Quantifying the Value of the Academic Library

Abstract

To determine which engagement factors contribute to student success at a large, public, research university in the southeast, the university library—along with representatives from Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, and other academic and support units across campus—have agreed to collaborate on the alignment and analysis of student data and to contribute their data to a repository that will enable longitudinal study. The study indicates that library, co-curricular, and extracurricular activities have a significant and positive impact on student success in terms of GPA and months to graduation. The model developed for this study is one that is easily transferable to other organizations. Introduction Student engagement and success are critical, with more than 40% of individuals seeking a four-year degree dropping out within six years.1 Tinto’s social integration theory posits that students need integration into formal and informal academic and social systems of the university to be successful.2 Engagement strengthens students’ academic intentions, goals, and institutional commitment, thereby increasing the likelihood of graduation. While universities are implementing high impact practices to engage and retain students, myriad other factors may be at play.3 Through the lens of social integration theory, formal integration may also include (1) library engagement, (2) use of student support services, and (3) participation in coand extracurricular activities. To determine which engagement factors contribute to student success at a large, public, research university in the southeast, the university library—along with representatives from Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, and other academic and support units across campus—have agreed to collaborate on the alignment and analysis of student data and to contribute their data to a repository that will enable longitudinal study. The joint project will not only allow the library to quantify its impact on student success, but also help university leaders identify other critical areas of student engagement. As such, the objectives for this study are threefold and align closely with key priority areas identified in the Association of College & Research Libraries’ (ACRL) Academic Library Impact Report, which calls for librarians and information professionals to conduct research that will demonstrate library contributions to student learning and success.4 The first objective of the study, which aligns with ACRL Priority 3, is to include library data in institutional data collection. The second objective, to quantify the library’s impact on student success, aligns with ACRL Priority 4. The third objective, which follows logically from the first two, is to create a transferable model for aligning and assessing university metrics. To meet these objectives, the university library at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte) is leading an initiative to assess student engagement and its impact on student success by forming partnerships with the university's Office of Institutional Research, the Division of Academic Affairs, the Division of Student Affairs, and other university support service units to gather and align student engagement and success data. UNC Charlotte is an urban, research institution with the Carnegie Classification Doctoral Universities: Higher Research Activity. With an enrollment of nearly 30,000 FTE (24,000 undergraduates), UNC Charlotte has the third largest undergraduate enrollment among the 17 institutions of the University of North Carolina System (fall 2018). The university accepts 66% of applicants while incoming classes are 55% new freshmen and 45% transfers. The persistence rate is 80% for the first to the second year. The university emphasizes student participation in research with faculty and in internships in the Charlotte community. Nearly 80% of students participate in internships and other research activities.