Learning Center

Supplemental Instruction (SI)

Supplemental Instruction (SI) encourages you to work with peers from class and your SI Leader to develop successful study strategies, exchange creative ideas, gain a better understanding of the course material, and improve your overall grade. SI has proven to be a high-impact practice with students who attend sessions earning half to a full letter grade higher than those who do not.

SI Information

Supplemental Instruction (SI) is an academic support program that provides students with peer-assisted study sessions and office hours outside of the classroom. SI sessions are inclusive learning spaces where students engage with their peers and SI Leader. Students compare notes, discuss readings, develop retention strategies, and prepare for upcoming exams and quizzes. The sessions are facilitated by “SI leaders”, students who have previously done well in the course and are creating study spaces targeting prominent content from the course to help current students thrive.

There are three ways of knowing if SI is offered in your course:

  • When registering for a course on your student portal, check under "Class Notes” for details on SI.
  • At the beginning of instruction for the semester, SI Leaders will communicate with students via email SI services for the course.
  • Check the SI website for a list of courses and instructors that SI supports for the academic semester. 

Typically, students have a total of four opportunities per week to maximize SI support. Check the SI Schedule for specific times and locations for your courses.

SI services are available to all Fresno State students enrolled in a course directly connected to a specific instructor. Students from all ability levels are encouraged to attend SI.

Attendance is voluntary.  However, students who consistently attend SI sessions tend to earn a higher grade at the end of semester, develop a better understanding of the course material, and acquire valuable study skills that carry over to other subjects.

No. SI is a FREE program accessible to all enrolled students at Fresno State.

The SI Leader is a student who has successfully completed the course and displays abilities to work cohesively with students. Their role during SI sessions is to facilitate activities and discussions surrounding course content and equip students to adopt strategies to elevate their performances in the course. SI Leaders work closely with the instructor to create materials and content essential for students to understand.

  • “SI sessions are very helpful, especially when you don’t understand the subject.”
  • “SI became an opportune time to finish work, begin new material, and network with other students.”
  • “I found it was very helpful.  I attended all of them and feel I would not have passed the class without it.”
  • “I found the extra time spent to be very beneficial to my understanding of the course material.”
  • “SI is another way for me to learn and reinforce the material besides class and studying on my own.”

Follow the steps below to search for all courses paired with SI.

  1. Login into your Fresno State portal
  2. Select Class Search 
  3. Click on the "Additional Search Criteria" feature 
  4. Select Supplemental Instr Sessions for "Course Attribute" 
  5. Select Supplemental Instr Sessions for "Course Attribute Value"
  6. Click on Search 

    Class search for SI

The SI course registration is an innovative way to increase students' access to SI sessions. It provides students with the option of enrolling in an SI session during the time of registration. The SI sections are completely optional. By registering for the section, students can plan ahead and reduce time conflicts with their class schedule and other commitments. For more information, watch this video.
 

When students register for their classes, if an SI section is attached to the course lectures, students will have the option to opt-in or decline SI service. 

registration option

Follow the steps below to enroll in the SI section:

Step 1: Select one of the two SI section options
Registration Option


Step 2: Select "Next" 

Registration 2


Step 3: The green check mark means you have successfully enrolled in the section 

Registation 3

Students have the option to opt-out and decline the SI section. Select the "Decline Supplemental Instruction" when prompted to select the SI section options. 

Decline option

To remove the SI section, students will need to use the "Edit A Class" feature to swap out the section with the "Decline Supplemental Instruction" option. Review step-by-step Guide on how to remove the SI section. 

Yes, you can still attend SI sessions even if you did not register for the SI section. By registering for the SI section, it will help you plan ahead and reduce time conflict with class schedule and other commitments. 

There is no letter grade, no pass/fail, and no unit credits attached to the SI section. 

The Supplemental Instruction (SI) program offers a wide range of benefits to faculty:

  • Improve student interactions in class
  • See more students succeed
  • Improve student understanding of concepts
  • Work with and mentor top Fresno State students

SI Leaders are students who have successfully completed a specific course with a specific professor. SI Leaders serve as peer role models and, therefore, must have solid note taking, communication, and study skills. Their role during SI sessions is to facilitate activities and discussions surrounding course content and equip students to adopt strategies to elevate their performances in the course.

SI Leaders regularly attend course lectures throughout the entire academic semester. In the classroom, they participate as observers; taking notes of essential course content and paying close attention to the engagement of students with the instructor. Outside of the classroom, SI Leaders are facilitators and build engagement with students through multiple activities and modalities.

Initially, we ask for assistance in selecting and approving SI Leaders. The Learning Center will hire, compensate, and train the SI Leader.  Over the course of the semester, faculty are expected to meet weekly with their SI Leader and provide feedback on content related materials. It is highly encouraged that instructors help promote SI attendance and allow the SI leader a few minutes of class time to make announcements. 

No. To honor student confidentiality, the SI program does not disclose student user information. Over the course of the semester, faculty will not be given the names of those students who attended SI sessions. Faculty will receive a Faculty Report Summary at the end of the semester (after grades are posted) of class performance for students who attended SI sessions and students who did not attend SI sessions (average grades, participation rates, etc).

Requests for participating in the Supplemental Instruction Program should be made a semester in advance to allow time for hiring and training the SI Leader.  SI Faculty Interest Form

si