UMM receives $200,000 grant to support student success
The University of Maine at Machias has received a $200,000 Davis Educational Foundation grant to improve student retention and academic performance.
The funds will be used to expand the Supplemental Instruction (SI) program, which has been offered at the university in STEM subjects since 2015. The grant will allow the program to include courses in all disciplines, according to a UMM news release.
SI is an academic support model developed in 1973 by the University of Missouri-Kansas City and now used around the world. It features voluntary participation in weekly, peer-facilitated learning sessions targeting difficult courses. Students hired as SI leaders are embedded in courses and lead study groups outside of class after receiving training in facilitation and study skills, the release states.
“On average, students who attend at least six SI sessions in a semester earn anywhere from a half-letter grade to a full-letter grade higher than students who do not,” says William Otto, chair of UMM’s Environmental and Biological Sciences Division. “The program has increased student success rates from 50 percent to 74 percent.”
The full news release is on the UMM website.