Guest Post: Supplemental Instruction Leaders Don't Do Optional Either

In the first of our in-depth look at each of the seven SCALERS drivers, staffing, Ruth Silon of Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) delves into staffing a supplemental instruction (SI) program. The SCALERS staffing driver calls for effective use of resources to meet personnel needs, from administration to faculty to student services to student employees. In this candid post, Ruth describes the ups and downs of Tri-C’s approach to training student SI leaders in a one-credit special topics course.

 “Students don’t do optional.”

Where have we heard this before? It certainly applies to many developmental students’ use of the tutoring labs, optional orientations, and attendance at Supplemental Instruction (SI) sessions.

But what about the SI leaders themselves? Although we at Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C), have a well thought out hiring and training process, I have found that if we do not have a very concrete way to manage and observe our SI leaders, they, too, will not do optional.

In June 2010, I attended the International Conference on Supplemental Instruction, and listened to Joyce Zaritsky from LaGuardia Community College discuss her one credit class for SI leaders. This approach seemed to make sense. The students could not be leaders unless they attended a weekly SI course. Here was the place where leaders could share and debrief and experience ongoing training.

During fall 2010, faculty and SI staff met to design the course and it was first implemented in spring 2011 as a special topics course – one session at each campus. The course would meet once a week for one credit.

• First Problem: The students had to pay for the course, which at that time cost $84.00.

         Solution: Pay SI leaders for an extra hour and hope that is enough to offset the
         cost of the course. 

• Second Problem: One of our leaders had already graduated.

         Solution: She still had to attend the class in order to be an SI leader. 

• Third Problem: There was not a common time available for all the leaders to take the course.

         No good solution here: Not all the leaders attended, but about 80 percent
         did participate.

Meeting every week was a great experience, both for me, the teacher, and the leaders. I got to know almost everything that was going on in the SI-supported classes and the related sessions. I learned firsthand about the struggles leaders were having with their students and also with the classroom teachers. The class was more like a support group for the leaders than an academic class. This learning is really important as we are asking students to perform tasks that may be well out of their comfort zone. If we talk to each other about our students and our pedagogy, shouldn’t SI leaders be afforded that same experience?

This was a course, so the students had to complete certain tasks to get a grade. I asked them to turn in weekly journals, telling me what happened in their sessions. (This could be the basis of our conversations each week.) They also had to visit each other’s classes and write up an observation. At the end of the semester, they wrote an essay to a new SI leader, explaining the high and low points of the job and offering the new leader advice. The end result was twofold: a deeper understanding of what goes on in SI for both me and the leaders, and a very supportive environment to help the leaders do a better job.

Even though the course went well, we decided not to offer it this semester. Why not? I did not want to make SI leaders pay for the course again. I did not want to ask for more money for the SI leaders. And I thought “Last semester’s meetings went well. Of course this semester’s leaders will come to a weekly session, even if it’s not for credit!”

I was wrong. Sadly, I forgot that students, SI leaders included, may not do optional! Just like in any other class, some student leaders come every week, some attend occasionally, and others never show up at all. I am sorry to have to have learned the same lesson again: accountability is everything. But I have learned the lesson, so next semester we’ll be offering the course for our SI leaders again.

Ruth Silon is an associate professor of English and DEI project director at Cuyahoga Community College.

SCALERS Series: S is for Staffing

Today, we begin our series exploring the seven drivers of the SCALERS model, a framework of organizational capacities that are essential for successfully scaling-up effective programs. You can read the series intro here.

People who need people are, indeed, the luckiest people; but it may not feel that way when you’re trying to find the resources and individuals to expand a program. The SCALERS staffing driver calls for effective use of resources to meet labor needs; in a community college setting, this includes administration, faculty, student services, and student employee positions, as well as individuals responsible for data collection, analysis, and evaluation.

As you look at a program slated for expansion, you must consider how labor-intensive it is and whether it requires skilled services. This necessitates a clear definition of the labor needs and the local labor market. An organization also must look at the existing recruitment pool and the institution’s ability to recruit sufficient staff to sustain expansion. Such efforts are supported by a staffing plan that includes job descriptions for all requisite positions that details the essential knowledge, skills, and abilities. Such a plan should include the required administrative, student services, academic, and student employee positions. It’s also important to review current staffing levels and identify any existing positions that may need to be redeployed or those that will see additional work volume under expansion.

While a team responsible for day-to-day implementation of a particular program can make a good start on a staffing plan, there are broader organizational considerations that may require support from administration. Adding or redeploying positions necessitates discussions about a broader human resources strategy; does the organization have capacity (and will) to recruit, train, retain, and sustain the requisite expertise? You must ensure that HR processes for recruitment and hiring are in place; someone on the “scaling-up team” should be familiar with these processes and have the authority to initiate and execute hiring.

Of course, once individuals are hired, the organization should see to their continued development and training. Another part of the staffing consideration is the organization’s approach to professional development; a sustainable scaled-up solution requires a professional development system that specifically addresses the needs of the faculty and staff implementing the program, as well as the processes and resources to ensure quality delivery and continuous improvement. These concerns are closely related to other SCALERS drivers that will be featured in coming weeks, including communicating, alliance-building, resources, and sustaining engagement.

Chaffey College came up with a unique solution to a staffing issue as they expanded their Opening Doors to Excellence (ODE) program. The goal of ODE is to move students off of probation and back into good standing. Participating students develop an educational plan with an advisor, take a student success course, and complete a series of directed activities in the college’s student success center. The director of the program meets with every student (between 300 and 400 students per semester), but student follow-up is carried out by a cadre of Counselor Apprentices. These Counselor Apprentices are graduate students from a local university who can apply the experience to completing required clinical hours, allowing the college to expand its advising force. For more information about Opening Doors to Excellence, check out the presentation ODE Program Director Ricardo Diaz made at the 2011 Achieving the Dream Strategy Institute pre-institute workshop, “Bringing Innovation to Scale.” You can find the presentation in the Resources section of our website, under the “Scaling Up” category.

Abby Parcell is MDC's Program Manager for the Developmental Education Initiative.