- Addressing challenges with early alert systems
- Houston college’s fashion archive joins Google platform
Addressing challenges with early alert systems
Many higher education institutions — including community colleges — use early alert systems (EAS) to flag students who may be struggling academically in order to provide supports to get them back on track. A study released this week by New America takes a closer look at the challenges with EAS — which range from low faculty buy-in, to failure to provide appropriate support services — as well as recommendations to address them.
Although EAS has been around for a while, there is little research on their effectiveness in student success efforts, especially among community college students, according to the study, which is based on interviews with community college leaders, third-party EAS vendors and experts in the field.
One area of particular concern for college leaders is to ensure that using EAS doesn’t lead to racial discrimination and labeling of students. However, many leaders are unsure how to use their EAS tools to mitigate such biases, the study says.
This uncertainty reveals the challenges that community colleges in particular face when using such tools, the study continues. Two-year colleges often lack the resources, staff time and capacity to evaluate EAS data to check that the tool is not computing systemic discrimination, it says.
The study provides an example of an instance where a community college noticed an increase in EAS flags for Black male students. The college says it plans to examine the evaluation, the faculty triggering the flags and student outcomes to determine if the increase shows that these students need additional support services or if it is a result of implicit biases and racial stigma, it says.
Houston college’s fashion archive joins Google platform
Houston Community College’s (HCC) digital fashion archive – a collection of historic fashion, accessories and textiles from the 1740s to present – has been added to Google Arts & Culture, which features more than 2,000 museums and archives.
HCC is one of two community colleges on the platform with a collection hosted, and only one of five institutions from Houston to have a collection featured, according to Erica Hubbard, HCC’s Central College director of library services, who led the effort to join the platform.
HCC’s fashion archive has more than 8,000 garments, accessories and textiles, according to the college. To date, 169 images have been uploaded to the Google site, as well as a curated exhibit.
