Consider a Midterm Check-in on Students

Please consider reaching out to students at this time in the semester using a simple check-in strategy to gauge students’ learning in your courses. By listening to students’ concerns, you show you care while upholding your course standards and helping students be successful in the course. These tools are easy to use and keep students’ anonymity:

• ICON (anonymous survey)
• ACE Survey Tool within ACE Online

Visit this website for ideas about questions to ask and when or how to schedule this feedback:

• Formative Assessment Strategies

Student responses or data, though not added to the end of the semester evaluations, often improve response rates and the quality of students’ feedback on those official forms. The Center for Teaching is happy to help you to create formative assessment strategies.

Midterm Grade Reports

• Midterms grades for students earning an F, D-, D, and D+ should be reported from October 6 to October 20, 2022.
• Please also consider sending out midterm grades to those earning a C-, C, and C+ to encourage students to work even harder and to attend each class.
• Please submit these grades as soon as possible; information about how to submit midterm grades is on this page.

Reporting these low grades is an added strategy to communicate with students, particularly those who are attending class sporadically.

• Academic advisors and staff in CLAS UP can also access these midterm grade notices, and we then reach out to students, offering help.

• Additionally, if a student has a midterm grade report, we can help the student accept responsibility for the grade while reminding the student to stay informed and communicate with the instructor.
• Finally, all students in your courses are interested in how they are doing academically. Consider posting information on how their current course grade (which may be listed in ICON as points or a percentage of possible points to date) can be converted to a letter grade. Students tell us that knowing more about how they are doing in their courses can help them plan and be more successful overall. This best practice benefits all students! 

CLAS Undergraduate Student Academic Concern Form

The academic staff in CLAS Undergraduate Programs (120 Schaeffer Hall) have created a reporting form for instructors to use when concerns arise related to a student in one of their courses. If you have a student you are concerned about, please fill out the online reporting form. You will be asked to share your name, the student’s name, and a brief summary of the concern. You can choose whether or not to remain anonymous, and CLAS staff will determine the appropriate outreach and resources to support the student.

Thank you for helping our students—and please let me know your suggestions for how CLAS UP can better support you and your students around teaching and learning.