Signals

A “signal” is an indicator within the Course Progress Hub that identifies situations where a student, assessment, or course component may require additional attention or support. Signals are generated based on specific metrics related to student engagement, academic performance, assessment outcomes, or policy compliance.

For students, signals may include late or missed assessments, low grade averages, or limited course access activity, helping faculty identify learners who may benefit from outreach or support. For assessments, signals may indicate concerns such as low class averages, high fail rates, or delayed grading feedback. The hub also includes gradebook evaluation checks that flag potential issues related to institutional policy requirements. Collectively, signals are designed to proactively support early awareness, enable timely and meaningful supports, and strengthen student success and course quality.

In This Section

• Support Indicators
• Flagged Assessments
• Gradebook Evaluation Checks

Support Indicators

The hub indicates when specific students may require support as indicated in Student with Support Indicators section.

Screenshot of the Course Progress Hub with the Students with Support Indicators signal highlighted.
The number on the left will represent the number of students who may need support in the course.

By clicking on this signal, a summary page of students with support indicators opens. This notes students with one or more flagged metrics. This page collates their late and/or missed assessments, their grade average, and the last time they accessed the course. Faculty can see which assessments are late and/or missed by clicking on the number in each student row. For example, a student may have a grade average of 80%, but have 2 late assessments, or a student may have a grade of 50% and 0 late/missed assessments. In both examples the students require support for different reasons.

Screenshot of the Student with Support Indicators page in the Course Progress Hub.

This view provides a straightforward picture of why certain student(s) are listed within this signal, enabling clearer direction for faculty support.

Flagged Assessments

The hub also includes a signal for Flagged Assessment(s) for faculty review.

Screenshot of the flagged assessments signal in the Course Progress Hub.
The number on the left will represent the number of assessments which may need revising in the course.

Assessments are flagged by the hub for a few reasons:

1. The average of the assessment is below 60%.
2. The assessment has a fail rate of over 20%.
3. The assessment scores haven’t been published within 10 business days as per the Assessment and Evaluation of Student Learning Policy.

Quick View

On this page flagged assessments are shown with the assessment name, type (assignment, quiz, discussion), weighting and how many evaluations are published, along with the rationale (based on one of the conditions above).

Screenshot of the flagged assessments quick view. The assessments with the reason for the signal will be outlined, with the ability to navigate to those assessments as well as examine the complete assessment overview and analysis.

At the bottom of that page, faculty can explore their assessments for comparison by clicking the View Complete Assessment Overview / Assessment Analysis button at the bottom right of the page.

Assessment Overview/Assessment Analysis Report

This page provides a complete view of the assessments in the course, including useful statistics such as how many students were evaluated, the weight, the average, and the fail rate. It also highlights how many late and missed assessments there are for each. These are defined at the bottom of the page.

Screenshot of the assessment overview page in the Course Progress Hub. The same signals seen in the quick view are present here as well, and noted in red.

The red highlight indicates one of the following has occurred in the assessment:

1. The average of the assessment is below 60%.
2. The assessment has a fail rate of over 20%.

These are internal metrics which may indicate that there are difficulties in the assessment for students, for example:

1. Questions on a quiz were unclear or there was confusion.
2. Elements of the rubric were unclear or unspecific.

Clicking on the Assessment Statistics icon re-directs faculty to the statistics section of DC Connect for a more specific breakdown of the pain points for a specific assessment. It may be beneficial to review the assessment for clarity and determine if there are sections or components students struggled with. If so, consider whether a question can be tweaked, evaluation criteria clarified, or content revisited before the next assessment.

Gradebook Evaluation Checks

The final signal potentially seen in the hub is one for Gradebook Evaluation Checks.

Screenshot of the Gradebook Evaluation Checks Signal.

This section is designed to ensure that courses are aligned with DC Policy. There are four metrics of success in this section.

Screenshot of the Gradebook evaluation requirements from the Course Progress Hub.

1. Ensuring student mid-term grades comprise of at least 30% of the course grade as per the Assessment and Evaluation of Student Learning Policy. This will be determined based on due dates and weight of assessments in the course, compared with the dates section of the settings.
2. Ensuring at least 40% of the course grade will be posted on the LMS one week before the last day to withdraw from the course as per the Assessment and Evaluation of Student Learning Policy. This will be determined based on due dates and weight of assessments in the course, compared with the dates section of the settings.
3. Ensuring the gradebook is visible to students as per the Learning Management System Usage Policy.
4. No single evaluation will count for more than 30% of the students grade, without prior approval from the Executive/Associate Dean as per the Assessment and Evaluation of Student Learning Policy.

Inspired by and partially adapted from Conestoga College’s presentation, “Enhancing Educational Outcomes with Conestoga’s Data-Driven Tools,” presented at D2L Fusion 2024. Durham College gratefully acknowledges Conestoga College eLearning Technical Services for permission to adapt.