Linking Library to Student Retention: A Statistical Analysis

Abstract

2015 Eng and Stadler. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative CommonsAttribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike License 4.0 International (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-ncsa/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly attributed, not used for commercial purposes, and, if transformed, the resulting work is redistributed under the same or similar license to this one. AbstractObjective -This study analyses both library expenditure and student retention. It seeks to determine if positive correlations found in a former study endure using more recent data or if alternative interpretations can be made. It includes the associate degree-granting colleges and examines whether library instruction has a greater significance on student retention over expenditure and if library instruction at the two-year college correlates to retention.Methods -The colleges and universities included in the study grant associate, bachelor, masters, and doctoral degrees, based on Carnegie Foundation classification. Data was analysed to determine if a correlation exists between the library and student persistence. Library statistics were drawn from the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Metrics database which provides reports collected from academic institutions. When aggregated, the ACRL report yielded total library expenditures, total salaries of professional staff, the professional staff fullEvidence Based Library and Information Practice 2015, 10.3 51 time equivalent (FTE), fall semester student enrolment and data from a library instruction category of ACRL surveys for associate degree-granting institutions.Results -After replicating the same mathematical approach, the single category that has remained constant for all institutions is professional staff. While the former study's analysis suggested that a relationship between library expenditure and retention existed in every Carnegie category, this study asserts that the same argument cannot be made for master's degreegranting institutions. The findings here indicate that total library and professional salary expenditure had a negative correlation. Also, while an analysis of instruction at the two-year school level cannot make the case that expenditure and staffing significantly influence retention, they can justify that instruction plays a factor in whether a student persists with their education.Conclusion -The current research posits that there is no longer a relationship between library expenditure per se and student retention. Further research is needed to resolve the differences in the results of the study. Since there is a correlation between library instruction and retention at the two-year college, high-impact information literacy activities can form a bond between the student and the institution. Considering the low retention rates at the two-year school, a customised library instruction approach may be a solution to improving retention.

The Value of Academic Libraries: Library Services as a Predictor of Student Retention

“…16 Using the ACRL Metrics database, they retested the correlational relationship between library expenditures and student retention found in a previous study by Mezick.…”

The Changing Nature of Evidence for EBLIP

“…This may be about the "best" type of evidence for a particular question or it may be the "best" type of evidence that can be collected by a particular library at a particular time. For example, EBLIP has published systematic reviews (Koufogiannakis & Weibe, 2006), correlational studies (Eng & Stadler, 2015), quantitative analysis (Newell, 2010), and qualitative studies (Rankin, 2012). Over time as a profession we can look at our evidence base and seek to improve it, but the evidence needs to fit the question and the context and, in the meantime, we need to use the best evidence we can find to help professional decision making.…”

Making sense of librarian-led information literacy instruction

“…Another theme that emerges from the literature is that information literacy has a significant effect on student GPA, persistence, retention, and graduation rates (Eng & Stadler, 2015;Catalano & Phillips, 2016;Cook, 2014;Soria, Fransen, & Nackerud, 2017). Although scholars have a difficult time proving causality, they accept that there is a correlational relationship between library instruction and certain student success measures (Wong & Webb, 2011;Bowles-Terry, 2012;Badke, 2014).…”

“…Scholars have often debated which of these instructional methods is most effective at teaching students information literacy skills (Matthew & Schroeder, 2006;Davis & Smith, 2009;Owusu-Ansah, 2004). Although the argument has not been settled, researchers have reported that information literacy instruction, in general, has a positive impact on student success (Eng & Stadler, 2015;Cook 2014). The research literature also suggests students feel better prepared for college when given library instruction (Dubicki, 2015).…”

“…In addition to having an impact on GPA, the literature also suggests that information literacy instruction has a significant influence on retention, persistence, and graduation rates (Eng & Stadler, 2015;Catalano & Phillips, 2016;Cook, 2014;Soria, Fransen, & Nackerud, 2017;Selegean, Thomas & Richman, 1983). Cook (2014) observed in her study that students who completed library credit-bearing courses graduated at a significantly higher rate than students who did not enroll in these courses.…”