MCC-led Conference Highlights Success of Supplemental Instruction

Since 2012, Middlesex Community College has successfully offered the peer-led Supplemental Instruction (SI) program certified by the International Center for Supplemental Instruction (ICSI) In 2017, Middlesex created and hosted the first Northeast Regional Supplemental Instruction (NERSI) conference and will co-chair its third conference in March of 2023.

“The conference was created because we wanted to bring colleagues together to share ideas and learn from each other, and there were no SI conferences in the northeast,” said Christine Bell, MCC’s Director of Academic Support Programs and co-creator of the NERSI Conference. “As a community college, other schools are intrigued by how we run our SI program, the impact it has on academic success, and what support we provide our SI leaders. The conference allows us to highlight what we do, connect with other programs, and talk about best practices.”

MCC’s SI program was the first community college program to become accredited in 2016. Bell and Noreen McGinness Olson, MCC’s Assistant Dean of Student Success, created the first conference with the full support of MCC’s Provost at the time – and now President – Phil Sisson. With 60 participants the first year and 90 the second, MCC is hoping for over 100 in 2023.

Held at Housatonic Community College in Connecticut, the 2023 conference will feature guest speaker Dr. Paul Hernandez, author and Senior Advisor to the President of Achieving the Dream. The conference’s theme “Focus on the Future – Embrace a New Perspective” reflects the changes that higher education has undergone from the pandemic. This includes adding online and hybrid offerings for SI in addition to in-person sessions.

“None of us are ever going back to what we used to do,” Bell said. “We are always going to have face-to-face and online SI sessions. It works, especially at community colleges where students are extremely busy. Now they can have an 8 p.m. session that allows more people the opportunity to attend. Our title this year is relevant to the times.”

In Spring 2022, students who attended SI sessions were 87 percent more likely to complete the course, with 68 percent earning a B or higher. The average grade point average (GPA) for MCC students participating in SI was 3.11 versus 2.53 for non-users.

“SI Leaders are working with one class that they have taken previously and are helping all of the enrolled students pass the class through creative ways of reinforcing the course material,” Bell said. “We have talented students at Middlesex who – whether they have confidence going into it or not – have a faculty member who believes in them, have gotten a B+ or higher in the class, and can come back and help their peers achieve academic success in that course.”

Registration for the conference is open. Excited to represent the college and its award-winning model, Bell will present in addition to a few of her Academic Centers for Enrichment (ACE) colleagues and SI Leaders. “The SI model is a beautiful way for students to build their confidence within their concepts and courses, and also be led by another peer,” she said. “We’re proud of our SI Leaders.”

There is an early bird special for registration through December for staff and faculty. Registration for student leaders will be $35 and we hope many SI’s can present at the conference. The Call for Proposals is open and we welcome proposals from SI faculty, SI Program Coordinators, SI Coaches, SI Leaders, and researchers. Visit https://www.housatonic.edu/nersi/nersi-conference-home for more details.