Supplemental Instruction Program

History

Supplemental Instruction (SI) targets courses that are traditionally difficult and have high attrition. The emphasis in SI is on historically difficult courses (those classes with a 30% rate of grades of D, F, and Withdrawals) rather than on high-risk students. The program's goals are: (1) improvement of student course grades; (2) reduction of attrition rate in historically difficult college courses; and (3) student persistence toward graduation. The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) has designated Supplemental Instruction as an "Exemplary Educational Program." The DOE has claimed that students participating in SI within these "gate-keeper" or historically difficult courses: (1) earn higher mean final course grades, without regard to prior academic achievement; (2) succeed at a higher rate (withdraw at a lower rate and receive a lower percentage of D or F final course grades), without regard to ethnicity and prior academic achievement; and (3) persist at the institution (reenrolling and graduating) at higher rates than students who do not participate in SI.

Supplemental Instruction typically involves an additional hour of class or lab time held directly after the scheduled weekly meetings for a given course. In this additional hour students meet with a peer leader who facilitates a discussion of the concepts introduced in the preceding class. The role of the SI student leader is to provide structure to the study session, not to re-lecture or introduce new material. The peer leader acts as "a model student" who demonstrates how successful students think critically about course content.

During the 1999-2000 academic year, University College assessed grade distribution in freshman core courses at UHD, and offered a limited number of SI sections for courses we identified as having a high "D, F, W" rate. Since the implementation of the Learners' Community, Dr. Robin Davidson has worked with UHD faculty and professional staff to increase the number of courses offering supplemental instruction. Since January 2003, Professor Michael Judge has coordinated the SI program.

Performance Indicators

Site Search | Site Map | People/Campus Directory | Library | Home

One Main Street • Houston, TX 77002 • 713-221-8000
Copyright ©2000 University of Houston-Downtown • Privacy Statement • Contact Information