Butte College�s Supplemental Instruction (SI) Program is designed to build peer-led academic support communities of higher-level thinkers and self-empowered learners. This self-selecting, course-specific, peer-led academic support program seeks to promote active, collaborative learning involving critical thinking and transferrable study skills. Its efforts are aimed at improving the retention rate of students enrolled in the SI-linked courses and helping students pass these courses at a higher rate.
Supplemental Instruction (SI) is an academic enrichment program that is offered in historically challenging courses (high rate of D, F, and withdrawals). SI is a core support service offered in the Center for Academic Success (CAS). SI is an international program and is considered a best practice in colleges and universities. Butte's SI program was institutionalized in 2013 based on success data and the demand continues to grow from students and faculty. SI is designed to supplement � not replace � class lectures. SI discussion and review sessions are facilitated by trained student SI Leaders who have already completed the course. SI sessions are interactive and collaborative. Students who attend sessions learn to integrate how to learn with what to learn. It's a chance for classmates to get together outside of class to compare notes, to discuss important concepts, and to develop strategies for studying the subject in a structured environment.
A full-time LRS was funded through SEAPAC for the expansion of SI support for AB705.
With an additional LRS to help support AB705, we have been able to recruit, hire and train SI Leaders specifically to support all students enrolled in Math 18. Collaboration with the math department and the AB705 hub has been critical with the implementation and execution of SI support for these students. This position has led to more support for the SI Leaders, on-going mentoring, scheduling changes, and troubleshooting student and session challenges. This position has also led to an increase in marketing SI and academic coaching to students in SI classes on an on-going basis.
Increase in student assistant funds for SI Leaders
We have been able to hire and train SI Leaders to work specifically in Math 18 courses. The first semester was difficult to schedule SI Leaders in over 30+ sections of Math 18 on 3 different campuses. In an effort to support so many sections, we waivered from the traditional SI model and didn't find this effective. Spring 2020 we increased our numbers from 3 to 8 SI Leaders and are following the traditional SI model. This semester we are also piloting SI Leaders as tutors in an effort to build community and lasting relationships with students to break down barriers. In addition to tutoring, the SI Leaders are piloting "Homework Help" on Fridays at the Chico Center. Since the Stats Lounge at the Chico Center is no longer available, the SI support on Fridays is helping provide student support at the Chico Center when normally there was no support on Fridays.
The SI program does not currently have the resources to administer, analyze, reflect and implement changes SI SLO's. A Special Programs Clerk position for SI would allow us the opportunity to do so.
Supplemental Instuction is a student success program implementing supports that assist the college in meeting the following Vision of Success Goals:
Supplemental Instruction (SI) program supports the college in meeting the following strategic direction and priorities:
Spring 2015 was our last program review in CAS. Recommendations included:
CHC and GCC support: Due to lack of resources, the program hasn't been able to expand SI course offerings at off-site locations. With the addition of a support staff person, this would allow the coordinator time to travel between campus locations to work with both the faculty and SI Leader.
Online support: We piloted face-to-face tutoring for two online biology courses during the fall 2017 semester. We also provided online tutoring for these classes as well. Due to low usage for both modalities of providing support, we have discontinued providing this type of support for online courses. Net Tutor has proved to be a good resource for students.
Broader marketing: We'd like to provide more outreach to students on the dashboard who were not utilizing SI resources. Again, lack of resources has not allowed this to happen.
Strategy 1 - Special Programs Clerk to support SI Program
This includes hiring a full-time Special Programs Clerk (11 months) to provide support for the Supplemental Instruction Program.
With the state-wide implementation of AB705, we continue to grow the program to meet the demand by faculty. From Fall 2019 to Spring 2020, we increased the number of weekly sessions from 85 to 120+ at mulitiple locations. As we continue to explore the best practices for supporting Math 18, there has also been an increase in support to STEM courses and we continue to receive requests for more SI support in additional courses/instructors. With this continued growth in the program, the day to day operations and logistics becomes more demanding requiring more personnel support. This position would provide an additional resource for SI Leaders, students, staff and faculty.
A SI specific Special Programs Clerk would do the following:
Strategy 2 - Classroom/Study/Work space for SI sessions
More classroom space is needed to hold SI sessions.
Due to the high demand of SI, study sessions for large lectures have higher attendance (15-35 students per session) so bigger classrooms are needed to hold SI sessions. Currently in CAS, there are only 3 classrooms large enough for bigger sessions and one of these is shared with EOPS/Power Center. This makes it challenging to schedule several study sessions during peak hours (9am-2pm). Additionally, many students like to attend SI sessions in the evening at the Chico Center. (Space is limited at the CHC as well between 6-9pm.) It is difficult to increase SI support to large lecture classes when there is no where to hold SI sessions for students. More classroom space needs to be made available in order to increase the amount of courses with SI support.
We currently are working with department admin. assistants to schedule sessions outside of CAS. With an increased number of SI Leaders and SI sessions a week, more classroom and study space will be needed to meet the demands of the program.
For the spring 2020 semester, we currently have 30 SI Leaders holding 120+SI sessions a week. Some sessions occur outside of CAS and at the Chico Center. The Math department "donated" one of their worst classrooms in TE for SI sessions. Unfortunately, the TE building is slated to be torn down by the end of the year. This will displace potentially 10-20 SI sessions a week.
There is also a need for SI Leader work space. We took over a small study room and have outgrown it and we only have two computers between 30 SI Leaders to enter weekly attendance and prepare for their 3-6 study sessions a week.
Strategy 3 - Hire SI Leaders
Additional SI Leaders will need to be hired, trained and supervised in order to meet the requests by faculty for increase in SI support.
The current funding for Math 18 SI support is provided by SEAPAC. The CAS budget doesn't include an increase in SI Leaders (student assistant funds) to meet the demand by faculty for more SI support in their departments (STEM).
Historically, students completed Math 18 their final semester. With the new funding model, students are enrolling in Math 18 their first year which increases our hiring pool to support Math 18. If we continue to support Math 18 with the traditional SI model or embedded tutor support model, we will need to hire even more SI Leaders moving forward.
Strategy 4 - SI Leader Professional Development
Every fall, SI Leaders and SI Faculty have an opportunity to attend and present workshops at a conference in southern California called the West Coast SI Conference. This is a conference put on by SI Leaders for SI Leaders from both community colleges and universities who have SI programs.
Butte College SI Leaders and faculty have attended this conference for the past 3 years and have found this conference to be a life changing experience. For most SI Leaders, this is their first professional job and professional development opportunity. This is an opportunity to build community, share best practices and challenges, and acquire new ideas and materials for sessions which can be implemented in their current sessions and in the future. This professional development opportunity is critical to the ongoing development and daily operations to our program.
Strategy 5 - SI Program Accreditation
The accreditation initiative sets out key components of SI that programs across the United States must be doing in order to qualify to be an accredited SI program. While SI is by nature flexible, there has been a growing demand in the last decade to provide a way to showcase SI programs to distinguish those programs that are adhering to core principles of the model and receive development and coaching from the staff at the International Center for SI.
The process of becoming accredited isn’t easy, but this would ensure the quality of our SI program is maintained. In addition to the prestige of the accredited status, each accredited program will be connected with a Certified Trainer employed at the International Center for SI who will serve as that program’s personal connection to the center and will be available to that program to answer questions and troubleshoot any issues as they arise. Most importantly, the ability to provide SI Leader Certification on behalf of your Accredited program; includes use of official International Center for SI certificate of completion.
Accredited programs will also receive acknowledgement on UMKC’s website and in the International Conference on SI official program. accredited programs will receive priority consideration for conference proposals and will be invited to a conference reception exclusively for accredited programs.
These requested funds would cover the SI Supervsior Certification Training at UMKC in order to start the accreditation process.
Due to the high demand of SI, study sessions for large lectures have higher attendance (15-35 students per session) so bigger classrooms are needed to hold interactive SI sessions. Currently in CAS, there are only 3 classrooms large enough for bigger sessions and one of these is shared with EOPS/Power Center. This makes it challenging to schedule several study sessions during peak hours (10am-2pm). Additionally, many students like to attend SI sessions in the evening at the Chico Center. Space is limited at the CHC as well between 6-9pm. It is difficult to increase SI support to large lecture classes when there is no where to hold SI sessions for students. More classroom space needs to be made available in order to increase the amount of courses with SI support. We currently are working with department admin. assistants to schedule sessions outside of CAS. With an increased number of SI Leaders and SI sessions a week, more classroom and study space will be needed to meet the demands of the program. For the spring 2020 semester, we currently have 30 SI Leaders holding 127 SI sessions a week (the most we've ever facilitated). Some sessions occur outside of CAS and at the Chico Center. As the SI program continues to grow, we will need more places to hold the increased number of study sessions a week. In anticipation of future growth, the 3rd floor of the library may be reconstructed to accommodate the expansion needs of the SI program.
The only outside funds we have received are from SEAPAC. SEAPAC funded the FT LRS position as well as the SI Leaders for Math 18. AB 705 also provided travel funds for SI Leaders and LRS's to attend a conference.
| Original Priority | Program, Unit, Area | Resource Type | Account Number | Object Code | One Time Augment | Ongoing Augment |
| Description | Supporting Rationale | Potential Alternative Funding Sources | Prioritization Criteria | |||
| 1 | Supplemental Instruction (SI) Program | Personnel | 11.000.750.1.611000 | 52120 | $0.00 | $68,000.00 |
| Special Programs Clerk | With the state-wide implementation of AB705, we continue to grow the program to meet the demand by faculty. From Fall 2019 to Spring 2020, we increased the number of weekly sessions from 85 to 120+ at mulitiple locations. As we continue to explore the best practices for supporting Math 18, there has also been an increase in support to STEM courses and we continue to receive requests for more SI support in additional courses/instructors. With this continued growth in the program, the day to day operations and logistics becomes more demanding requiring more help. This position would provide an additional resource for SI Leaders, students, staff and faculty. A SI specific Special Programs Clerk would do the following: Assist with the hiring and scheduling of SI Leaders for all SI supported courses , perform a variety of clerical requests, provide program information as needed, maintains time sheets for SI Leaders, correspondence (verbal & written) with faculty, staff and students, assist SI Leaders with planning & execution of study sessions, coordinate with other campus locations and department secretaries to schedule rooms, promote SI and creates marketing materials, assist with creation of SI Leader portfolios, maintain calendars, assist CAS faculty & SI faculty, maintain files for weekly documentation received by SI Leaders, assist with data entry, and provide support needed for the SI program accreditation process. |
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| 2 | Supplemental Instruction | Personnel | $0.00 | $150,000.00 | ||
| Increase student assistant budget for SI Leaders | In order to continue to support the current number of SI Leaders and expand the SI program, additional student assistant funds will be needed. The demand for SI support from faculty and students increases every semester. If we continue to follow the traditional SI model or embedded tutor support model for Math 18, we will need to hire a lot more Math 18 SI Leaders moving forward. |
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| 3 | Supplemental Instruction | Equipment | $5,000.00 | $0.00 | ||
| New computers and a printer to support SI program expansion | With the implementation of AB705, three more computers and a printer will be needed for the SI Leader workroom, Special Programs Clerk and SI Leaders. |
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| 4 | Supplemental Instruction | $4,000.00 | $0.00 | |||
| Start the SI Program Accreditation Process | The accreditation initiative sets out key components of SI that programs across the United States must be doing in order to qualify to be an accredited SI program. While SI is by nature flexible, there has been a growing demand in the last decade to provide a way to showcase SI programs to distinguish those programs that are adhering to core principles of the model and receive development and coaching from the staff at the International Center for SI. Our program needs support for the following: SI Supervisor CertificationTraining (Currency within 10 years) SI Training for Leaders (Initial & on-going) Planning and debriefing weekly SI sessions Observation of all SI Leaders (8 per semester) Analyze data (compare SI to non-SI participants) *These funds would fund SI Supervisor Certification Training @ UMKC to start the process. |
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| 5 | Supplemental Instruction | $24,000.00 | $0.00 | |||
| Professional Development for SI Leaders and SI Faculty | Butte College SI Leaders and faculty have attended the West Coast SI Conference for the past 3 years and have found this conference to be a life changing experience. For most SI Leaders, this is their first professional job and professional development opportunity. This is an opportunity for build community, share best practices and challenges, and acquire new ideas and materials for sessions which can be implemented in their current sessions and in the future. This professional development opportunity is critical to the ongoing development and daily operations to our program. The entire SI team should have the opportunity to attend. |
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| 6 | Classroom space for SI sessions | Facilities | $0.00 | $0.00 | ||
| Due to the growth and increasing attendance of SI sessions, additional classroom space is needed on the main campus and outlying centers. | Due to the high demand of SI, study sessions for large lectures have higher attendance (15-35 students per session) so bigger classrooms are needed to hold interactive SI sessions. Currently in CAS, there are only 3 classrooms large enough for bigger sessions and one of these is shared with EOPS/Power Center. This makes it challenging to schedule several study sessions during peak hours (10am-2pm). Additionally, many students like to attend SI sessions in the evening at the Chico Center. Space is limited at the CHC as well between 6-9pm. It is difficult to increase SI support to large lecture classes when there is no where to hold SI sessions for students. More classroom space needs to be made available in order to increase the amount of courses with SI support. We currently are working with department admin. assistants to schedule sessions outside of CAS. With an increased number of SI Leaders and SI sessions a week, more classroom and study space will be needed to meet the demands of the program. For the spring 2020 semester, we currently have 30 SI Leaders holding 127 SI sessions a week (the most we've ever facilitated). Some sessions occur outside of CAS and at the Chico Center. As the SI program continues to grow, we will need more places to hold the increased number of study sessions a week. In anticipation of future growth, the 3rd floor of the library may be reconstructed to accommodate the expansion needs of the SI program. |
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