LIBRARY & LEARNING SERVICES

Supplemental Instruction Program
Annual Report 2019–2020

2020 Annual Review
Introduction

Department Name: Supplemental Instruction Program

College Name: Library & Learning Services

Department Head: Rob Gray

Department Mission Statement (required for NWCCU):

The mission of Dixie State University’s Supplemental Instruction Program is to improve student success and retention in the “traditionally difficult” courses, while aiding students in becoming higher-level thinkers and self-empowered learners. The program aims to provide students with peer facilitated group study sessions. These sessions aim to enhance student comprehension of course content and expose them to valuable study skills.

Goals and Accomplishments

1. Report progress on goals identified in last year’s report.

LLS Goal 2: Expand Resources and Enhance Services

Strategy: Begin a proposal to acquire a Title III SIP grant

• We completed our desired outcome of beginning the grant proposal by…
  • Making a process plan
  • Recruiting committee members and forming a committee
  • Gathering data
  • Beginning the writing process

Strategy: CRLA certification

• We completed our desired outcome of marketing CRLA certification across campus and acquiring certification for the Peer Coaching program and Supplemental Instruction program.

LLS Goal 3: Contribute to Campus-Wide Retention Efforts

Strategy: Improve student grades and retention

• We attained our desired outcome of improving student grades and retention numbers by five percent from fall 2019 to spring 2020.
  • Students who attended eleven or more weekly SI sessions during fall semester were retained at a much higher rate than those attending fewer sessions (86% vs 50%).
  • Students who attended eleven or more weekly SI sessions during fall semester scored much higher grades than those attending fewer sessions (3.10 average vs 2.13).
• We attained our desired outcome of implementing the CircleIn app; however, we did not attain our desired outcome of increasing student success in CircleIn integrated courses. CircleIn has given us a contract extension for one more year, so this goal will be ongoing.

LLS Goal 4: Remove Barriers to Access and Improve Efficiencies

Strategy: Mission statement and PLOs

• We attained our desired outcome of creating a mission statement and PLOs for the SI program. Our program learning outcomes are the following:
  • Students will be able to utilize what they have learned and skills they have acquired through SI to increase success in all their courses.
  • Students will demonstrate increased confidence in their ability to meet all course objectives and learn independently.
  • Students will learn and apply improved study habits and time management skills.

2. Summarize department and faculty highlights. (Provide a brief account of this year’s significant happenings and department accomplishments. Include faculty recognitions, honors, publications, presentations, etc.)

Director of Learning Services:

Rob Gray applied for and received CRLA program certification for the Academic Performance Center, the Writing Center, the Peer Coaching program, and the Supplemental Instruction program. He is heading a committee to pursue a Title III SIP grant for five-year funding for supplemental instruction, expanded tutoring, and first-year experience. He co-wrote an article on mandatory tutoring that was published in Curiosity, DSU’s online research journal.

Student Coordinators:

Adam Russell was our SI coordinator until the end of Spring Semester. He graduated with a degree in biology and is in the process of applying for medical school.

Demmy Polad is our new SI coordinator. She was a receptionist in the Academic Performance Center last year, and she will be entering her sophomore year this fall.

Student SI leaders:

Dagny Hunt graduated with a degree in biology. She was nominated for Biology Student of the Year. She presented a poster at the Dixie Symposium and is the primary author of a paper currently undergoing peer review for publication.

Kurtis Hinton graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology and minors in chemistry, health psychology, and psychology. He accepted a Health Professional Scholarship from the US Air Force and has been commissioned as an officer. He will attend Rocky Vista medical school next year.

Camila Arevalo went on a service-learning trip to Mexico last year and was accepted into a study abroad program in Columbia.

Erin Atkinson was accepted into DSU’s Physical Therapy Assistant program and was voted copresident for the Physical Therapy Assistant Club.

Jadely Cartagena was Miss Dixie Second Attendant last fall and served on the Utah Youth Council.

3. Complete the table below for faculty (excluding part-time instructors) as of May 2020, then provide part-time instructor information below the table.

Department Effectiveness

10. Please add any other performance data you might like to include here that will help inform an accurate snapshot of your department or unit.

Department Highlights:

A. During the 2019 Fall Semester, the Supplemental Instruction program served over 400 students.

B. Students who attended at least eleven of sixteen weekly SI sessions scored higher grades (3.10 vs 2.13) and were retained at a much higher rate (86% fall to spring vs 50%) than those who attended fewer sessions (see graph below).

C. When we excluded the non-mandatory SI sections that typically had low SI session attendance from our study, we found the following (see table below):

• Students attending SI sessions at a high rate earned excellent grades
• Students attending SI sessions at a high rate were retained at a very high rate
• Students not attending SI sessions consistently scored poor grades
• Students not attending SI sessions consistently were retained at a very low rate

Additional Spring 2020 Semester Information:

A. The Supplemental Instruction program served over 400 students during Spring Semester 2020. These students received extra support in their courses from SI leaders during the transition to remote learning due to COVID-19.

11. Conduct SWOT Analysis—Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (Identify internal strengths and weaknesses, and external opportunities and threats. Analysis of facilities, resources, administration/staff, budgets, outside influences, competition and stakeholder satisfaction.)

Strengths

• We have an excellent coordinator and SI leaders
• Faculty using SI last year are sold on the program and are sharing their success with peers
• Students are happy with the program
• We have strong management software that creates reports that allow us to make decisions based on data
• Many divisions, departments, and programs are willing to collaborate with us
• We have an excellent assessment plan

Weaknesses

• We have no funding and are pulling funds from other Learning Services programs to maintain SI courses
• Part-time, student coordinator makes turn-over inevitable (new coordinator this summer)
• Some faculty and staff still have misconceptions about our services

Opportunities

• A Title III SIP grant may provide funding for five years into the future
• We have high demand among students for these classes
• We can create a stronger marketing plan to alleviate misconceptions

Threats

• Lack of permanent funding
• Some of our new service overlaps other areas on campus and these areas may want to “claim” our programs and work

Chair’s Response—Planning for the Future

12. Based on the above data, list specific goals your department/unit will target to accomplish during the coming academic year. Note: In next year’s report, follow up reporting on these goals will be covered in #1 as in this report.

LLS Goal 2: Expand Resources and Enhance Services

Strategy: Write a Title III Strengthening Institutions Grant

• This goal is being carried over from the previous year.
• Action Plan: Plan and begin writing a retention-based Title III grant to expand the supplemental instruction program.
• Desired Outcome: Acquire an average of $100,000 per year over the next five years for SI.
• Timeline: Two years
• No additional resources are needed.

LLS Goal 3: Contribute to Campus-wide Retention Efforts

Strategy: Show SI program effectiveness

• This goal is not being carried over from a previous year.
• Action Plan: Survey faculty to discover their perception of SI leader effectiveness.
• Desired Outcome: Eighty percent of faculty who teach an SI course agree that SI leaders are effective in helping their students.
• Timeline: One year
• No additional resources are necessary.

Strategy: Show SI program effectiveness

• This goal is not being carried over from the previous year.
• Action Plan: Survey students to discover their perception of SI program.
• Desired Outcome: Seventy percent of students who agree that SI leaders are effective in helping them achieve a better grade in the class.
• Timeline: One year
• No additional resources are necessary.

Strategy: Show SI program effectiveness

• This goal is not being carried over from the previous year.
• Action Plan: Study data to show that students achieve higher grades in SI classes.
• Desired Outcome: Students receive ½ grade higher in SI classes than comparable classes.
• Timeline: One year
• No additional resources are necessary.

15. What are department’s projected needs for the next 3–5 years? Include staffing, space, budget, etc.)

The supplemental instruction program’s biggest need in the next few years will be additional funding. We plan to address this with a Title III grant.

Dean’s Response

17. Provide your overall response to the degree of success this department achieved last year relative to student learning outcomes. Consult with Assessment Coordinators to review the action plan and insights they have entered in TaskStream—they can print out a report for you.

18. Provide your general assessment of the accomplishments and needs, including budget allocation needs (particularly address # 14 & #15).

Summary of Meeting with Provost