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

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

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

Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008

Page 2: 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   

  

Page 3: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

• "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.

Page 4: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

Contents

• The problem and its context

• Dropout rate and causes

• The need for retention

• Unisa Library’s Client Profile Study

• Research findings

Page 5: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

The problem and its context

Section 1

Page 6: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

2008 HE Institutions in South Africa• 23 public universities

• 92 private higher education institutions - 81 fully registered - 11 with provisional status

Example:

Page 7: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

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

Page 8: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

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)

Page 9: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

Previous:Funding linked to the number

of registered first year students

Today:Funding linked to throughput

Page 10: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

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)

Page 11: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

Academic success is closely linked to retention,

persistence and graduation.

Page 12: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

Dropout rate and causes

Section 2

Page 13: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

Higher education institutions specific mandate is to support

education and academic success.

Education Minister Naledi Pandor28 March 2008

Page 14: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

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

Page 15: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

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 studyLindi Nhlumayo, scheme’s spokesperson, 2008

Page 16: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

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.

Page 17: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

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

Page 18: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

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%.

Page 19: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

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

Page 20: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

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

Page 21: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

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

Page 22: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

The need for retention

Section 3

Page 23: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

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?)

Page 24: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

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.

Page 25: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

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

and subsidies.

Page 26: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

“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

Page 27: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

UNISA Library’s Client Profile Study

2007

Section 4

Page 28: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

LibQual+TM, 2007

• Feedback from library clients (valuable service quality information)

• Better understanding of library client expectations

• Benchmarking purposes – excellent

BUT

Page 29: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

It is not an assessment tool to capture the impact of the

academic library on student retention.

Page 30: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

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/

Page 31: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

Surveying the literature on the role of libraries in student

retention reveals that very little research has been done on

this subject.

Page 32: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

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.

Page 33: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

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

Page 34: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

1986 – Pascarella, Smart & Ethington

• “the personal relationships that students develop with faculty and staff are a potentially significant factor in their persistence/withdrawal behaviour”

Page 35: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

Kelly (1995)

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

Page 36: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

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

Page 37: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

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

Page 38: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

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

Page 39: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

University of Fort Hare• The Sakha Ngethemba project forms 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.

Page 40: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

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]

Page 41: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

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

Page 42: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

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

Page 43: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

Some results of the studyPhase 1 and 2

Section 5

Page 44: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

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)

Page 45: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

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

Page 46: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

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%)

Page 47: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

It takes a whole village to educate a child.

African proverb

Page 48: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

It takes a whole university to educate a student.

Page 49: 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   

  

Page 50: The link between an academic library and student retention: a case study Ms Este Retief Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata 2008.

Any questions or comments?

Buhle Mbambo-Thata Este RetiefBuhle Mbambo-Thata Este Retief

Tel: (012) 429-3131 Tel: (012) 429-3083Tel: (012) 429-3131 Tel: (012) 429-3083

[email protected] [email protected]@unisa.ac.za [email protected]