Early Alert Services, part of University College for Academic Success, is a referral service that supports undergraduate student success with a focus on academic interventions. Through collaborative work with campus partners, staff reach out to students to provide individual guidance and help create strategies to address issues that are impacting a student’s ability to be successful in the classroom.

Academic concerns can be common for students during their academic journey. Common academic concerns include lack of engagement in the classroom, missed assignments, repeated absences, frequent attempts to obtain extensions on assignments, or failure to respond to repeated communication attempts. The first step to take when there are early signs of academic concerns is to raise an Academic Concern or an In Danger of Failing flag about a student’s academic progress in Starfish. After a flag is raised, and the concern persists, or if the concern requires a higher level of support, please submit a referral.

Faculty and Staff

• Academic Concern: How to Raise a Flag
  Use Starfish to raise an Academic Concern or an In Danger of Failing flag about a student’s academic progress. Raising a flag and making a note in Starfish can alert the academic advisor to reach out to the student to offer support.  Course rosters and your advisees can be found in the Starfish portal.  For assistance on raising flags in Starfish, view slides 14-20 of this presentation.  
• Wellbeing Concern
  To report a concern about a student’s wellbeing, please submit a “Student Care and Concern” report. If you are working with a student seeking information about substance use or abuse support, visit the Substance Abuse Prevention Services website for resources. 
  If a student is in crisis, call the URI Counseling Center at 401.874.2288 to be connected with a counselor. Calls made after regular business hours are answered by professional counselors from TELUS Health, a free, confidential mental health and wellbeing support program.  If you are looking to report concerns other than the ones mentioned above, visit URI’s Report It website for more information on reporting additional concerns. 
• Food Insecurity Concern                                                          To assist students that are experiencing food insecurity, contact Barbara Sweeney, Coordinator, Food Security Outreach at barbara_sweeney@uri.edu or share information about the Rhody Outpost.
• On-campus Housing Concern
  If the student being referred is a residential student (lives on campus), and is experiencing roommate conflict, homesickness, or other concerns regarding the residential experience please have students contact their Resident Assistant, Hall Director, or Housing and Residence Life Customer Service (Phone: 401.874.4151; Email: housing@uri.edu).  Referring parties can also contact Housing and Residence Life Customer Service with questions and/or concerns.

Peers and Family Members

You play a vital role in student success. As you notice friends or family members struggling academically or personally, it is important to refer these students to Early Alert for assistance. In collaboration with other campus support services, we reach out to students to provide individual guidance and help create strategies to address whatever issues may be of concern. Students may need only one meeting with our staff, or may need continuing support. Either way, we are here to help. Referrals may be done via referral form, telephone, email, or in person. Referrals to Early Alert may be kept anonymous. Students are welcomed and encouraged to contact the office directly, as well.

For parents and families, we encourage you to visit the Parents and Families landing page for more information about additional resources.