The Evolution of Peer-Assisted Learning: From SI to PLUS (ASEE)

This Complete Evidence-Based Practice Paper investigates the impact of academic support programs such as Supplemental Instruction (SI) and Peer-Led Undergraduate Studying (PLUS) on student retention and end-of-semester course grades in first year and upper division engineering courses in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department at the University of Texas at Austin. In this study we have utilized quantitative data such as students’ SI/PLUS session attendance, students’ pre-semester GPAs, end-of-semester course grades, and the D’s, F’s, W’s and Q drop rates (QDFW rates) for attendees and non-attendees in these programs. Our statistical data analysis shows an improvement in both course GPAs and successful course completion for SI/PLUS attendees vs. non attendees. To account for the voluntary nature of these programs, we compared the performance of students with similar pre-semester GPAs to control for the level of preparation of the students. The difference in performance and successful course completion for the attendees vs. non-attendees in these programs was even more pronounced for students with lower pre-semester GPAs. From these data analyses we have concluded that these programs have a favorable effect on student performance, especially for lower-performing students.