IU council seeks to increase retention

The Bloomington Faculty Council is a body of elected members from the IU campus who represent the faculty.

In September, the BFC outlined several initiatives at its meetings. The Fostering Learning, Achievement and Graduation Early Alert System  is one that has become an option for faculty this fall on the Bloomington campus.

What is FLAG EAS?
It is a University-wide initiative that aims to provide data for IU campuses to improve student retention. However, FLAG EAS is a system for all students to increase engagement in the classroom setting, not only those
considered to be at risk.

“It’s a system to provide quick feedback to students and also to advisors to identify those students who may be having academic difficulties,” said Kurt Zorn, associate vice provost for undergraduate education and IU contact for student retention and success.

What are the goals of FLAG EAS?
FLAG EAS has two main goals for the IU system. One is to increase student retention and graduation at IU. The other is to provide a means by which faculty can offer feedback to students.

“We wanted to do something that was as seamless as possible, and what this allows the faculty member to do is to communicate with the student directly,” Zorn said.

What is currently being implemented in
Bloomington?
Right now, the initial phase of the program is optional and aims to collect data from faculty. This phase is called the Student Performance Roster, which is a way to assess students’ attendance, performance and participation in classes.

“We’re not talking about grades here,” Zorn said. “We’re talking about lack of attendance or poor performance on quizzes and not participating in class discussions.”

What is the purpose of the following phases?
Phases two and three are meant to take the process one step further by setting up advising for the students, Zorn said.

When will the system be complete?
The program is set to be fully developed for use in fall 2012.