What's the Difference?

SI is a national program that specifies certain factors: students must have taken the class here, earned an A, attend the class again, and hold 3-4 SI sessions per week as well as attend a weekly training. SI leaders are expected to prepare additional problems, quizzes, etc for their sessions. Many SI leaders also meet regularly with the faculty for the course.  SI is intended to benefit all students and be a proactive method of creating study groups and reviewing and clarifying class material.  SI leaders do not help students with assigned homework.  They may help solve a similar problem but not the assigned problem.

Students do not need to pre-register to attend SI.  The schedule is publicized with emails to the students enrolled in the course and through class announcements.  Assessment data shows that students who attend 5 or more sessions for one class earn half to a full letter grade higher.  For classes offered by engineering, we have also seen an improvement in the rate of students earning a D, F, or W between SI attendees and non-SI students.

Tutoring, on the other hand, is for students who do not understand something and have a specific question.  Tutoring is offered by the math department, the physics department, the University Center for Academic Excellence, and the MAPS Office.  Some tutoring is done on a walk-in basis, while other programs require students to make appointments.