The transition of students into the academic system after getting into the college might prove drastic enough to befuddle the most sincere of students. Conventionally, a lot of freshmen face problems while understanding the profusion of topics for many reasons, the major one being their inability to establish a rapport with the professors. Hence, in an effort to connect the students to someone who can help in bridging the communication gap between them and the professors, the Academic Reinforcement Program was revamped and reinstituted in the campus.

How is the Academic Reinforcement Program structured?

ARP consists of two units:

1. Undergraduate Teaching Assistant (UGTA): A cohort of students shall be designated to act as a bridge between the faculty coordinators and the freshmen as Undergraduate Teaching Assistants (UGTAs) for a selected set of courses. It opens the door for the students to get hands-on experience in becoming a faculty’s teaching assistant and a chance to help the freshmen.

2. Open Sessions: It is a comprehensive platform for sharing knowledge, open to all the students in the campus, through which they can come up with presentations, talks or lectures on topics they are skilled at.

How are UGTAs selected?

The Academic Reinforcement Program aims to administer a platform to promulgate knowledge to the entire campus, and to provide chaperones to the freshmen. Therefore, adept seniors are required for the same. A UGTA applicant should have extensive knowledge about the topic he/she has applied for to be able to assist the students in a fine way. He/she should also be proficient at the basic soft skills required to make the students understand concepts comprehensively.

For this session of ARP, an open form was floated, requesting the interested students from second, third, fourth or fifth year to apply for this position. Any student with a grade ‘B’ or above in the subject that he/she applied for, and with no active backlogs in any past subjects was then shortlisted for a further assessment of their soft skills. The faculty member concerned then designated TAs from the students on the basis of their knowledge of that particular subject.

How do the UGTAs benefit?

The program promises a unique learning curve for the students chosen as UGTAs. They would get a hands-on experience in becoming a faculty’s teaching assistant, thereby increasing their interaction with the professors, which in turn would make them more cognizant of the topics they are skilled at. This experience would be invaluable for them if they want to pursue higher studies in that particular subject.

In addition to this, the Dean of Students’ Welfare would also be awarding the UGTAs with a Certificate of Appreciation. Moreover, certain monetary and non-monetary bonuses for all UGTAs shall be rewarded, for fulfilling requisite criterion.

How do the freshmen benefit?

The freshmen seldom interact with the professors, let alone discuss their doubts with them. As the doubts accumulate, the topics being taught become confusing, resulting into scanty performance during the examinations. The Academic Reinforcement Program provides the support the students need in the form of a UGTA. Students can share their doubts and problems of the subject with the respective UGTA, who would be assisting them to the best of their ability.

The UGTAs would be providing targeted support to every student, who, in all probability, would feel more comfortable with their seniors as compared to the professors. Thus, the UGTAs would be able to resolve the doubts of the students, and hence help them obtain a better understanding of the subject they are being taught.

The Academic Reinforcement Program, which is being run under the aegis of the Associate Dean of Students’ Welfare (Students’ Wellness), aims to offer the freshmen a constant underpin to bank on whenever needed for their academic doubts. For further details about the program, please visit here or contact Mr. Aryan Khaitan (+91-8449678393).