Retention, Student Success, and Academic Engagement: A University of Minnesota Case Study

In the Fall 2011, staff at the University of Minnesota Libraries-Twin Cities Libraries began a project to measure how often, and in what ways, students used the Libraries’ services and resources, and to determine what kind of impact that usage had on students’ academic success. Partnering with the University’s Office of Institutional Research, the team investigated ways to match library service usage to individual user accounts while retaining patron privacy to determine who was – and was not – using the library. During the initial phase of the project, the team gathered library usage data for 13 different access points. After analysis of this data, the project team found that the majority of undergraduate and graduate students make use of library resources and services, and that there is a strong association between library usage and higher student grade point averages (GPA) and retention. This chapter/section discusses data gathering techniques, analysis, and impact this project has had at the University of Minnesota Libraries and the University in general.