Impact of Early Alert on Community College Student Persistence in Virginia. Issue 3 (4th March 2019) - Dwyer, Lori J.
ABSTRACT: Early alert systems have promised to be an integral component of a student success solution. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between the use of the early alert system and persistence for students taking developmental education courses and students taking college-level courses in the Virginia Community College System. A quasi-experimental, nonrandomized research design with matched-control groups was used to evaluate impact on student persistence. Data analysis was conducted using multiple binary logistic regressions. The results indicated the early alert system had a substantial and positive impact on developmental mathematics students, with minimal to no impact on developmental English and college-level students. Students enrolled in developmental English courses, experienced a positive, but much more modest impact. Finally, students in college-level courses experienced a very mild impact, in some instances positive and others negative.