Examples from the HEIs on the Difference their SI Programmes Make The intention for including this open-ended question on the extended survey was

to receive concrete examples of the differences that SI can make. Several of the 36 responses were very general and not well substantiated. Some examples include:

• Improves retention and engagement – a number of students would have with-drawn had they not attended SI. (University in Wales)

• Level of attendance at SI impacts positively on students’ perceived preparedness and performance in end-of-year assessments. Students who attended half or more of the timetabled SI sessions believe they are better prepared for, and perform better in, their end-of-year assessments. (University in Southern England)

• We can see that some study groups that are formed during SI continue to work together for the whole education. (University in central Sweden)

Most substantiated examples were qualitative and based on questionnaires, focus groups, or interviews with participants, leaders, and academic staff. A few quotes are given below to illustrate this (in some quotes the local SI name has been replaced with SI for uniformity):

• The SI sessions have really helped me to consolidate my understanding of the lec-ture content and I have appreciated having extra support whenever I have had problems with the work. (Year 1 student, University in Northern England)

• SI eases some of my course stress by answering my questions and giving me an idea of what will be expected of me, not only in the coming weeks but in the future as well. (Student, University in Southern England)

• As student and then as a leader, the SI Programme helped me gain confidence in myself and instilled a sense of pride in college. (Applied Social Studies SI Leader, Institute of Technology in Ireland)

• Most leaders were not the same people they once were before joining SI. (SI Lead-er, University in Scotland)

• When I started job applications and interviews, being an SI Leader made me stand out from the crowd! (Maths SI Leader, University in Northern England)

• The SI scheme in Mathematics has been beneficial for all involved: academics, first-year students, and SI leaders. Students are free to explore Mathematics in a more open and non-judgemental environment and to find a sense of community with their peers and peer leaders. Peer leaders develop communication and lead-ership skills and get a sense of accomplishment and of ‘giving back’. As an aca-demic, having peer debriefs with my leaders gave me an insight into student issues that I might not discover through traditional lectures or tutorials. (Lecturer in Mathematics at University in Southern England).

Finally, there were a few survey responses illustrating quantitative differences that SI can make. Here are some examples:

• In 2016/17, 91% of SI leaders believed that SI has improved their leadership skills, while 88% believed SI helped them to improve their communication skills. In ad-dition, 92% of SI leaders stated they could apply the skills they learnt from SI to real-world situations. (University in Southern England) 

• In the initial year that SI was introduced as a mechanism of providing additional support to MSc Public Health and MSc Nursing students, the end-of-year module marks for the project module increased by an average of 10% across the cohort.

(University in Northern England)

• Our research on SI in 2017 showed that the students who attended six SI meetings or more got the grades A, B, or C at their exam in Physics. The students who attended five or fewer meetings, or did not attend at all, got the grades between A and F. Half of those who earned an F did not attend any SI meetings. (University in Norway) Results from the first calculus exam for engineering students vs SI attendance are given in Figure 5 (from Lund University, Sweden, after Malm, Bryngfors, & Mörner, 2011). The students had access to seven 2-hour SI meetings before the exam. The data are from approximately 760 students, with attendance relatively evenly spread be-tween the attendance numbers on the horizontal axis.

From the above responses we can thus conclude that many HEIs continuously evaluate the outcomes from their SI programme to some extent. The given examples also illustrate the variety of ways SI can make an impact.

4. Conclusions

Based on the quantitative data presented above, we can make rough estimates of some key numbers for SI in Europe today (based on calculated averages multiplied with number of HEIs with active SI programmes):

• 73 HEIs have active SI programmes;

• ~285 active supervisors lead the programmes;

• 1,480 courses/modules are supported annually with SI;

• 7,000 SI leaders are employed each year;

• 79,000 students participate in SI each year; and

• 784,000 contact hours are held per year for students attending SI.

Thus, it may be concluded that the usage of SI is substantial. What obviously can be improved upon is the geographical distribution of SI programmes within Europe. The goals of SI – to increase student performance and retention, aid transition to HE, and improve student engagement – are of interest to any HEI.

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Appendix

Basic Survey Questions:

• How long have you been running SI-PASS?

• What subjects do you run SI-PASS in?

• How many SI-PASS Leaders do you have (per academic year)?

• How long is the training for SI-PASS leaders?

• How do you support the Leaders?

• Are the Leaders paid?

• Do the Leaders work alone or in pairs?

• How do you monitor the success of the SI-PASS programme?

• Contact details (to get in touch with supervisors in your SI-PASS programme).

Extended survey Questions:

• What is the name of your programme?

• What was the main reason for introducing SI/PASS/PAL at the beginning?

• Could you give a short history of your SI/PASS/PAL programme?

• What goals do your Higher Education Institute have with SI/PASS/PAL today?

• How many courses per year have SI/PASS/PAL?

• How many trained supervisors are there at your HEI?

• Example of the difference the SI/PASS/PAL programme makes?

• Publications about SI/PASS/PAL programme?

Attendance Statistics

• How many students per year have access to SI/PASS/PAL?

• How many students participate at least one time in SI/PASS/PAL per year?

• How many attendees are there on average in your SI/PASS/PAL sessions?

• How many SI/PASS/PAL sessions do a Leader have on average per year?

• How long (in hours) is an average SI/PASS/PAL session?

• How many contact hours do you have in total per year for your students at SI/

PASS/PAL?

Linda Amundstuen (Senior Lecturer)

Faculty of Nursing and Health Sciences, Nord University, Norway.

Lovisa Berg (Senior Lecturer)

School of Humanities and Media Studies, Högskolan Dalarna, Falun, Sweden Leif Bryngfors (Head of the office at Supplemental Instruction)

Lund University, Sweden

William Carey (Internationally accredited facilitation trainer) Cork Institute of Technology, Ireland

Anne Lise Grønnigsæter Loftfjell (Lecturer)

Faculty of Nursing and Health Sciences, Nord University, Norway.

Roger Helde (Senior Lecturer)

Business School, Nord University, Stjørdal campus, Norway Arthur Holmer (Associate Professor)

Lund University, Sweden

Nina Kramer Fromreide (Lecturer)

Business School, Nord University, Bodø campus, Norway Maibritt Lervik (Lecturer)

Faculty of Nursing and Health Sciences, Nord University, Norway.

Joakim Malm (Associate Professor)

Faculty of Engineering, Lund University, Lund, Sweden Terje Andreas Mathisen (Professor)

Business School, Nord University, Bodø campus, Norway Lise-Lotte Mörner (Project Manager)

Lund University, Sweden

Marcia Ody (Teaching and Learning Manager) University of Manchester, England

Thor-Erik Sandberg Hanssen (Associate Professor) Business School, Nord University, Bodø campus, Norway Hege Sletvold (Associate Professor)

Faculty of Nursing and Health Sciences, Nord University, Norway.

Abbas Strømmen-Bakhtiar (Professor)

Business School, Nord University, Bodø campus, Norway Elisabeth Suzen (Associate Professor)

Business School, Nord University, Stjørdal campus, Norway

In document Supplemental Instruction. Volume 3 : Organisation and Leadership (sider 132-138)