“A faculty cannot by itself accomplish the college’s objectives for students’ intellectual and personal development; it needs the cooperation of others who work with students where students spend the majority of their time.” (Banta et al., 1998)
“A faculty cannot by itself accomplish the college’s objectives for students’ intellectual and personal development; it needs the cooperation of others who work with students where students spend the majority of their time.” (Banta et al., 1998)
All Lethbridge Polytechnic employees are dedicated to promoting teaching excellence and supporting student success. Both instructors and students benefit when staff members with specialized knowledge and skills have a presence in academic courses. We call these integrated student supports.
Integrated student supports are relevant tools, resources, and guidance built into courses to support students throughout their learning journeys. At Lethbridge Polytechnic, these tools and resources are created by integrated support specialists.
Today’s learning environments extend beyond the physical classroom. Integrated student supports help to expand the boundaries of traditional learning environments and delivery formats in academic courses. Integrated student supports also foster confidence and encourage collaboration between instructors, specialists, and students.
Integrated student supports align with TEF through:
Can help students with
Can help students with
Can help students with
Can help students with
Can help instructors with
Can help instructors with
Can help instructors with
Integrated support specialists are passionate about helping students succeed. Specialists equip learners to excel, while also alleviating workflow capacity pressures on instructors.
“The library isn’t a physical space. We’re turning the perception of libraries and librarianship to more of a digital platform, making our help more widely available.”
– Ina Baczuk, Information Services specialist
When deciding whether your course might benefit from integrated student supports, take a moment to consider your students’ needs.
Ask yourself:
Keep in mind that to effectively leverage integrated student supports, it’s essential to implement collaborative strategies between instructors and specialists.
Communication and collaboration between instructors and specialists are essential elements of effective integrated student supports. Here are some suggestions for how you can contribute to a successful and positive partnership.
This framework is not prescriptive. There’s no need to adhere to it as a rigid set of rules or expectations, and you don’t necessarily need multiple specialists integrated into every course you teach.
Ultimately, the choice is yours. It’s up to you to decide what will work best for you as an instructor, for your students’ needs, and for the integrated specialist’s capacity. This means you can customize when and where you’d like to enlist the support of a specialist, if you choose to do so.
Banta, T. W., & Kuh, G. D. (1998). A missing link in assessment: Collaboration between academic and student affairs professionals. Change, 30(2), 40–46. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40165560
Dadgar, M., Venezia, A., Nodine, T., & Bracco, K. R. (2013). Providing structured pathways to guide students toward completion [PDF file]. WestEd. https://www.wested.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/1370980395resource1280-3.pdf
Tinto, V. (1987). Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures for student attrition. University of Chicago Press.
Wolf-Wendel, L. E., & Ruel, M. (1999). Developing the whole student: The collegiate ideal. New Directions for Higher Education, 1999(105), 35-46. https://doi.org/10.1002/he.10503
Located on the traditional lands of the Blackfoot Confederacy, Lethbridge Polytechnic is committed to honouring the land from a place of knowing. We honour the Siksikaitsitapi as both the traditional and current Land Keepers of this area, and we welcome all First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and non-Indigenous peoples who call Blackfoot territory their home.
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