When “first-year students are not meeting academic expectations at the four-week mark
(as measured by attendance, test scores, keeping up with readings, etc.), they are
much less likely to earn better than a C in the course, or even graduate” (Dodge,
2018)
The importance of the first weeks of the semester
We hope this collection of research bits will be helpful.
“The first six weeks” is an often cited belief in higher education that the end of
the first six-weeks of a student’s first term at an institution is a crossroads for
success to persistence. Betsy Barefoot (personal correspondence, 2001), a national
leader in first-year student persistence and interventions, held that there was no
scientific support this perception of the first six weeks. Given the contemporary
economy, attendance patterns, and diversity of students, that may be truer today.
However, there remains a traditional belief in “the first six weeks” (Borland, 2016,
p. 3).
The Rule of the First Sixes” is that persistence-retention will be influenced and
must be improved by interventions within the individual student’s in increments of
“sixes” (only six days and weeks included here):
- “1st Six Days: Have I found all of my classes and felt confident, are the syllabi
overwhelming, have I found people I can consider friends, am I functioning ok away
from home?
- 1st Six Weeks: Am I successful a third to a half way through my first term of coursework,
am I connecting to this place and the people and organizations, is college for me,
can I find answers or support when I need it, do I want to come back for another term?”
(Borland, 2016, p. 4).
“The first few weeks present opportunities and pitfalls as new or re-entering students
encounter institutional processes that enhance or detract from students’ ability to
start right on their path” (Hatch & Garcia, 2017, p. 354).
“[E]engagement efforts by colleges, including advising, at least early on, play a
relatively important role in persistence decisions for only a few students who are
neither certain nor uncertain about their plans, and for whom academic goals are relatively
loosely tied to their persistence intentions” (Hatch & Garcia, 2017, p. 379).
“Research suggests that classroom absences are one of the most important
indicators for early alert systems to track. Early alert systems commonly track academic
indicators, such as grades or classroom behavior. Of these, the most commonly used
indicator is attendance, which research suggests is correlated with grade performance.
Undue absences can thus provide a true early warning before students begin to accrue
bad marks on assignments and exams. Some institutions also allow referrals for personal
or social issues, although this appears less common at larger institutions (>10,000 students).
(Hanover Research, 2014, p. 4)
“[S]home scholars have suggested that midterm grades do not provide “an effective early alert,” not least because they are often
“not purposed to be reviewed and systematically acted upon by anyone other than the
student,” who may lack the awareness to seek assistance on his or her own” (Hannover
Research, 2014, p. 15).
In a study by Upcraft, Gardner, and Barefoot (leading authorities on student success),
the “most critical window of opportunity for early intervention is the first 2‐6 weeks”
(Simons, 2011, p. 23). Students “can be at risk for departure as early as the first
few weeks of a semester” (Simons, 2011, p. 109).
References
Borland, K.W. (2016). First 100 days persistence-retention plans. Journal of Research,
Assessment, and Practice in Higher Education. Borland, Kenneth W. Jr. (2016) "First
100 Days Persistence-Retention Plans," Journal of Research, Assessment, and Practice in Higher Education, 1(6). https://ecommons.udayton.edu/jraphe/vol1/iss1/6
Dodge, J. (2018, August 15). Move In 2018: Student success efforts focus on the First
Four Weeks and having a Momentum Year. https://source.colostate.edu/move-in-2018-student-success-efforts-focus-on-the-first-four-weeks-and-having-a-momentum-year/
Hanover Research (2014). Early alert systems in higher education. Retrieved from https://www.hanoverresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Early-Alert-Systems-in-Higher-Education.pdf
Hatch, D.K., & Garcia, C.E. (2017). Academic Advising and the Persistence Intentions
of Community College Students in their First Weeks in College. The Review of Higher Education 40(3), 353-390. doi:10.1353/rhe.2017.0012.
Simons, J. M. (2011). A national study of student early alert models at four-year institutions of higher
education (Order No. 3482551). Available from ProQuest Central; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
Global; Publicly Available Content Database; Social Science Premium Collection. (910327556).
Retrieved from http://libproxy.uwyo.edu/login/?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/910327556?accountid=14793
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