Help Students Stay on Track
- Create and assign a syllabus quiz for the beginning of the semester (with point value). This will encourage students to actually read it!
- Use the course calendar consistently It’s helpful for students if they can count on the course calendar to accurately reflect what is due and when. If something is left off the calendar, the tool is no longer something that they can rely upon.
- Sequence course assignments in a predictable course rhythm. For example, “Reading reflections are due every Wednesday.” This rhythm help students to know what’s coming and stay organized
- Break up large assignments into components parts with individual due dates. Provide grades and feedback on these project phases. This kind of scaffolding helps students stay on schedule and succeed on bigger projects (with the benefit of your formative feedback) rather than starting the assignment close to the due date.
- Create checklists to help students include all the component parts of a complex assignment.
- Carefully monitor student logins to the course, especially during the first couple of weeks of the semester. Contact students if they are not logging in.
- Schedule a course announcement email to be sent out for each upcoming assignment.
- Schedule a weekly time to review who hasn’t logged in recently or who has not submitted recent assignments. Email them. Offer a specific next step for what they can do next (i.e., “the quiz is now closed, but you can still contribute to the discussion board”), remind them of your late policy, ask questions, and offer support. Let them know you notice when they are not showing up.
- To help students manage time, include run times of videos and an estimate of how long you think it will take them to complete a reading and an assignment. Ask them to track their actual time so that they can refine their workload planning.
Identify and reach out to students who appear to be struggling
Resources for faculty
The Dean of Students Office offers resources to help you identify behaviors that could point to underlying issues and offer suggestions for guiding your conversations with students who appear to be struggling with anxiety, depression, grief and loss.
C.A.R.E. Form: If you suspect that a student may need The Dean of Students to intervene, the “Concerning And /or Risky Event (CARE)” form is a way for you to anonymously report your concerns.
Resources Available to Students
- Center for Academic Success
- Center for Health and Wellbeing
- Tutoring Center
- Counseling and Psychiatry Services (CAPS)
Student Services contacts and websites
- College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: CALSstudentservices@uvm.edu; CALS Student Services
- College of Arts and Sciences: CAS@uvm.edu; CAS Student Services
- College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences: CEMS.student.services@uvm.edu; CEMS Student Services
- College of Education and Social Services: CESSstsv@uvm.edu; CESS Student Services
- College of Nursing and Health Sciences: ; CNHS Student Services
- Continuing Education: learn@uvm.edu; Support for Students
- Graduate College: gradcoll@uvm.edu
- Grossman School of Business: GSBcss@uvm.edu; Center for Student Success
- Larner College of Medicine: studentCOMservices@med.uvm.edu; LCOM Student Services
- Rubenstein School of Environmental and Natural Resources: RSENRSS@uvm.edu; RSENR Student Services
- Honors College recommends that students contact student services in their home college, but it is usually wise to be in touch with the HCOL Deans or advising team as well: honors.college@uvm.edu; Honors College Advising