Center or Writing Center will be reaching out to offer assistance.
    
    
• Upon submission, students and advisors will be notified via email and will receive information for the appropriate support services.
  • Advisors, the Campus Learning Center and the Writing Center will reach out to students to provide support.
  • Note: Due to the large volume, you will not receive individual follow up information from advisors about Progress Report recipients.
    • If the student continues to exhibit behaviors that indicate that they are likely to fail your course:
      • First, please contact the student directly.
      • If that does not resolve the issue, or the student is unreachable, please email the student's advisor by clicking on the student's name in Navigate and scrolling to the bottom of the right hind side of the page to find the student's Primary Academic Advisor. You can click on the envelope icon to email them directly with your concerns.

Progress reports are submitted via Navigate, during the second to fourth weeks of spring and fall semesters. Progress reports are not submitted during the summer semesters. View step-by-step instructions in this short video.

• Spring 2024 - between Jan. 23 and Feb. 12
• Fall 2024 - between Aug. 27 and Sept. 16
• Spring 2025 - between Jan. 21 and Feb. 10

Midterm grades

Midterm grades are submitted via eServices a minimum of one week prior to the Withdraw deadline. View step-by-step instructions.

• Submission of ALL midterm grades is REQUIRED for ALL undergraduate courses. In Spring 2022, we had an 87% participation rate - help us reach 100% in Fall 2023.
• The goal is to students (and their advisors) of their standing in the course at the middle of the term so that they can implement strategies to improve their performance, elect to take the course pass/fail, or withdraw.
• Instructors do not need to post midterm grades for students who are auditing or who have withdrawn from the class. These students are automatically removed from the counts of midterm grades needing to be submitted.
• Make an announcement in class when you submit Midterm Grades. Your announcement should include:
• How you calculated Midterm Grades.
• What assignments remain in the course to help improve grades if needed.
• What the best steps are for a student to take if they need to improve their performance.
• That the students’ advisors and/or the Campus Learning Center or Writing Center will be reaching out to provide assistance.
• The best method to contact you if they have questions.

Midterm grades should be submitted during the following time periods

• Spring 2024 - beginning Feb. 20 and no later than Mar. 22
• Fall 2024 - beginning Sept. 24 and no later than Oct. 18
• Spring 2025 - beginning Feb. 19 and no later than Mar. 21

Formal midterm grades are not submitted in the summer, although faculty are encouraged to communicate directly with students about their status in the course.