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The Importance of Mid-term Grading During fall and spring 2006-07, the Office of the Registrar identified students who had earned only grades of F or IF at mid-term. These students and their advisors were sent a "Mid-Term Academic Alert" letter, detailing several support offices they should seek out for assistance, and important deadlines for withdrawal. We then tracked these students through the end of each semester to see how they fared, and compared them to student outcomes during fall and spring 2005 (when we had no Alert process). We hoped for about a 15% improvement in student success as a result of the new Academic Alert process. Here's how we did:
OK = Completed semester w/semester GPA of 2.00 or better. (SUCCESSFUL OUTCOME) Obviously, we're very gratified to see a 23% and 35% rate of improvement, respectively, and we appreciate the support and good work of the advisors of these students as well. [By the way, though obviously we'd prefer that the students complete their credits, we know that this is not always possible--so we counted a formal withdrawal as a successful outcome primarily because it eliminates the GPA disaster for the student.] The outcomes here might also suggest that we may miss the opportunity to provide this kind of attention and support to students whose instructors do not assign mid-term grades at all, or who use the grade of Incomplete as a default grade. We know that sometimes courses are structured so that there is no real way to assess progress by the time mid-terms roll around, particularly in upper-division coursework. Sometimes faculty might not want to discourage students by entering mid-term grades of F. However, particularly in the 100- and 200-level courses, an honest assessment of failure at the midpoint may actually help, by bringing students in trouble to the attention of those whose work it is to support their success. For 2007-08, we have added students who earned mid-term grades of D in addition to F and IF, in hopes that we will be able to reach out to and assist a wider pool of students in jeopardy. |
Registrar: News from the Registrar's Office The Importance of Midterm Grading Financial Aid: Apply for Financial Aid for 2008-09 Promise Scholarship--Renewal Criteria Applications for Summer Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Process Admissions: Retention: Enrollment Management Committee: |
