Though students will not receive midterm grades on ICAN anymore, the University is working on other ways to inform students of their progress that may be more effective and beneficial to students’ success, Eugene Dial, vice president of Student Affairs and Enrollment Services, said. The purpose of midterm grades was to notify students of their standing in each of their classes so they could make a decision on whether to drop a class, speak with the instructor or meet with an advisor, Dial said. However, the midterm grade was deemed ineffective, he said.

“The expectation was that students would have half a semester to fix (their grades),” he said. “By the time students got the grades, there were only five or six weeks left in the semester.”

Another reason the midterm grade was deemed ineffective was because about 30 percent of professors were issuing blanket grades, where all students received the same midterm grade regardless of where they actually stood, Dial said. The blanket grades were not a reliable indication of a student’s status in the class, he said.

“I think it is going to benefit students if we look for better ways to keep them informed,” Dial said.

He said the implementation of Blackboard campus-wide for fall 2007 where faculty will post at least their syllabus and students’ grades online will help.

“Students won’t have to go track somebody down; they can get their grades instantly,” Dial said.

University College is also helping to inform students of their standing, especially those in danger of failure.

Carol Blanchard, assistant dean of University College, said faculty can go online on the Nicholls’ administration and faculty page to fill out a First Alert Report Form, which electronically sends information about students who are doing poorly because of academic struggles or missing class to University College. University College then contacts the student to help them decide what they should do to ensure academic success, Blanchard said.

The First Alert Referral Form is part of University College’s Early Alert Program designed to identify first year students who are struggling, but Blanchard said if a professor reports an upperclassman, University College will forward the information to their liaison at the student’s college to be handled in the same manner, Blanchard said.

Dial said the lack of midterm grades does not affect students’ grades because it was not factored into the students’ averages but was just an indicator as to how the students were performing in class. He said those who use their midterm grades to make decisions about their classes should speak with their instructors to see where they stand in the course.

Aaron Dupre, freshman from Houma, said he uses Blackboard to check his grades, but not all his instructors use Blackboard. For those classes, he said it would have been easier to go on ICAN to access his grades.

“It would leave less work for us to do,” Dupre said.

Stephen Piazza, business law sophomore from Houma, said he was not affected by the lack of midterm grades because by the time midterm grades would have been issued, he said he already knows how he is doing in his classes.

“I never used it to determine if I was going to drop a class,” he said.

Jason Ledet, cardiopulmonary care science sophomore from Houma, said he did not even notice he did not get a midterm grade and did not think it would affect him.

“It might affect people that don’t know how to use Blackboard, though,” he said.

Scotty Verret, pre-engineering sophomore from Theriot, said he was concerned that without midterm grades, professors may not let students know how they are doing in their classes.

“If you don’t pressure the teachers to give a midterm grade, they might not average the grades,” he said.

Patrick Perkins, assistant professor of English, said some of his classes take a midterm exam, and all of his students are aware of the scores they have received since the beginning of the semester.

“Anyone who wants to look at or talk about their grades can. My grade book is always there,” Perkins said.

Diana Spencer, instructor of English composition, said she believes not posting midterm grades affects students negatively.

“Though we notify them in class of their GPAs, many are absent on that designated day and will not make an effort to find out,” Spencer said. ‘They should have some place to retrieve that information.