CAPS SI Leader Wins International Award

UNM student Julio Romero received an international award for his efforts as a Supplemental Instruction (SI) leader at the Center for Academic Program Support (CAPS).

The Award for Outstanding SI leader is awarded annually to at least one student out of hundreds of nominees from Supplemental Instruction programs around the world that has demonstrated extraordinary commitment to the success of her/his program. Romero will accept the award at the May 2008 5th International Conference on SI in Orlando, Florida.

Romero is a senior at UNM, where he majors in History. He has been employed with CAPS for three semesters, during which time he has worked both as a tutor and Supplemental Instruction leader.

Supplemental Instruction is a program which provides additional support for students in key courses at the University. In a series of weekly workshops led by SI leaders such as Romero, students review notes, discuss readings, develop organizational tools, and prepare for exams. The goal of the program is for students to learn how to integrate course content with reasoning and study skills.

SI leaders are assigned to particular sections of courses. Leaders attend and take notes for the course, both modeling good academic behavior and preparing themselves to facilitate collaborative learning among students who attend SI sessions. The program is designed to increase student success for historically difficult courses. Supplemental Instruction is currently offered for courses in a variety of departments at UNM, including Anthropology, Biology, Chemistry, Math, Physics, Economics, Sociology, and English. Romero serves as an SI leader for Chemistry, and this semester is an SI leader for Chemistry 302, with Professor Lorraine Deck.

The award reflects the growth, as well as the increasing recognition, of the SI program at UNM in recent years. Beginning in Fall of 2000 with service for two courses, the program now employs 25 SI leaders providing Supplemental Instruction for 23 courses in 76 sessions each week. Initiators of the UNM SI program plan to continue the trend, increasing the amount of courses, and, ultimately, students, that the program reaches.

Supplemental Instruction is a program that is offered through CAPS, a center dedicated to providing academic support for UNM students. Many UNM students are familiar with CAPS through their tutoring services. The Supplemental Instruction program is also funded through the Title V program, which uses federal funds in order to advocate the use of student programs at Hispanic-serving institutions.