Building Confidence &

Student Retention Rates

Among Non-Traditional

StudentsJulie Poole, MLIS

Coordinator of Center Library ServicesAssistant ProfessorMercer University

CC Attribution – Non Commercialhttp://creativecommons.org/

“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

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

How to Combat Attrition?

What keeps students enrolled?

Determination

Commitment to chosen profession/major

Formal and informal support

Integration (with the school, their courses, their peer group, etc.)

Students Need Self-Confidence

Self-confidence is the confidence in one’s powers

and abilities

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

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

Students Need Encouragement

“This one professor changed my life.”

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

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)

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

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