When Jacqueline Garcia Muñoz opened a blank Excel sheet on her first day at Tarrant County College Connect, she wasn’t thinking about national recognition. She was just trying to figure out where to start.
Tasked with building an entirely new Supplemental Instruction (SI) program for online learners, she mapped out three goals in a single spreadsheet: hire, train, implement.
That simple document became the foundation for a digital system now used by TCC SI student leaders as they help other students navigate their coursework.
The International College Learning Center Association presented Garcia Muñoz with its Innovative Use of Technology Award at the group’s annual conference in October. The award recognizes her for developing an interactive first-of-its-kind Excel-based task tracker. The tool helps student SI staff manage complex workloads and build transferable tech skills.
Garcia Muñoz understands the value of SI. It’s personal.
“My first semester at Texas A&M I took logic, got a C on the first test and panicked.” She laughed. “Then I started attending SI sessions — and my grades shot up. I fell in love with the program because it served me as a student.” She soon became an SI leader, then a supervisory assistant.
After graduation, she advised high school students on college access, but the SI model never left her. When TCC Connect posted an SI role in 2022, she applied. TCC Connect offers online and accelerated weekend college classes, along with online support services like academic advising.
“In the interview, they told me, ‘The program doesn’t exist here yet. We’re looking for someone to start it.’ I was thrilled,” she said. She had experience helping A&M move SI online during COVID and knew this perspective would help her build an effective program to assist students.
Day 1 was a blank page. Overwhelmed by where to start, she opened Excel and began a tracker with those three goals: Hire. Train. Implement. Within four months, six SI leaders were in place and embedded in courses. It had been projected to take a year.
As she scaled the program to meet the needs of her SI leaders, Garcia Muñoz noticed that they were juggling school, jobs and family while handling SI documentation and deadlines. “I couldn’t change their circumstances,” she said, “but I could give them a system to help streamline.”
She started by designing Excel trackers that consolidate recurring tasks across a semester, use conditional formatting and checklists, and even include a decision matrix that flags “quick wins” for two-minute tasks. Through her philosophy studies, she knew that structure would help combat decision fatigue.
This blend of organization, skill building and play is at the heart of her receiving the ICLCA award as well as her presentation at the conference. “Virtually Unstoppable: Insights from Launching an Online SI Program” walks through crafting the program, boosting engagement and sustaining quality as policies and work modalities evolve.
Garcia Muñoz isn’t done learning or bringing expertise to TCC students. She earned a master’s degree in human resource development at Clemson University this May with a concentration in organizational development, change and innovation.
“SI changed my life as a student,” she said. “Now I get to pay that forward by helping other students discover that same confidence and success.”