Academic Alerts in Brightspace
Note: This information applies only to undergraduate courses at Purdue West Lafayette and Indianapolis.
What is an Academic Alert?
An Academic Alert is used to assess a student’s academic performance or progress in your course at any point during the Fall and Spring semesters. The primary method to submit an Academic Alert is through Brightspace under Course Tools.
An academic alert can be submitted for any of the following reasons:
- Instructor Recommends Student Seek Academic Resources to connect students to academic support, such as peer tutoring, Supplemental Instruction, study skills consultations, etc.
- Instructor Recommends Student Withdraw from Course to inform students that they may not be able to succeed in the course – this reason should only be selected if the chance of success is extremely unlikely.
- Share Kudos to recognize strong performance or improvement.
An academic alert should NOT be used in place of the Student of Concern Report process. Concerns related to student safety, well-being, crisis needs or behavior outside routine academic performance should still be submitted through the Student of Concern Report process.
For clarification on the differences between an Academic Alert and a Student of Concern Report, read more below.
Basic Information
Access the decision flowchart to determine which tool to utilize.
The comparison below provides a simple breakdown of the differences between the tools and can help you determine when to use which tool.
Academic Alerts in Brightspace
Who initiates the process
Instructor
What should be submitted
Concerns about a student’s routine academic performance
Praise for a student’s routine academic performance
When to submit during the semester
Any point during the semester.
Best times: weeks 3-10 of semester
Avoid: weeks 13-16
Where to access tool
Brightspace, under Course Tools
What happens after submission
The alert is sent through BoilerConnect to the Academic Success Center (ASC) or a student’s academic advisor.
Students also receive an email with the feedback and instructor’s comments.
Student of Concern Report
Who initiates the process
Anyone at Purdue
What should be submitted
Concerns about a student’s safety, well-being, crisis needs, and behavior outside of routine academic performance
When to submit during the semester
Any point during the semester
Where to access tool
What happens after submission
The report is forwarded and reviewed by members of the Office of the Dean of Students (ODOS) staff, typically within one to two business days.
An academic alert can be submitted at any point during the semester. To best support your students, consider important points in your class schedule, such as the first few weeks of the semester, midterm, and/or major exam or project dates.
Academic Early Alert
An academic early alert is used when you have concerns about a student’s academic progress. You will select one recommendation:
- Recommend academic resources (e.g., tutoring, academic support)
- Recommend course withdrawal
Kudos
Kudos is used to recognize strong performance or improvement in your course. This option allows you to share positive, encouraging feedback or reinforce behaviors you’d like the student to continue.
After an alert is submitted, any of the following may be notified by email of the alert.
- Student – all academic alerts with comments included
- Academic Success Center – all alerts for Instructor Recommends Student Seek Academic Resources
- Student’s academic advisor – all alerts for Instructor Recommends Student Withdraw from Course
- An academic advisor can view all alerts submitted, even if they are not notified by email.
These alerts route directly to BoilerConnect (Purdue’s student success platform) and individuals/units set up to help students navigate your recommendations.
Comments are required when submitting an academic alert. They do not need to be lengthy, but should provide helpful context for your submission.
Comments allow staff to assess the student’s risk of failing and engage in appropriate institutional outreach.
Use student-centered language tied to course progress and next steps.
- Example: “You’ve missed the last two quizzes. Let’s meet before the midterm to build a plan to catch up.”
- Example: “Your lab reports show real progress in analysis. Keep using the same approach on the final project.”
- Verify student name and PUID
- Review your selection and comments carefully
- Submissions are sent immediately and cannot be edited
How to Submit an Academic Alert in Brightspace
Instructions
- Login to Brightspace and select your course.
- Navigate to Course Tools in the navigation bar and click Academic Alerts.
- On the Academic Alerts page, you should see your course roster.
- Find the student you wish to submit for.
- Select either the Manage Alerts button or Manage Kudos button for your submission.
- Manage Alerts: if you have concerns about the student’s academic progress in your course
- Manage Kudos: if you want to recognize strong performance or improvement in your course
- For Manage Alerts: click the Manage Alerts button in the row for your intended student
- Select one of the recommendations.
- Enter your comments in the Comments box.
- Once completed, click the Submit Alert button.
- Note: If you are recommending withdrawal, you will be prompted to confirm that you have selected the correct student.
- For Kudos: click the Manage Kudos button in the row for your intended student.
- Enter your comments in the Comments box.
- Once completed, click the Submit Kudos button.
- You will receive a confirmation box indicating successful submission.
- Repeat this process for additional students at various points during the semester.
For detailed instructions, review the Faculty Guide for Academic Alerts in Brightspace.
After submitting an Academic Alert
Depending on the specific Academic Alert submitted, different processes will occur. See the comparison below for more information.
Instructor Recommends Student Seek Academic Resources
Who receives the alert?
Student and Academic Success Center
What does the follow up include?
The Academic Success Center will support the student through outreach about their resources and services, along with tailored resources.
Does the student see the alert?
Yes – an email is automatically sent with the reason and your comments
Instructor Recommends Student Withdraw from Course
Who receives the alert?
Student and Academic Advisor
What does the follow up include?
The academic advisor may reach out to the student to discuss withdrawal from the course or other steps to ensure success in the course.
Does the student see the alert?
Yes – an email is automatically sent with the reason and your comments
Kudos
Who receives the alert?
Student
What does the follow up include?
No follow up is necessary
Does the student see the alert?
Yes – an email is automatically sent with the reason and your comments