Intervention on Academic Performance, Teaching Performance, and/or Dispositions

The Department of Teacher Education faculty has developed an agreed upon process for supporting students (“intervening”) when academic performance, teaching performance, and/or dispositional concerns arise. This page will outline the process faculty will use to help offer students an idea of what to expect should they be contacted by the department as part of the student review.

Intervention can be initiated at any point during students’ progress throughout the program. In many cases, intervention takes place following student review for program, Block, or student teaching admissions. However, faculty may initiate the process during other courses or components of the program. In either case, intervention will utilize the following steps:

1. Identifying Student Concerns. When a faculty member notes a concern with a student’s progress, they will discuss this concern during student review meetings. These discussions take place between undergraduate faculty members, who have a legitimate educational interest to discuss student progress. The conversation will include the review of data and/or informed perspective to understand the concerns being raised. The department, led by the chair, will document concerns as part of a running record.
2. Instructor-Level Intervention. If the faculty agree that the concern warrants intervention, this process will start with the faculty member who reports the concern. This faculty member will contact the student and arrange to meet. The purpose of this meeting is to identify and discuss concerns. A faculty member may arrange to conduct this meeting with other faculty members and/or the department chair. The meeting will be documented in the department’s running record.
3. Department-Level Intervention/Contract. Should the instructor-level intervention be unsuccessful in helping the student to improve in the area(s) identified as concerns, the department will contact the student. Led by the department chair and possibly involving other faculty members, this department-level intervention effort will involve meeting with the student and agreeing on the terms of a contract that will identify faculty concerns, desired behaviors, and a timeline for improvement and subsequent review.

Outcomes of Intervention Efforts

Intervention efforts may yield three possible outcomes. These outcomes are described below.

1. Successful Intervention. In cases in which faculty raise a concern and the student demonstrates satisfactory improvement, the student may progress in the program. The intervention effort will be documented by the department and referenced if concerns are again raised in the future.
2. Unsatisfactory Progress with Intervention. When students make partial or unsatisfactory progress with an intervention effort, the department may elect to extend the timeline for improvement and/or modify the contract with the student. Extension of the intervention timeline or contract modification may result in delays in students’ progress through the degree plan they develop with their student success advisors.
3. Dismissal from Teacher Preparation Program. Students who are unable or unwilling to make the improvements outlined in the contract may be removed from the program. Dismissal will be determined by a committee of undergraduate faculty members who are assigned by the department chair to evaluate the students’ progress and the department’s intervention efforts. Students may appeal dismissal from the program one time. Students initiate the appeal process by contacting the department chair in writing.