Program Certification & Professional Development

College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA) Information

Peer Connections’ programs are certified through the College Reading & Learning Association. Our tutoring program first earned Levels 1 and 2 International Tutor Training Program Certification (ITTPC) in 2013 and is one of more than 1,100 ITTPC certified college tutoring programs worldwide (CRLA, 2018b). In 2015, the mentor program was first certified for Levels 1 and 2. In 2023, our tutoring program received Level 3 certification. CRLA changed their language and certification process to be more inclusive of other peer educators and in June 2024, our peer education training received up to Level 3 certification for the International Peer Educator Training Program (IPTPC). Certification involves a rigorous program review process and approval from a group of peer reviewers led by CRLA’s Certifications Director. Our Tutor Training certification is valid until 2029, and our IPTPC certification is valid until 2030. 

About CRLA

“CRLA  is a group of student-oriented professionals active in the fields of reading, learning assistance, developmental education, tutoring, and mentoring at the college/adult level. CRLA’s most vital function and overall purpose is to provide a forum for the interchange of ideas, methods, and information to improve student learning and to facilitate the professional growth of its members.  In a spirit of community, members share their own successful experiences with others so that all may benefit” (CRLA, 2018c).

About IPTPC

“After CRLA began certifying postsecondary tutor training programs in 1989, there was great interest in providing similar standards for training students to provide services perhaps more holistic than academic tutoring. Peer mentors are often integral to the success of federally funded TRiO programs (such as Student Support Services) and of orientation and support programs for first-year students and students in transition. The range of services provided by peer mentors on college campuses is broad, and CRLA members and leaders sought to establish criteria for excellence in mentor training of many kinds. In 1998 the CRLA Board endorsed new standards and guidelines for mentor training programs, creating what is now referred to as "International Mentor Training Program Certification” (CRLA, 2018a).  IMTPC changed names in 2019 to International Peer Educator Training Program Certification (IPTPC) to include other peer educators such as Supplemental Instruction Leaders, Learning Assistants, Peer Coaches and other classroom leaders. 

The purpose of the ITTPC program is twofold. First, it provides recognition and positive reinforcement for tutors' successful work from an international organization, CRLA. Second, CRLA's tutor training program certification process sets an internationally accepted standard of skills and training for tutors. ITTPC does not certify tutors or tutor trainers, but instead certified tutor training programs which can, in turn, recognize their tutors who have met all of the requirements of their tutor training program.

Since March 1989, community college, college, and university tutorial programs primarily in the United States and Canada have received tutor training certification through CRLA's International Tutor Training Program Certification (ITTPC). Other countries that have recently had ITTPC programs include Australia, Greece, Japan, Morocco, and the Republic of Korea” (CRLA, 2018b).

References

College Reading & Learning Association. (2018a). About IMTPC. Retrieved from http://crla.net/index.php/certifications/imtpc-international-mentor-training-program

College Reading & Learning Association. (2018b). About ITTPC. Retrieved from https://www.crla.net/ index.php/certifications/ittpc-international-tutor-training-program

College Reading & Learning Association. (2018c). About us. Retrieved from https://www.crla.net/index.php/ membership/about-us

The International Center for Supplemental Instruction Information

Peer Connections first received accreditation from the International Center for Supplemental Instruction in Spring 2021.  The Peer Connections SI program officially began in 2016 with 3 SI Leaders and has grown to become another full program to offer students and faculty a different type of academic support. The Peer Connections SI Program is accredited through July 2027.

About SI

Developed by Dr. Deanna Martin in 1973 at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Supplemental Instruction (SI) is a peer-facilitated academic support program that increases student performance and retention. Ten years prior to the development of SI (1963), The University of Kansas City, a private institution, had joined the public University of Missouri System. In the years that followed, UMKC’s enrollment grew, and the new, larger population of UMKC students demonstrated a greater degree of variance in academic preparedness. Retention rates fell, and Dr. Martin, then a graduate student in the UMKC School of Education, was tasked with developing a model of student support that would improve retention rates and academic preparedness of students moving into the workforce and on to postgraduate study.

SI was recognized in 1983 by the U.S. Department of Education’s Joint Dissemination Review Panel National Diffusion Network as an “Exemplary Program” and was awarded funding to begin the process of disseminating SI to other higher education institutions around the United States. Funding and status was validated and renewed in 1992 by the same body.

Dissemination of the SI model throughout the United States by Certified SI Trainers continued in the 1990s, and Dr. Martin and her team at the Center for Academic Development at UMKC began disseminating the SI model outside the U.S. SI became known as PASS (Peer Assisted Study Sessions) and PAL (Peer Assisted Learning) as it spread around the world.

In 1999, the International Center for Supplemental Instruction was established at UMKC and the first conference on Supplemental Instruction was held in Kansas City, Missouri. The International Center for Supplemental Instruction, along with National Centers in Sweden, South Africa, Australia, and Canada, serve as hubs for SI training, best practices, and innovation.

The Learning Assistant Model

The Learning Assistant model was first developed at CU Boulder in 2001 and has since been adopted at more than 80 institutions around the world. There are four major goals for every LA program: curriculum and course transformation, discipline-based educational research, institutional change, and K-12 teacher recruitment. The LA model supports the transformation of courses to align with research-based instructional strategies through the training and use of Learning Assistants to facilitate evidence-based, small group learning activities. 

Learning Assistants are students who, through the use of weekly course preparation meetings with an instructor and participation in a pedagogy course, facilitate discussions among groups of students in a variety of classroom settings that encourage student engagement and responsibility for learning. The pedagogy training and weekly content preparation meetings with a faculty member distinguish LAs from other similar peer educator roles. 

The Learning Assistant Alliance (LAA)

The Learning Assistant Alliance is an international collection of people who share resources, information and experiences to further support the implementation, assessment and objectives of the LA model. The Learning Assistance Alliance houses resources related to initiating and running an LA program, best practices, as well as a suite of tools for managing and assessing outcomes of the LA model. The Learning Assistant Alliance, in collaboration with the University of Colorado Boulder hosts an annual conference for LA program professionals to share their ideas, experiences and resources. 

While there is currently no recognized accreditation or certification for Learning Assistant programs, the LA model is growing rapidly around the world. Further, a growing body of research has documented the effectiveness of the LA model on a variety of student outcomes. 

Peer Educator Professional Development

Earning CRLA certification is consistent with SJSU’s mission statement. Peer Connections’ professional development supports tutors, mentors, supplemental instruction leaders, and learning assistants to facilitate groups, communicate more effectively, solve problems innovatively, assist students in developing effective academic skills and strategies, guide and refer students to seek campus resources, and cultivate their own integrity and personal sense of responsibility. Students who seek academic support, as well as faculty who make referrals, can feel confident that well-trained and effective paraprofessional students work in Peer Connections.

All new Peer Educators spend one week before the start of the semester in intensive training, where tutoring/mentoring/supplemental instruction strategies and skills are learned and practiced. After this initial onboarding period, all new tutors, mentors, learning assistants, and supplemental instruction leaders receive continued professional development and supervision as they begin to meet with their students. After one semester of professional development, the required 25 hours of direct student support, and proven peer educator abilities/performance, peer educators  will receive their Level I Tutor or Level I Peer Educator Certification. Level II Certification is offered after an additional 10 hours  of professional development in addition to 25 more direct service hours and if their supervisor has deemed sufficient skills have been acquired.  Level III Certification is received after an additional  10 hours of professional development, and another 25 hours of direct service, and completion of a culminating project.  Revisions to this professional development may occur in response to campus or programmatic needs.  Participation in Level II and III training is encouraged and satisfactory completion of this professional development will result in increased salary rates.