Addressing student performance in the classroom: a case study of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Supplemental Instruction Program

Abstract

The Supplemental Instruction (SI) program, developed and headquartered at the University of Missouri Kansas City, is a peer-to-peer mentorship program that seeks to aid post-secondary education students in passing historically difficult courses. The University of Alaska Fairbanks Supplemental Instruction program was established in 2003, and to date no external study has been completed as to its effectiveness despite the university’s unique student population. To empirically evaluate the program’s main user groups and impact on final course grade, three models were created: a probit model identified the demographic factors that led to a student self-selecting to participate; a negative binomial regression model was used to predict the number of SI sessions students attended; and an ordered probit model quantified the effect of SI attendance on final course grades. The results suggest that the program had a positive impact on final grades, with SI attendees being approximately 92% more likely to receive an A, and 94% less likely to receive a D or an F, than non-attendees. Older and married students were consistently found to be more likely to participate, as were students with large high school grade point averages. However, minority males were found to be almost 9% less likely to participate in SI than their white male counterparts.