Libraries are uniquely poised to cooperate with other student support units to a central support entity to give non-traditional students the assistance they need to stay enrolled and on their way to a timely graduation. Presented at GaCOMO12 by Julie Poole.
2. “It is impossible to overestimate
the fear and lack of self-confidence
of students, especially that of
non-traditional students.”
Sinfield & Burns, 2008, p. 46
3. The Problem: Attrition
Why do students leave?
Academic challenges
Outside demands
Lack of support (from the school but also from family
and friends)
Negative experiences early in their college experience
or in their experience at a particular school
Financial problems
Illness/Injury
5. What keeps students
enrolled?
Determination
Commitment to chosen profession/major
Formal and informal support
Integration (with the school, their courses, their
peer group, etc.)
6.
7. Students Need
Self-Confidence
Self-confidence is the confidence in
one’s powers and abilities
8. How to Foster Self-
Confidence?
As an institution
“HE (higher education) institutions can exacerbate
student lack of self-esteem in the way that they
implicitly view and explicitly treat their students”
(Sinfield & Burns, 2008, p. 47).
Bridging the gap between student and
college/university
9. How to Foster Self-
Confidence (continued)
As Library/Support Services
A welcoming, friendly environment (THE IMPACT OF A
SMILE AND FRIENDLY FACE IS HUGE)
Build students up
Teach self-efficacy and self-reliance
Partner with other academic and support units
Performance improvement bolsters self-confidence
10. Students Need
Encouragement
“This one professor changed my
life.”
11. How Do We Encourage?
Every conversation/interaction with a student
Acknowledge fears and frustrations and let students
know that they are learned behaviors that can also
be unlearned
Make the environment safe – mistakes are part of
the learning process
We all make mistakes too – show them, use them in
your teaching
12. Students Need Support
Academic support & personal support
These are not mutually exclusive
Types of support:
Libraries – instruction, reference, atmosphere
Academic tutoring
Career & personal counseling
Academic advising
Support for military personnel/veterans/military families
Financial advise and support
Disability services
Student integration (activities, clubs, peer groups)
13. Students Need Support
and Libraries Can Help
Libraries are uniquely positioned to be leaders in
student support
We have “good” spaces
Sometimes our spaces already include other support
services
Our online spaces are usually fairly robust
We straddle the line between academic and support
unit and can more easily collaborate with faculty and
support staff
14. Conclusion
Student retention and success is our problem – we
need to own it
We can be student allies
We can be support service partners
We can also partner with teaching faculty
We can work to change our institutions into
welcoming, friendly places
We can show research that proves what works and
what does not
Notas do Editor
What are the things we can control?
What factors can be controlled? These are the things we can help change
Confidence in one’s powers and abilities
Students wants to do things on their own – they don’t want to ask for help
S/he saw something in me that I didn’t see. Every conversation you have with every student might be that conversation. It doesn’t matter that we don’t necessarily teach “for credit” courses, etc.To encourage means to give hope or promiseGet to know other support units, get to know what they are doing and where there are gaps
Central support entityUniquely posed between academic unit and support services unit