1 / 50

The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief

The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008. Bangor University considers removing librarians posted by Blake on Thursday January 27, 2005 @07:30AM -753 hits   .

tanner-humphrey
Download Presentation

The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008

  2. Bangor University considers removing librarians posted by Blake on Thursday January 27, 2005 @07:30AM -753 hits   

  3. "News from the University of Wales Bangor in the UK. senior management no longer feel that subject librarians / academic liaison librarians are needed in the modern academic library. They have made restructuring proposals which include removing all but one of the subject librarians and a tier of the library management, including the Head of Bibliographic Services. The university management thinks that technology has 'deskilled' literature searching. As far as I know, this proposal is unprecedented in the United Kingdom. In essence, there will remain 4 professional librarians serving a 'research-led' university of 8,000 plus FTEs and with 8 library sites. These will be the university librarian, cataloguing librarian, acquisitions librarian and Law librarian.

  4. Contents • The problem and its context • Dropout rate and causes • The need for retention • Unisa Library’s Client Profile Study • Research findings

  5. The problem and its context Section 1

  6. 2008 HE Institutions in South Africa • 23 public universities • 92 private higher education institutions - 81 fully registered - 11 with provisional status Example:

  7. Increasing pressure onHE institutions • Meet social transformation • Meet skills needs of the new South Africa • Improve policies • Increase demographic representation among graduates • Improve academic performance

  8. Increasing pressure onHE institutions • Reduce demographic difference between student intake and graduate throughput • Align demographic composition of tertiary teaching staff with that of tertiary learners • Transparency • Accountability Jaffer, Ng’ambi & Czerniewicz (2007)

  9. Previous:Funding linked to the number of registered first year studentsToday:Funding linked to throughput

  10. Key concepts • Dropout: Refers to a student who drops out (withdraws from eg. University) before graduating – never return to studies • Retention: The number of students who persist in their studies from one year to the next (http://www.usq.au/planstats/Docs/GlossaryTerms.doc)

  11. Academic success is closely linked to retention, persistence and graduation.

  12. Dropout rate and causes Section 2

  13. Higher education institutions specific mandate is to support education and academic success.Education Minister Naledi Pandor28 March 2008

  14. The Student Pathway Study • Responsible: The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) • Sample: 34,000 students at 7 tertiary South African public universities • Conducted in 2006 and 2007 • 20,000 (58,8%) of the students quit their courses • Only 14,000 (41,2%) graduated after 5 years

  15. National Student Financial Aid Scheme • Provided loans to 531,442 students studying at higher education institutions in SA • 178,375 dropped out • 40% in first year • 27% in second year • 33% after third year of study Lindi Nhlumayo, scheme’s spokesperson, 2008

  16. South Africa’s graduation rate of 15% is one of the lowest in the world, according to the National Plan for Higher Education (NPHE) compiled by the Department of Education in 2001.

  17. The key reason for students dropping out of university is due to poor academic performance. This usually occurs within the first year of study, and the dropout rates are similar across all faculties.Prof Yunus Ballim, vice-chancellor of WITS, 2008

  18. A report by the Department of Education found that tuition fees increased by 93% between 2000 and 2004, while over the same period allocations to NSFAS increased by just 48%.

  19. Some reasons for dropout • Lack of finances – come from low-income families: loans and bursaries do not cover the full costs of study • Mostly first generation university students in their families • Domestic problems • Caring for a sick person at home • Pregnancy

  20. Some reasons for dropout • Under-prepared students from resource-poor environments • Battle with the academic load, having had little preparation at school • Poor career choices • Academic staff lack practical skills / strategies in assisting these students

  21. Some reasons for dropout • Lack of research data and tracking system to identify ‘at risk’ students • Insufficient support and counselling services • No comprehensive retention strategy at institutional / faculty / departmental level

  22. The need for retention Section 3

  23. Dropout: everyone loses • Time wasted • Lost potential and productivity • Quality of life & Self-esteem • “College graduates also earn more money over a lifetime, incur fewer health problems, suffer less penal involvement, and live longer than non-college graduates.” (Seidman in Gaither 2005. Minority retention: What works?)

  24. Financial loss for student and his/her family • On average 70% of the families of the drop outs surveyed were extremely poor, with monthly household income of between R400 and R1 600. This rose to 82% for students from the University of Fort Hare.

  25. The dropout rate is costing tax-payers a staggering R4,5 billion in lost grants and subsidies.

  26. “We can no longer afford to lose half our students at university to the drop-out pool and we can no longer afford to look at the number of unemployed graduates without alarm.” Minister Naledi Pandor in a speech to the BMF during October 2006 “The very low throughput rates of our universities are a serious cause of concern, because it appears as if institutions are happy to admit failure, but few devote deliberate attention to supporting and rewarding success.”Education Minister Naledi Pandor 28 March 2008

  27. UNISA Library’s Client Profile Study2007 Section 4

  28. LibQual+TM, 2007 • Feedback from library clients (valuable service quality information) • Better understanding of library client expectations • Benchmarking purposes – excellent BUT

  29. It is not an assessment tool to capture the impact of the academic library on student retention.

  30. StevenB (ACRLOG 2 Oct 2006): We need measures that will allow us to say something along the lines of: The library was responsible for a 10% increase in the number of students who persisted to graduation. http://acrlog.org/2006/10/02/whats-our-contribution -to-retention/

  31. Surveying the literature on the role of libraries in student retention reveals that very little research has been done on this subject.

  32. Kramer and Kramer’s 1968 study • Statistically significant correlation between library use (borrowing of books) and retention among college freshmen at California State Polytechnic College, Pomona • Of the students that used the library, 73.7% returned the next semester, while 57% of those not using the library returned.

  33. Tinto’s (1975) model of student persistence/withdrawal • Largely determined by student integration into the social and academic systems of the institutions • The greater a student’s level of integration into these systems, the greater the commitment to the university and to the goal of graduation

  34. 1986 – Pascarella, Smart & Ethington • “the personal relationships that students develop with faculty and staff are a potentially significant factor in their persistence/withdrawal behaviour”

  35. Kelly (1995) • Librarians act as teachers and counsellors – they are aware of deficiencies in student skills that may be indicative of high-risk students

  36. Smalls (1987) • Library “services can provide a diverse and personalised approach to meeting differences in information-processing capabilities and ability levels of students” • Training programmes for students very important

  37. Wilder (1990) • Library employment as a strong incentive to academic success and student retention • Rushing & Poole’s (2002) research confirmed the relationship between library work-study and retention

  38. Examples: Project Mpumelelo • Addressing students success and retention issues at the University of Johannesburg(2007) • A variety of goals, e.g. initiating and building relationships between academic staff and students

  39. University of Fort Hare • The Sakha Ngethemba projectforms part of the South Africa Norway Tertiary Education Development (SANTED) programme • “It seeks to increase graduation rates through teaching and learning support programmes, tracking and monitoring student performances, and the development and implementation of specific student retention strategies.” • R6m project to improve graduation rates among its students by at least six percent over the next three years.

  40. UNISA Library Client Profile study Phase 1 (completed) • Learn who are the students that use the UNISA Library [library users] (the demographic characteristics) • Compare these students with those not using the UNISA Library [non-library users]

  41. UNISA Library Client Profile Study Phase 2 (completed) • Compare the number of library users cancelling their studies with the non-library users • Compare the course registration pass rate of library users with the non-library users

  42. UNISA Library Client Profile Study Phase 3 (in process) • Postal and electronic survey: Library users vs. non-library users – home situation, computer access, library access and use, information literacy level and library needs

  43. Some results of the studyPhase 1 and 2 Section 5

  44. UNISA Library Client Profile study • 2007 registered UNISA students (formal studies) • Total: 265,768 students • Library clients include also those accessing library services through the web • 27% of all students use the library services (71,383 students)

  45. Keep in mind • First year students (and some 2nd years) do not need to use the library – study package all inclusive (certificate/diploma) • Library use increase at higher levels of study • Non-library users may be library users of other libraries such as public libraries

  46. 2008 Undergraduate Study • Do you think the UNISA Library contribute to your academic success? • 81% said yes • Which 3 services do you consider as the most important: Lending/book requests (100%), study seating (82%), General Info Desk (25%)

  47. It takes a whole village to educate a child. African proverb

  48. It takes a whole university to educate a student.

  49. Bangor University considers removing librarians posted by Blake on Thursday January 27, 2005 @07:30AM-753 hits   

  50. Any questions or comments? Buhle Mbambo-Thata Este Retief Tel: (012) 429-3131 Tel: (012) 429-3083 mbambtb@unisa.ac.za retiee@unisa.ac.za

More Related