How to Monitor and Promote Student Progress

Allison McComb Updated by Allison McComb

Monitoring and Promoting Student Progress

You are responsible for actively monitoring the progress of your students so you can help them complete the course successfully. From within your course, you can view a students' Last Activity, and Total Activity

How to View a Students Last and Total Activity
In the Course Navigation Menu, click "People."
This brings you to an alphabetical list of all enrolled in your course, with several columns of information.
The "Last Activity" and "Total Activity" column shows the date and time of each student's most recent action in the course and the amount of time they have spent in the course to date.
This is a quick way to confirm that a student has been active in the course or to identify students who may not be participating as regularly as they should.

*Please note the "Total Activity" column does not take into consideration if a student is working from an offline version of the course material via a downloaded transcript.

You can also use the background color schemes from within the Gradebook to identify those who may be falling behind easily. For example, the red background on an assignment indicates that it is missing.

You should also use the Gradebook to send gentle nudge reminders to students who may be falling behind. You can visit this article for a refresher on how to send nudges from the Gradebook.

When a student is lagging in your course:

  • Contact the student early. Consider customizing the "Gentle Nudge" message provided in Module 2.
  • Work with students wherever possible. Our students balance busy professional and personal lives with their academic pursuits. That is no small feat, and we want them to succeed. Let them know you care about their progress and offer constructive suggestions to help them find the right balance. In some cases, extensions may be warranted. You can visit this article for more information on our extension policies.
  • Get them the help they need. If the student is having technical issues, please refer them to the Student Support Team. And if, despite your best efforts, a student continues to struggle and is at risk of not completing the course, please notify ec_helpdesk@cornell.edu as soon as this becomes apparent

Documenting Student Activity

Any communication related to a student may be subject to FERPA release to the student and should therefore be maintained in a professional and appropriate manner. 

Do include:

  • Factual information about grades and assignments, including grade changes.
  • Rationale and background for extensions.
  • Information which may affect the student's ability to participate in or complete the course. (This should not include detailed specifics unless vital to understand the student's need for accommodation.)
  • Information about plagiarism incidents, including backup evidence and consequences implemented.

Do not include:

  • Specific information about health, mental health, or law enforcement actions.
  • Financial or payment information.
  • Personal information such as Social Security numbers or passwords.
If you need to record notes about an individual student's activity that would be beneficial to other facilitators who have the student in their course; for example, information about unusual extensions, grade disputes, or evidence of and consequences for instances of plagiarism, please email ec_facilitation@cornell.edu

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