With increasing financial pressures on colleges and universities, student retention and persistence have become high priorities. Faculty play an important role in student retention, particularly in providing early alerts. Early alert systems (EAS), which are mechanisms that allow faculty and professional staff to notify students and advisors that academic progress is being jeopardised by their behaviour or performance, have been identified as a successful retention programme practice. This exploratory case study of the role of faculty in EAS was conducted at a four-year institution in the U.S. and included survey and interview data. Findings include practices to encourage faculty adoption of an EAS, such as communicating ease of use and positive implications of the system.