Support Student Success with Beacon 

In support of efforts to put students first, faculty are being reminded of the Beacon program and the important role played in connecting students who are presenting as at-risk academically. It is important to be aware of the indicators of academic risk, and to make referrals early. Beacon is most successful when referrals are made early in the semester allowing Student Success Facilitators (SSFs) to have the biggest impact by working with individual students. Click here to learn more about when you should use Beacon.  
 
Beacon was launched in 2019 and connects students who are academically at-risk in a course with the support they need. Just this year alone, 9,390 Beacon alerts were sent by faculty. If you are new to Beacon, here’s how it works: 
 
Faculty can alert Beacon with information about a student at academic risk. Be as specific as possible! The assigned SSF will create an individually tailored support plan based on the alert and reach out to the student. When the student responds to the SSF, they will meet and build an academic plan to help them succeed. 
 
In the future, a goal is to improve Beacon by building a core definition of what is deemed “at-risk academically,” to create awareness about how to input an alert, and to share knowledge about the supports that are available. The Student Success team is working to better all data collection processes to narrow down areas of risk for support and create additional tools. Stay tuned for ongoing updates from Beacon and SSFs to help you better support students!  

Did you know each program has its own assigned SSF? SSF contact information is shared with faculty at the beginning of each term. You can also access SSF information by contacting success@sl.on.ca.  

Beacon is an academic-risk program and is not intended for reporting urgent health concerns. If you are working with a student who is experiencing health and wellness concerns, please refer them to Student Wellness and Accessibility.