Quick Ideas to Help with Retention Efforts

on Your Campus

Carissa Tomlinson, FYE Librarian and Liaison to Nursinghttp://tinyurl.com/retentionALA2014

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Major Retention Theorists

•Vincent Tinto, Distinguished Professor Emeritus – Syracuse University

• John P. Bean, Professor Emeritus – Indiana University Bloomington

Background(Before College

Factors)

Family supportIncome

Pre-college successHigh school rank

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4233409284/

Bureaucratic Factors(Red tape)

University policies:Ease of registration/

payment Daycare/parking available

Ease of questions answered

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Academic Factors(Grades+)

Academic support servicesAcademic roles models

Grades and GPAFaculty & advising

interactions

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Social Factors(Do they feel like they fit

in?)

Group or community on campusInvolvement on Campus

Close friends, Informal interactions with

faculty and staff

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Environmental Factors(Distractions)

JobsFamily

Significant Others

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Attitude and Intention(Do they think they can do

it and do they want to)?

Self ConfidenceSelf EfficacyDrive and

Determination

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Things to Consider with the Health Professions

Many non-traditional students (age, ESL speakers, ethnicity, first generation)

• Older students may have unique distractions (family, full time job, etc.)• ESL students may have academic and social issues

in terms of both language and cultural differences• First generation and ethnic and racial minority

students can be less likely to see themselves as college students if they are in a school with a white majority

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Things to Consider with the Health Professions

Trained to be practitioners • Students must not only know information, they must

be able to show they can practice what they’ve learned. • Students with cultural and language differences may

have problems meeting the expectations of a practitioner (i.e. strong accents, does not make eye contact, etc)

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Things to Consider with the Health Professions

Rigor of program• Many students are not academically ready

for the rigor of a health professions program. Programs often do not allow for “easy A” classes.

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What can the library do?

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Make friends!

Cross campus partnerships are key to student retention.

Background Factors

Find out who are your biggest “feeder” high schools/ community colleges. • Opportunities for

conversation and collaboration.

Massachusetts Library System sponsored: My College Freshman is Your High School Senior

Website: http://www.masslibsystem.org/blog/2013/03/18/my-college-freshman-is-your-college-senior-may-31-2013/

Background Factors

Invite high school students to your library. • Does your school already

work with high school groups? Such as Upward Bound?• Are there projects that

high school students in the area do that need college library resources/skill?

Website: http://libguides.starkstate.edu/content.php?pid=121044&sid=1041407

Background FactorsFind out if your school has

any special “bridge” programs.• STEM• Health Professions• International• General

TOPS Program at Towson

Offer library services/information

OrientationsMentorship programsWorkshopsWebsite informationAdvisory board

Background Factors

Meet the parents• Get involved with parent

programming before and after students start at your school.• High school visits• Parent drive-ins• Family weekend• Parent organizations

Website: http://www.towson.edu/main/lifetu/events/familyweekend/documents/ParentPride_Fall20132.pdf

Bureaucratic FactorsBe ready and willing to answer

non-research related questions• Librarians should be knowledgeable

Consider serving as an advisor

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Academic Factors

Get involved with any remedial/preparatory or College 101 courses

Need to be integrated in FYE courses/ Freshman seminar courses

In addition to library instruction in courses:• Embed in the course

management system• Make office hours

Website: http://libresources.wichita.edu/embeddedlibrarians

Academic Factors

Offer traditional reference desk help and…

Peer to Peer research assistance• Cook Library A-LIST

• 3 students “rove” the library 15 hours a week helping students with their research questions.

Academic Factors

• Pre-orientations/ Bridge• Cohort groups• Remedial/Prep classes• Residence halls/floors• Student groups • Study lounges

Find out what programs your school has targeting non-traditional/ at risk students especially in the first year:

SAGE Program at Towson

Photo from: http://www.towson.edu/sage/index.asp

Offer library services• Orientation• Workshops• Research Assistance • (librarian or peer)

Service• Mentorship• Facilitate book clubs • Serve on advisory board

Academic Factors

Find out what your health profession departments are doing/wanting to do regarding retention and volunteer to help.• Towson University: IDEA Center: Center

for ESL nursing students to get extra attention with language groups, speech practice, study skills.• Participate in orientation• Offer workshops • Serve on advisory board

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Social Factors

Create social spaces for students especially for those who do not have social spaces on campus (dorms, student lounges, etc). • Group study space• Coffee shop/ eating area• Space for socializing• Formalized space for student

groups• Holding events/ meet-ups for

health professions/non-traditional/ commuter students to meet Photo from:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/uofdenver/3770483632

Environmental Factors

Long hours should including early mornings for commuter students

Make it easy for students to study without distractions• Quiet rooms• Lots of outlets• Movable furniture• Study group incentives

Website: http://library.columbia.edu/services/study-spaces.html

Attitude and IntentionHelp lessen “Library Anxiety”

• Be open, available, and ready to help• Offer help a variety of ways

(peer to peer, reference desk, in the classroom, though student affairs, etc.)

• Work to make the library and it’s services easy to use and the point of need

Support the support organizationsMentoringAdvising

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ReferencesBean, J. P. (2003). College student retention. In J.W. Guthrie (Ed.), Encyclopedia of education (pp. 401-407). New York, NY: Macmillan Reference USA.Bean, J. P. (2005). Nine themes of college student retention. In Alan Seidman (ed.) College student retention. (pp. 215-244). Westport, CT: American Council on Education and Praeger Publishers.Blackburn, H. (2010). Shhh! No Talking about Retention in the Library! Education Libraries, 33(1), 24-30.Grallo, J., Baker, P., & Chalmers, M. M. (2012). How do I get a campus ID? The other role of the academic library in student retention and success. Reference Librarian, 53(2), 182-193. doi:10.1080/02763877.2011.618787Jeffreys, M.R. (2004). Nursing student retention: Understanding the process and making a difference. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company. Love, E. (2009). A simple step: Integrating library reference and instruction into previously established academic programs for minority students. Reference Librarian, 50(1), 4-13. doi:10.1080/02763870802546357Tinto, V. (1993). Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition, 2nd ed. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Some additional reading

Haddow, G., & Joseph, J. (2010). Loans, logins, and lasting the course: Academic library use and student retention. Australian Academic and Research Libraries, 41(4), 233-244.Knapp, J. A., Rowland, N. J., & Charles, E. P. (2014). Retaining students by embedding librarians into undergraduate research experiences. Reference Services Review, 42(1), 129-147. doi:10.1108/RSR- 02-2013-0012Beauvais, A. M., Stewart, J. G., DeNisco, S., & Beauvais, J. E. (2014). Factors related to academic success among nursing students: A descriptive correlational research study. Nurse Education Today, 34(6), 918-923. doi:10.1016/j.nedt.2013.12.005Cameron, J., Roxburgh, M., Taylor, J., & Lauder, W. (2011). An integrative literature review of student retention in programmes of nursing and midwifery education: why do students stay? Journal Of Clinical Nursing, 20(9/10), 1372-1382. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2702.2010.03336.xMckendry, S., Wright, M., & Stevenson, K. (2014). Why here and why stay? Students' voices on the retention strategies of a widening participation university. Nurse Education Today, 34(5), 872-877. doi:10.1016/j.nedt.2013.09.009Shelton, E. N. (2012). A Model of Nursing Student Retention. International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship, 9(1), 1-16. doi:10.1515/1548-923X.2334