Now more than ever as students bounce back from remote learning, they will need tutoring and mentoring to help get them back up to speed and keep them motivated.
In 2018, Northwest Vista College’s English and INRW team received a $200,000 grant from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to help students take advantage of a supplemental instruction program that included one-on-one tutoring and academic support embedded in co-requisite courses. Unlike traditional supplemental instruction models, the NVC program required supplemental instructors to attend both the developmental and college level class and enabled students to receive just-in-time interventions and tutoring support throughout the course. Three years later, NVC was just awarded a second grant in this same area, but it will prove even more critical to help students navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic. The goals of the 2021 College Readiness and Completion Models Program is to implement, enhance, and scale best practices that impact college readiness and completion.
Caroline Kuyumcuoglu, NVC’s Academic Program Coordinator for English and INRW, said that this new $100,000 grant, will not only continue to provide co-requisite students with supplemental instruction support, but it will also connect students to college resources and equip them with better organizational skills, time management, and academic skills through one-on-one mentoring sessions and weekly group workshops facilitated by an academic peer coach. Tutoring, coaching, and SI sessions will provide wrap-around support services to help students navigate around potential barriers they may face as they transition back to campus or continue taking online/remote courses.
Caroline added this new grant will also enable them to form a developmental education advisory committee comprised of faculty and staff from various areas and departments that will provide feedback for continuous improvement and offer a micro-credentialing faculty development program through the THECB for interested full-time and adjunct co-requisite faculty members.
