Early Alert & Midterm Grading
BGSU offers two types of academic progress reporting. The first type is the Early Alert initiative, which takes place during the first few weeks of the semester and helps keep you in control of your academic path. The second type of reporting is your Midterm Grades, which provide a glimpse into your academic progress with time to make adjustments.
If you have additional questions, please refer to our FAQ resource.
Early Alerts
Early Alerts help you answer the question "How am I doing?" early in the semester so your Student Success Team can help you through any barriers on your academic path.
During the early alert period, we will look at several key indicators of successful academic performance:
- Class participation
- Remote or online learning
- Sufficient use of technology
- Assignment completion
- Poor academic performance
- Attendance
If you are succeeding in all of these areas, you may receive the "Rising Star" alert. If you are falling behind, you will receive a notification and your Student Success Team will reach out to assist you.
- Takes place during the first weeks of each semester.
- Does not affect your academic record.
- Is a tool to stay ahead of any potential barriers in your academic journey.
Students can raise their own alerts
Choose from four alerts using Navigate's "Hand Raise" feature:
- I need help finding a club/organization/group/activity
- I need a tutor for a course
- I have questions about dropping a class or changing a grade
- I am considering withdrawing from the University
What happens if I receive an Early Alert? Faculty and staff can submit Early Alerts on your behalf for one or more of the critical indicators listed above. When this happens, you will receive a phone call and/or a text message from your BGSU Success Team whose main goal is to see you achieve your academic goals. It is important that you connect with them quickly so you have an opportunity to utilize all the support and resources they have to offer.
What types of Early Alerts can I receive?
Rising Star Alert
If you receive this alert, this means the person who submitted the alert thinks you are on the right track and you are meeting all of the key indicators of academic success in the course or program they oversee.
However, just because you receive a Rising Star alert, does not mean you can't ask for help. Your academic journey will challenge you along the way and your struggles may not be noticable from an outsider's perspective.
Critical Indicator Alert
If an instructor or staff members believe you may be experiencing difficulties in one or more of the key indicators of academic success, they will send you one of the following critical indicator alerts:
- Missing Assignments
- Poor Academic Performance
- Inconsistent or Poor Attendance
- Poor Class Participation
- NEW - Meet with Faculty Member - Faculty Support
Midterm Grading
Midterms help you answer the question "What would my final letter grade be if the semester ended today?" at the halfway point in the semester so you are aware of academic progress in your courses with time to seek help and make adjustments.
Your midterm grades do not affect your academic record. During midterms, you can check your grades by logging in to the MyBGSU Student Center. The Office of Registration and Records provides additional information about how to check your grades.
- Takes place about halfway through the fall and spring semesters.
- Does not affect your academic record.
- Is a tool to assess your academic progress.
- First, read the Alert email carefully and follow the instructions outlined.
- Check to see if your instructor has added any comments to the alert in Navigate.
- Talk to the instructor who raised the alert. Instructor office hours are a great opportunity to have this conversation.
- After you speak with your instructor, you might find it beneficial to consult with your Academic Advisor and Planner for follow up discussions.
One of the most common mistakes students make is not asking for help. Even the most successful students access academic support services.
Students may receive alerts as described above from either their instructors or their Academic Advisor and Planner. Alerts are issued to assist students who show early signs of academic challenges. Early Alerts are informational for students, and answer the question of HOW you are doing in your classes. Midterm Grading, which takes place later in the semester, provides you a letter grade indicating your overall academic performance.
The Alert is resolved when you take action to remediate the issues that were raised. Common action steps include visiting the Learning Commons for tutoring, developing plans to study more often and more efficiently, creating and using an effective note-taking strategy, adopting time management and organization strategies, and making the commitment to become a more engaged, active learner.
Early alerts and midterm grading are informational for students; meaning that they do not directly affect grades, and they are not placed on students' transcripts.
Early Alerts typically take place during weeks 2-4 of Fall and Spring semesters. Although we target specific courses in the reporting period that are key for first-year students, all instructors have the ability to raise alerts at any point throughout the semester.
Midterm grades are reported between the 5-8 weeks of the fall and spring semesters.
Updated: 11/29/2023 11:54AM