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GradesFirst

Overview

GradesFirst  is a web-based student performance monitoring system that provides automated student services and communication between faculty, students, and support staff. 

Research has long shown that relationships are the key to improving student success. At-risk students get their best chance to thrive when provided with the services that meet their individual needs. 

Purpose

The GradesFirst system allows faculty, advisors, and campus support staff to pinpoint at-risk students early in the semester and provide intervention services when students need it most, improving retention and reducing attrition.

Its user-friendly system allows faculty and staff to easily be a part of the University’s retention efforts. The centralized data repository available through GradesFirst provides administrators with the necessary data to accurately measure retention efforts.

It includes workflow management tools to log and track student interactions through online appointment scheduling, centralized documentation, and additional tools to schedule follow-up interactions through the Academic Advising office.

Faculty Members

GradesFirst respects faculty members' time when reporting student feedback. Faculty members are not required to put much information into GradesFirst in order to have an impact on student success. By providing attendance and academic progress feedback, faculty automatically alert support staff of students who are either at risk of not passing their class, or displaying poor academic performance. The students are then given the proper support and resources needed to be more successful.

Students

Student access to the GradesFirst system is conveniently located on their Sharklink account. Students can quickly view their class feedback during the Progress Report Campaigns and individually seek the campus resources needed to be academically successful. Support staff and faculty will then be able to provide proper support and resources to get the student back on track.

Email Communication with faculty, students, and staff

Various departments use GradesFirst email system to confirm a scheduled appointment or to notify you of resources beneficial to you as a student.  

If you have any questions about the nature or validity of the email you received, please contact GradesFirstHelp@nova.edu


For general technical assistance

You may see general FAQs, or:

Frequently Asked Questions:

  • What is Navigate?

Navigate is a retention tool designed for faculty, staff and undergraduate students to enhance the use of academic and support services. Through the use of Navigate’s progress report feature, faculty can identify and refer students who are experiencing difficulties that may negatively impact their academic performance. Navigate allows students to benefit from the ease of scheduling appointments with various academic and support offices.

For first time users, please see this Quick Start Guide to answer some common questions on setting up availability, syncing calendars, and setting up appointments.

  • What are Progress Reports (previously known as Early Alerts)?

At specific points during each semester, undergraduate faculty will receive an email from the Center for Academic and Professional Success (CAPS) titled Student Feedback Request. The email invites faculty, for a period of one week, to review their student course roster in order to provide feedback on student performance in the form of a progress report.  A progress report allow faculty to identify students as being academically at-risk by selecting alert reasons and submitting supporting comments.

Progress reports will be reviewed and outreach will be provided by the following student support services:

    • Henderson Student Counseling
    • Residential Life and Housing
    • Tutoring and Testing Center
    • Center for Academic and Professional Success

To access Navigate, please click here. For any questions regarding Navigate’s progress reports, please email navigatehelp@nova.edu We thank you for your participation in this important initiative.

  • How do I fill out a Progress Report?

Please see the following: Faculty Progress Report Instruction

  • I received an email on Progress Report, but the link on the email is expired. What should I do?

You may contact  navigatehelp@nova.edu

 

 

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