Dear Faculty,

California State University Northridge loses almost 21% of the first time freshmen enrollment at the end of their first year. You are teaching the first year students who are at the highest risk of dropping out of the university.

You may be observing one or two students in your classes who require assistance in adjusting to university expectations. Help for these students can be found in the Learning Resource Center, Klotz Student Health Center, Disability Office, Financial Aid, Career Center or Residential Life, but often the students don’t know the help is available.

I invite you to join The Early Warning System (TEWS) to alert others in the university who can work with you to provide a safety net for these students. TEWS is a web-based system (www.csun.edu/tews) that works in the following way:

Step 1: Select your name from the drop down list.
Step 2: Select your course from the drop down list.
Step 3: Type in the Student Identification number for students
Step 4: Click on the warning signals that you have observed about the
students you enter:
a. Attendance
b. Tardiness
c. Participation
d. Assignments to Date
e. Grade to Date
f. Study Habits
g. Overall
h. Notes (Limited to 100 Characters)
Step 5: Indicate any Referrals
a. Needs to see instructor
b. Other referral action
c. Please explain (notes)

Step 6: Click Submit
When you submit, you get a confirmation with the ticket number and any e-mail alerts that are sent out. College adviser e-mails are determined based on the student's "home college," as expressed in the student table.

NOTE: A confirmation page will be created after submission with the details of your TEWS submission.

Your submitted entry will be sent to the College Based Advisement Center/EOP of the student. An advisor will contact the student, assess the student’s need and, when appropriate, refer the student to one of the support places listed above. The advisor will report to you through TEWS to let you know that a contact has been made and an action plan has been developed.

I encourage you to discuss your concerns with the student prior to using TEWS. Please use TEWS now and as often as needed during the semester. Early referrals during the semester may help students complete their classes successfully, but students face new challenges throughout the term.
At the end of the semester, a group of administrators, advisors and faculty will assess the effectiveness of TEWS. If it is successful, we will expand it from the entry level developmental math and writing classes to other classes that first year students take.

Thank you for your expertise in teaching freshmen and for using TEWS to identify who may need our help.

Sincerely,

Harry Hellenbrand
Provost and Academic Vice President
California State University Northridge

CC:

Vice President of Student Affairs Deans
Department Chairs – AAS, CHS, ENGL, PAS, MATH
Associate Deans
College Based Student Services Center/EOP Satellite
M. Fieweger
J.L. Vargas
M. Neubauer
R. Orono-Cordova
P. Bourgeois
J. Scott
Directors of Career Center, Counseling Center, Disability Office, Financial Aid, Health Center, Learning Resource Center, Residential Life