Freshman and 1st Year Grad Gateway Course Initiative and Early Warning System

Introduction

Certain courses at Drexel are designated as Freshman Gateway Courses or Early Warning System courses. These courses involve additional monitoring of first-year undergraduate or graduate students to help identify and address potential academic difficulties.

If one of your courses is designated as a Freshman Gateway Course or includes first-year graduate students participating in the Early Warning System, you will likely receive an email from the Provost’s Office or SCIS advisors.

Set-Up and Requirements

• Faculty/Teachers
  • Enter at least three assessment grades in your Canvas course section’s Grades area by Week 6.
  • Confirm that the Total column in Grades displays a letter grade.
  • If you see something concerning, contact the student’s advisor.
  • Optionally, use the Canvas Course Analytics tool to better understand and track student issues.
• Advisors
  • Access the data through the Early Warning Dashboard in the Drexel Oracle Analytics Server (OAS).
  • Review other relevant data points to provide context for the information.
  • Interpret the data and confirm relevant information with faculty.
  • Reach out to faculty and students as needed.

Most of what you need to know is covered above. The sections below address additional questions you may have.

Canvas Course Analytics for Teachers/Faculty

The following is optional, but it may be useful in better understanding and tracking student issues.

Teachers and faculty members in a Canvas course section can use Canvas Course Analytics to obtain the following information:

• Course Grade (Chart or Table): Displays grade distributions, assignment averages, and submission statuses. You can use the comparison chart or comparison table to compare individual students or sections with the class average.
• Weekly Online Activity (Chart or Table): Tracks weekly page views and course participation, such as assignment submissions and discussion posts. A comparison chart and comparison table are also available.
• Students: Provides an individual breakdown for each enrolled student. Select a student’s name to view that student’s activity timeline.
• Reports: Allows instructors to download CSV reports covering missing, late, and excused assignments; class rosters; and course activity.

You can also use Course Analytics to message individual students or groups of students based on grade or participation criteria.

NOTE: Students cannot access Course Analytics in Drexel's instance of Canvas.