Identifying and Supporting Students at Risk: For staff

Overview of Policy and Procedures

The Policy and Procedure for Identifying and Supporting Students at Risk of exclusion from the degree course was approved by the Academic Board on 13 December 2006, for commencement on 1 January 2007.

Section 3 of the Policy and Procedure sets out the policy whereby the University of Sydney is committed to early identification and support of students At Risk; and promotes the progression of students At Risk by:

• regularly and effectively advising students of Progress Requirements
• identifying students At Risk
• alerting students that they are At Risk
• providing assistance to address the Risk
• tracking the progress of students after they are identified as being At Risk.

Overview of Procedures

Section 4 of the Policy and Procedure sets out the principles and procedure to be followed, as follows:

Principles

Progression through a degree course

Triggers for identifying students ‘At Risk’ of exclusion from the degree course.

The At Risk Report listing all students within a Faculty determined to be At Risk, produced by the Faculty at the end of each semester

Action to be taken with respect to the At Risk Report:
Stage 1 - Students listed for the first time in an At Risk Report
Stage 2 - Students listed for a second time
Stage 3 - Students listed for a third time (or the second time in the case of students in award programs of two years or less (full-time) duration)
Stage 4 - Students listed for a fourth time after having been asked to Show Cause and permitted to re-enrol

Appeals

Principles

The principles underpinning the Policy are as follows:

The University’s approach to identifying and supporting students At Risk will be: equitable; consistent; procedurally fair; respectful of privacy; timely; and effective.

Faculties will ensure that they have clear and transparent internal processes for handling students At Risk, consistent with this Policy and Procedure.

Faculties will be proactive in identifying students At Risk, and are responsible for tracking student Progression and keeping appropriate records.

Progression

In order to progress through a degree course, students are required to:

• achieve the minimum Progression Rate specified by the Faculty;
• pass the number of units of study specified by the Faculty as the minimum for a defined period; and
• pass any field or clinical work, practicum, or other unit of study mandated by the Faculty.

The University monitors Progression through reports generated by FlexSIS on each student’s:

• progression rate;
• progress towards completion; and
• completion of, or failure to complete, a mandated unit of study, field or clinical work, or practicum.

Faculties ascertain a student’s Progression by any or all of the following means:

• student attendance at compulsory teaching and assessment components of a unit of study - Where the attendance record of a student is deemed by the Faculty to be unsatisfactory, that information will be entered by the Faculty into FlexSIS;
• failure of a student to pass a number of units of study set as the required target for that degree;
• over-enrolment in an attempt to catch up on failed units of study;
• significant negative variations in a student’s academic performance; and
• other progress requirements specific to the Faculty.

Faculties will continue to be responsible for tracking the progress of research postgraduates as long as FlexSIS is unable to automate detection for non-coursework students.

The "At Risk" Report

In late 2007 enhancements to FlexSIS will enable faculties to interrogate the system at the end of each semester to produce a report of students considered ‘at risk’ of exclusion, based on the range of triggers set out in section 4.3.1 of the Policy and Procedure document.

Range of triggers:
Sufficient data is currently recorded in FlexSIS to enable the tracking and reporting of undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students "at risk", based on those triggers, as follows:

• failure by a student to successfully complete more than fifty percent of the credit points for which the student was enrolled in the semester or year (as appropriate) just completed;
• failure by a student to achieve a satisfactory Weighted Average Mark (WAM) in the degree course over a defined period, as specified by the Faculty;
• failure by a student to complete a mandated unit of study, field or clinical work, or practicum, as appropriate;
• failure twice by a student to pass the same unit of study;
• unsatisfactory student attendance record as entered in FlexSIS by faculties; or
• inability of a student to complete their degree within the maximum permitted time while carrying a normal student load.

Stage 1- Students listed in an At Risk Report for the first time

(a) Letter to students listed in the At Risk Report for the first time:
The Faculty will send all students listed in the At Risk Report for the first time a letter (all correspondence templates are provided in FlexSIS).

Note: For students enrolled in an award program of two years or less (full-time) duration and listed in the At Risk Report for the first time, please see (b) below.

The letter will advise each student:

• that they have been identified as At Risk;
• how they have been identified as At Risk;
• that they are required to attend a Staying on Track Information Session. This will cover study skills and introduce students to remedial learning services, counselling services and relevant student association representatives.
• that all correspondence and documents relating to their At Risk status will be recorded on their Progression Profile which is an individual Faculty report created for all students identified as At Risk.
• The Faculty will record on the Progression Profile whether the student attends theStaying on Track Information Session.
• A student’s Progression Profile will be supplemented by the Faculty with each intervention, producing a record of the student’s At Risk history.
• Faculties may also require students to consult an Academic Advisor in their Faculty, i.e. an academic employee nominated by the Dean of a Faculty to provide advice on matters of student progression.

(b) Letter to students enrolled in an award program of two years or less (full-time) duration and listed in the At Risk Report for the first time:
In the case of the student being enrolled in an award program of two years or less (full-time) duration, they will be advised that they are also required to:

• consult an Academic Advisor in their Faculty; and
• attend a Staying on Track Information Session.

Stage 2 - Students listed in an At Risk Report for a second time

(a) Warning letter to students listed in the At Risk Report for the second time

The Faculty will send all students listed in an At Risk Report for the second time a warning letter.

Note: For students enrolled in an award program of two years or less (full-time) duration and listed in the At Risk Report for the second time, please see (b) below.

The warning letter will advise each student:

• that they have been identified as At Risk for the second time.
• how they have been identified as At Risk for the second time.
• that all correspondence and documents relating to their At Risk status will be recorded on their Progression Profile.
• that they are required to consult an Academic Adviser in their Faculty; and
• that they are required to attend a Staying on Track Information Session, if they have not already done so.

(b) Letter to students enrolled in award programs of two years or less (full time) duration and listed in the At Risk Report for the second time:
Students enrolled in award programs of two years or less (full time) duration who are listed on an At Risk Report for a second time should proceed directly to Stage 3.

Stage 3 - Students listed for a third time in an At Risk Report (or students enrolled in an award program of two years or less (full-time) duration and listed in the At Risk Report for the second time)

(a) Letter to students asking to show good cause why they should not be excluded from their degree course:

The following students will be asked to show good cause why they should not be excluded from their degree course;

• all students listed in an At Risk Report for the third time; or
• all students enrolled in an award program of two years or less (full-time) duration and listed in the At Risk Report for the second time.

(b) Decision of the Faculty as to whether a student has shown good cause, and advice to the student:

Faculties will consider and rule on whether a student has shown good cause in accordance with Division 6 of the University of Sydney (Coursework) Rule 2000 (as amended).

Where a student has not established good cause, a Dean may, in accordance with clause 16 of the University of Sydney (Coursework) Rule 2000 (as amended):

• exclude the student from the degree course; or
• permit the student to re-enrol in the degree course subject to restrictions on units of study, which may include:
  - completion of a unit or units of study within a specified time;
  - exclusion from a unit or units of study; and
  - specification of the earliest date on which a student may re-enrol in a unit or units of study.

Faculties will normally provide reasons for their decisions and record those reasons on the Progression Profile.

Faculties must notify the International Office of any decision to exclude an International Student. The International Office will have access to FlexSIS for the purpose of meeting the University’s Statutory reporting obligations.

Stage 4 - Students listed for a fourth time on an At Risk Report after having been asked to Show Cause and permitted to re-enrol

Letter to students excluding them from their degree:
The following students will be automatically excluded from their degree (a template is available on FlexSIS):

• all students listed in an At Risk Report for the fourth time after having been asked to Show Cause and permitted to re-enrol.

Appeals

View faculty-level and University-level appeals processes.