Supplemental Instruction Program

To refer a student to the SIP, click here.

The Department of English and Foreign Languages endeavors to identify and assist students who face challenges in reading and writing. We assist these students through the Supplemental Instruction Program (SIP), a series of topical workshops and tutorials on reading and writing offered each semester.

SIP is primarily directed toward students in ENGL 1101/13 and 1102/14. However, it is open to referrals from courses across the university. Participation in SIP workshops and tutorials is voluntary; faculty or staff who refer students are not obliging them to participate. SIP instructors will coordinate their efforts with the instructor with whom the student is repeating ENGL 1101/13 or 1102/14, or, in the case of referrals from another course, with the instructor of record.

Note: SIP focuses on basic reading and writing skills. Students who need help with writing and revising a specific course paper should be referred to the Writing Center.

SIP workshops

The Supplemental Instruction Program offers group workshops on reading and writing. Some of these workshops are taught solely by an English instructor; others are collaborative projects between SIP instructors and the Writing Center. The workshop topics listed on the referral form address some of the most common academic challenges (and most common factors contributing to course failure) in College Composiiton. Other workshops may be offered if the need arises. Written work generated in these workshops is read by the workshop instructors and used to determine whether a student should receive more assistance in the form of one-on-one SIP tutorials or Writing Center consultations. For more information on SIP workshops, click here.

SIP tutorials

Instructors with special expertise in reading and writing provide one-on-one tutorial sessions for students referred by an instructor or their SIP workshop instructor. Students will work with their SIP tutor on one or more of the topics listed on the form (or others, as the need arises). Tutors and students will arrange mutually agreeable tutorial meeting times. When appropriate, a tutor will pass on information about his/her work with the student to the student's instructor. For more information on SIP tutorials, click here.