GPS Tutoring Program

The GPS Tutoring Program is designed to connect FTIC students to academic support resources when they show signs of academic distress and will require students to complete a specified number of tutoring hours.  For this program, academic distress is defined as when a student’s overall grade falls below 70% or they make a 69 or below on a major assignment (exam, paper, project, etc.). The specified number of tutoring hours is defined as a minimum of one hour per week. Departments and/or individual instructors can implement a more stringent definition of academic distress and a specified number of tutoring hours.

GPS Minimum Tutoring Guidelines

1. A student enters the GPS Tutoring program at the first sign of academic distress as defined by this policy or the individual department/instructor policy.
2. The instructor discusses the grade or concern with the student, then submits a Gator Pass for the student, selecting “GPS tutoring” as the reason for submission of the Gator Pass.
3. The Academic Success and Early Alert Coordinator (EAC) receives the Gator Pass submitted through the Maxient software platform and contacts the student to connect them to support resources.  The EAC creates a case file in the Maxient platform for the student.  The case file will remain with the student throughout the remainder of the course. The EAC, instructor, and tutor(s) will document all communication and activity with the student in the case file.
4. The student is referred to one or more of the following academic support resources:
   
   
   • OASIS tutoring
   • Instructor tutoring (if subject is specialized)
   • Upswing online tutoring
5. Student attends 1-hour of tutoring per week until:

• • Passing grade (70% or above) on next major assignment (paper, test, project, etc.) OR
  • Overall grade is 70% or above
  • When the overall grade is above 70%, the OASIS tutor or instructor reports back to Academic Success and Early Alert Coodinator that the tutoring need has been met. If the student used Upswing as a tutoring resource, the Upswing report will be processed and filed in the case file.

*This is the minimum tutoring requirement for a course participating in GPS Tutoring. Departments / Instructors are free to expand upon these requirements based upon the needs of the course.

6. If the student does not attend the mandatory tutoring requirement and they remain in academic distress:

• • The consequences for not completing the GPS program once entered are at the discretion of the course instructor.
  • If the level of academic distress is critical, Instructors will recommend the student drop the course; and
  • Will notify the Academic Support and Early Alert Coordinator so the student record can be updated.

     7. At the end of the semester, the Academic Support and Early Alert Coordinator will send a survey to every student who participated in the GPS Tutoring program.

Course Participation

The goal of the GPS program is to increase the success of First-Time-In-College (FTIC) students. To that end, first-year courses (English, Math, History, Science, Computer Science, Art Appreciation, and Education 1300) are the primary courses the QEP team will focus on approaching for participation. However, every instructor has the opportunity to opt into the GPS Tutoring program if they wish to be involved.

In order to participate, the instructor with their Department Chair and/or Program Chair will:

• Adopt at least the minimum GPS Tutoring Guidelines or develop guidelines that define the following for their course/department:
• academic distress
• minimum tutoring requirements
• failure to participate consequences

• Include a syllabus statement in each participating course to notify students that they are taking a GPS Tutoring course and place it in the Grading & Evaluation Method section of the syllabus.
  • The syllabus statement must include:
    • • If the course has adopted the GPS Minimum Guidelines as defined above or indicate the course/department guidelines.
      • Guidelines must include the definition of academic distress, minimum tutoring guidelines, and consequences for failure to participate.

• Notify the QEP Director of their intention to participate. GPS Tutor Course Participation
• During the semester, the instructor will do the following:
  • When students show signs of academic distress, discuss the situation with the student before recommending GPS tutoring and filling out the Gator Pass, so that the student is aware of what will be required of them.
  • Instructor will monitor GPS student's performance and notify the student and the Academic Support and Early Alert Coordinator when they have improved in the course.

Questions

If you have questions or comments about the GPS Tutoring program, please contact the QEP Director, Samantha Smith, at Samantha.Smith@lsco.edu.