Methods to Determine the Impact of SI Programs on Colleges and Universities

Abstract

Many institutions with Supplemental Instruction (SI) programs require that SI measure its various impacts and outcomes. Staffing and budget decisions are frequently made based on this information. For efficiency in general, the impact and outcome of every college and university department, program, and service should provide this kind of information. In reality, only a few departments, programs, and services in higher education are actually required to measure their impact. SI is one program where this expectation is high. Therefore, it is useful for SI Supervisors to understand a variety of methods which may be employed to assess the impacts of SI. Some of the ways to measure SI's impact are quantifiable while others are determined through anecdotal and descriptive means. This article presents three categories of approaches to assess the impact of SI on an institution: anecdotal information, descriptive statistics, and inferential statistics. For SI programs required to justify existence, the methods in this article will make that job easier as it presents a range of assessment devices from simple testimony to rigorous inferential statistical data.