Rollins College: Project Description

(No) Student Learning: Assignment

(No) Student Learning: Course

(No) Student Learning: Major

(No) Student Learning: Degree

(No) Student Engagement

✓ Student Success

(No) Academic Intimacy/Rapport

(No) Enrollment

(No) Retention

(No) Completion

(No) Graduation

(No) Articulation

(No) Graduates' Career Success

(No) Testing (e.g., GRE, MCAT, LSAT, CAAP, CLA, MAPP)

(No) Other (please describe)

✓ Instruction

(No) Instruction: Games

(No) Instruction: One Shot

(No) Instruction: Course Embedded

(No) Instruction: Self-Paced Tutorials

✓ Reference

(No) Educational Role (other than reference or instruction)

(No) Space, Physical

(No) Discovery (library resources integrated in institutional web and other information portals)

(No) Discovery (library resource guides)

(No) Discovery (from preferred user starting points)

(No) Collections (quality, depth, diversity, format or currency)

(No) Personnel (number and quality)

(No) Other (please describe)

✓ Undergraduate

(No) Graduate

(No) Incoming

(No) Graduating

(No) Pre-College/Developmental/Basic Skills

(No) Other (please describe)

specifically 2nd year students

(No) Arts

(No) Humanities

(No) Social Sciences

(No) Natural Sciences (i.e., space, earth, life, chemistry or physics)

(No) Formal Sciences (i.e., computer science, logic, mathematics, statistics or systems science)

(No) Professions/Applied Sciences

(No) English Composition

✓ General Education

(No) Information Literacy Credit Course

(No) Other (please describe)

(No) Assessment Office

(No) Institutional Research

(No) Teaching Faculty

✓ Writing Center

✓ Information/Academic Technology

(No) Student Affairs

(No) Campus Administrator

(No) Library Administrator

(No) Other Librarian

(No) Other (please describe)

✓ Survey

✓ Interviews

(No) Focus Group(s)

(No) Observation

(No) Pre/Post Test

(No) Rubric

✓ Other (please describe)

research demonstration

(No) Student Portfolio

(No) Research Paper/Project

(No) Class Assignment (other than research paper/project)

✓ Other (please describe)

Student check outs, instruction sessions taught

(No) Test Scores

(No) GPA

(No) Degree Completion Rate

✓ Retention Rate

(No) Other (please describe)

• How does the project align with your institution’s priorities and needs?
• Why did you choose the outcome and library factor as areas to examine?
• Why was the team composition appropriate?

1. The 2nd year student population is a campus concern due to the high attrition rate of these students. We have a successful first year program and would like to create a similar program for 2nd year students. The library wants to play a role in that program but we needed to first learn how these students currently use the library and the role the library plays in their lives. Our team included representation from the Tutoring and Writing Center and Information Technology, two departments that also reside in the library building. Our research question was: How can the Olin Library play a formidable role in a Second year student program?

• What are the significant contributions of your project?
• What was learned about assessing the library’s impact on student learning and success?
• What was learned about creating or contributing to a culture of assessment on campus?
• What, if any, are the significant findings of your project?

1. We learned that 2nd year students think of the library as a place first and foremost. They have been exposed to the library's resources for the most part and are willing to ask for help. Many times it is their professor but for some they see librarians as an ally. We learned that many 2nd year students take 300 level courses but are not well-versed in conducting higher level research. There is an assumption that many professors of 300 level courses do assume that students know how to do advanced research or know where to go to get help. Many professors often require students to use the tutoring and writing center as part of the grade for their paper, but do not require they meet with a librarian for their research. We further investigation of our data will help inform the revised general education program which will begin in spring 2015.

• What will you change as a result of what you learned (– e.g., institutional activities, library functions or practices, personal/professional practice, other)?
• How does this project contribute to current, past, or future assessment activities on your campus?

1. Librarians now can inform professors who teach higher level courses not to assume that students know how to conduct academic research. We can reach out to these professors and encourage them to have their students meet with a librarian individually as part of their research process or encourage them to schedule an instruction session with a librarian.

Please list any articles published, presentations given, URL of project website, and team leader contact details.

1. Team leader: Susan Montgomery,
   Assistant Professor/Public Services Librarian,
   Rollins College
   1000 Holt Ave
   Winter Park, FL 32789
   smontgomery@rollins.edu
   Libguide: http://libguides.rollins.edu/assessmentinaction

2nd year students, library use and enhancing their academic experience

Our study focused on 2nd year students in order to contribute to Rollins' new impetus in defining and addressing the specific needs of “higher education’s middle children.” We gathered data on how 2nd year students use our services and conducted research interviews with 10 about their library use and the reference librarians' and writing center's roles in their research and writing process. We learned where the gaps are and what our next steps should be.