UMKC hosts international students

UMKC hosted the first ever Supplemental Instruction (SI) Leader Exchange last week attracting 14 student leaders from six countries around the globe.

The SI program started at UMKC in 1973 and has since disseminated to over 1,500 institutions in 29 countries.

Students visited from Sweden, Australia, Canada, West Indies, South Africa and England.

The Center for Academic Development (CAD) at UMKC is home to the International Center for SI. The program takes a non-remedial approach to learning by offering regularly scheduled, out-of-class review sessions facilitated by students who have successfully completed courses.

The idea is students are best helped by their peers, rather than a professor or faculty member, because they are less intimidated and can relate to one another.

While the visiting students were on campus, they shadowed 10 UMKC SI leaders to gain a better understanding of the program and undergo additional training.

"This is the home of SI and right now our program is still developing," said Phiwe Ndinisa, SI leader at the University of Fort Hare in Alice, South Africa. "I'm here to learn how UMKC runs the program and to learn from everyone participating in the exchange."

Before the program began, the traditional academic support model targeted at-risk students. Instead, SI targets historically difficult courses.

"We take a student who has already done well in the course, then train them in how to facilitate groups with learning strategies, and have them sit through the course again as an SI leader," said Dr. Marion Stone, associate director of CAD.

The activities kicked off Tuesday with a reception for the visiting SI leaders featuring speeches by UMKC administrators and faculty.

Dr. Glen Jacobs, executive director of the SI International Center, welcomed the visiting SI leaders and explained the purpose of their visit.

"This is an opportunity for you to learn from other students throughout the world," Jacobs said. "We hope you will learn a lot about the culture in the U.S., what we do here at UMKC and take these experiences back to your home country."

Other faculty members were on hand to explain the importance of the SI program and the effect it has had on UMKC students.

Dr. Kathleen Kilway, associate professor of Chemistry, said the rate of D and F grades on exams decreases 20 to 30 percent for students who attend SI.

Dr. Tom Sandrezcki, associate dean of Chemistry, explained the importance of SI leaders in his class.

"The SI leader is a huge help," Sandrezcki said. "They ask clarifying questions during the class and look over the exam to let me know if it's fair or not."

The SI program not only benefits faculty and students, but can also be a rewarding experience for the leaders themselves.

In addition to being paid for their services, SI leaders find they gain a better understanding of the subject.

Betty McGrath, SI leader at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada, leads review sessions for climatology and meteorology. As a geography major, McGrath found leading the reviews helped her in future classes of the same subject.

"The biggest benefit, for me, is being able to understand the information better and being able to help people with the course," she said.

At UMKC, the SI program is funded primarily through Student Affairs with contributions from Academic Affairs. On occasion, a department will fund SI directly if they feel it is important to their students' success.

After the welcome reception, the visiting SI students participated in leadership activities, attended SI sessions at UMKC and had the chance to do some sightseeing in Kansas City.

Stone hopes that, through the SI Exchange, the visiting leaders will be able to return to their countries and pass on what they learned to improve their own programs.

Stone reiterated the importance of the program to UMKC and other universities around the world.

"If students are presumably doing better in their classes, they are more likely to stay enrolled at the university and progress toward a degree," Stone said. "UMKC is considered a leader in the field of student retention."

tallen@unews.com