Course Signals at purdue

Purdue university in West Lafayette, Indiana just introduced an educational information system that warns students if there grades are low and is shown to significantly increase overall grade point average in students who use it. The solution known as course signals allows an institution to combine the information already available within campus systems to determine whether a student is at risk of failing or withdrawing from a course as early as the second week of the semester or quarter. Based on the data the solution displays a red, yellow, or green signal to students and faculty. This makes it so the student can see his or her progress in real time so that they have a constant idea of how they stand in a particular course. The status of the student's grades can be checked at any time. The system is also automated so that it sends e-mails on a weekly basis as well as when the students grades have fallen below a set threshold. This system uses predictive student success algorithms to process the data and spit out a resulting red, yellow, or green. SunGard Higher Education is the developer of this system and also the developer of other information systems technologies. These systems consider various factors when analyzing a students success in class. Some of these factors include demographics, course schedules, previous G.P.A., and test scores. This program was implemented by the university to boost their retention rates and have a higher graduating percentage. The implementation of this information system was made at the right time especially with the current state of the economy. This system also emphasizes the importance of synchronizing information with Blackboard technologies. The greatest thing about this technology is it's red, yellow, green system. The student no longer has to look at the specifics of his courses to know where he or she stands. They just have to look at the color and know immediately whether they are in good or bad shape in terms of academics. These reports are also sent to teachers and faculty in order to provide support for the student. The ongoing influx of students in big universities shows a need to provide this type of service. It is not only benificial to the student and his or her family but it also makes the school money and can improve its overall academic standing compared to other large institutions. This technology has already received a lot of attention in the higher education community. One of the most notable things that this technology offers is that it makes the teachers job easier. It is now much easier to track the students progress especially in a school where one teacher could have over 1000 kids. Purdue has set a precedent in this type of information systems technology that will surely be followed by other big name schools. With schools getting more and more advanced I would not be surprised to see these same IT technologies in a majority of college campuses nationwide.