Successfully applying the supplemental instruction model to engineering and pre engineering

Supplemental instruction (SI) is a nonremedial program that utilizes peer-assisted review sessions and targets historically difficult academic courses. SI has been used nationally for decades in nonengineering and pre-engineering courses, however, there is very little literature on its application in engineering courses. In UNC Charlotte, offering SI in core engineering courses began in 1996 when the College of Engineering joined forces with the university\´s established SI program. Using grant funding, SI was piloted in three engineering "gateway" courses with low participation and results that initially were not as impressive as those in chemistry and biology courses. Yet students and faculty began to recognize the potential of this new program. Since then, assessment results indicate that SI is making a positive impact on final course grade sand on DFW rates. This paper focuses on the development, implementation, assessment, and continuous improvement of the program. Actual assessment results and lessons learned are presented.