Published on Feb. 12, 2021

Hello CASE Scholars,

At this point in the semester, you should be encountering the first round of exams, papers or quizzes in many of your classes. Therefore, I wanted to take the time to let you know that the CASE office is encouraging our scholars to engage in a process we call the Mid-Semester Progress Check-Faculty Engagement form. I felt it was important to let you all know the thinking behind this process.

1. This process is designed for students to have agency over their experience by initiating engagement with faculty to discuss issues like understanding of course content, class attendance, study approaches, current progress (and even if you didn’t perform at your best on a quiz or exam, you might want to use this as an opportunity to inquire what you could do differently in the course, with the remaining time in the semester).
2. We prefer that students take advantage of this during faculty office hours and not right after/right before class. This allows faculty to take their time and provide you with thoughtful, accurate (not rushed) and private feedback and information.
3. We realize that this process is timed early in the semester. This is by design. We want these interactions to be proactive and early enough to utilize add-drop deadlines within each semester. This will allow you to maximize options that could save/maintain your gpa.
4. We expect that you will use information on this form to share with your advisor for the early registration process for next semester (fall or summer 2021).
5. We also expect you to return (email) a copy of the completed form to our CASE staff for follow up conversation (if necessary) and referrals to other academic resources (if necessary).

We realize these processes and behaviors may be different and require some additional time, but my years of being in higher education (over 13 at MU), I believe it is time well-spent and I have seen this as a practice that promotes faculty engagement, early intervention for difficulties, access to campus resources and acquisition of success behaviors and strategies for success. It can also strengthen your connection to the CASE office and the additional resources we can provide or refer you to.

We hope that you will avail yourself of this unique opportunity!

E. Andre Thorn, Ph.D
Director, Center for Academic Success and Excellence (CASE)
“Serving Students Since 1995”
110 Student Success Center, 909 Lowry Mall
Columbia, MO  65211
P: 573-882-9208
F: 573-884-4353
www.case.missouri.edu

Indigenous Peoples and Lands Acknowledgement:
I would like to acknowledge that I work in what is colonially known as “Missouri,” and that these were the homelands of the tribal nations of the Nutachi (Missouria), Jiwere (Otoe), Wahzhazhe (Osage), Ogáxpa (Quapaw), Chikasha (Chickasaw), Illini, and Báxoǰe (Ioway), among others.