STANDARD II.B. STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES
Evidence for Standard II.B.1
Gavilan College supports student learning and achievement with a library and learning centers on the Gilroy campus as well as services at satellite sites in Hollister, Morgan Hill and Coyote Valley. Students, including Distance Education (DE) students, have access to learning resources and assistance both on campus and online through a variety of learning centers and labs.
The Gavilan College Library in Gilroy is open five days per week. Classified professionals provide assistance with printing, basic computing, and wayfinding and provide information about the library and other services available on campus. They also manage the reserve collection of approximately 500 titles. The library has 55 desktop computers and 50 laptops with commonly used software available, including word processing, presentation, spreadsheet, image, sound and video editing software, pdf readers and writers, and scanning software and hardware. A reference librarian is available to provide face-to-face instruction and reference assistance whenever the library is open. The reference librarian also monitors a live chat or text module and answers student questions via telephone and email (II.B-1).
The Morgan Hill and Hollister sites offer computing space and support from site staff five days per week. A librarian is available onsite four hours per week, and the online support available through chat, phone, text and email and is advertised throughout the building. In addition, librarians travel to Hollister and Morgan Hill by appointment to provide orientations and instruction to classes. At Coyote Valley, all library support occurs through the online portal; no staffing has yet been allocated to that site.
As with most California Community College libraries, Gavilan’s staffing of 3.26 FTEF librarians and four FTE classified staff falls below the recommended standards for staffing articulated in theStandards of Practice for CCC Library Faculty and Programs, a position paper published by the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges. Requests for additional library staffing have been a regular part of the library’s annual program plan (II.B-2).
The library provides instruction in the following ways:
● Research courses LIB 3 and LIB 140
● Noncredit courses connected to discipline specific courses, including LIB 740 (connected to Allied 180), LIB 741 (with Allied Health 3) Health LIB 736 (offered in conjunction with Psych 10, most recently in 2016)
● Class orientations and workshops--115 in 2016-2017 serving over 2,400 students, and 92 in Fall 2017 (II.B-3)
● Reference interviews and consultations—over 1,000 annually (II.B-4)
● Online tutorial help through research guides and videos (II.B-5, II.B-6, II.B-7, II.B-8)
● Over 100 custom-built research guides to support both general skill building (II.B-9) and to support specific course assignments (II.B-10). For the full list of research guides see II.B-11
In addition to the orientations and workshops referenced above, library faculty have been integrated into some courses that have a strong research component. This includes English 1A classes that include writing workshop days during which the instructor and librarian separately conference with students about their work.
The library faculty have also been developing online modules in Canvas through which students earn digital “badges” if they complete a short instructional unit. Instructors may assign these units prior to submission of an assignment that requires a specific skill such as website evaluation, basic and advanced searching, forming research questions, using citations, etc. Badge documentation stays in the student’s online profile and can be used for other instructors, assignments, and courses. The first of these, an introduction to library resources, was completed Fall 2018 (II.B-12).
The library provides physical sources in a variety of formats. The print collection includes over 70,000 unique print titles, including nearly 2,500 audio visual items. The library also loans equipment such as calculators, laptops, flash drives, phone chargers, and other accessories students commonly need. The textbook reserve collection includes over 500 titles currently in use to support courses (II.B-13).
The library provides all Gavilan College students and faculty with access to electronic resources twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. These resources include 54 research databases, both general purpose and discipline specific, streaming videos, and over 200,000 eBooks (II.B-14, II.B-15).
The library maintains an active web portal that includes the library catalog, links to databases and information about each, helps for searching and using other library tools, links to research guides, information about current library exhibits, and other information students and other Gavilan library users may need (II.B-16).
The library also provides access to individuals with disabilities. At least 10 percent of the Library’s computer stations are automated and adjustable to accommodate wheelchair access (II.B-17). These computers are also equipped with accessibility software, including screen readers and text-to-speech, along with scanners for print materials (II.B-18). Our audio-visual (AV) collection is searchable through the library catalog. Digital Video Discs (DVDs) are closed captioned and increasingly come with audio descriptions for the visually impaired (II.B-19). The library’s online video database is Films on Demand (FOD). These closed captioned videos are available as whole titles as well as segments (II.B-20).
Other Learning Support Services
Tutoring: Gavilan College provides tutoring as a learning support service in a variety of disciplines, formats, and locations including online tutoring. Tutoring resources are available at learning centers and labs spread across the Gilroy campus as well as limited services at satellite campuses in Hollister and Morgan Hill. Free peer tutoring, whether face-to-face or online, is available to all students, including Coyote Valley and Distance Education students.
Learning Commons: The Learning Commons, located on the Gilroy campus, provides space, technology, and resources to instructors, librarians, peer educators and other learning assistance programs to support students in academic skill development outside of a traditional classroom learning environment (II.B-21). In the Learning Commons, peer educators assist students in using technology, accessing resources, and developing key academic skills and strategies (II.B-22). The Learning Commons offers learning activities and workshops to support Distance Education (DE) students and students across disciplines (II.B-23).
Writing Center: Writing Center peer tutors assist students via drop-in sessions and as Gavilan Reading and Writing Fellows who are assigned to specific classrooms. In addition to their work with students in the classroom, Fellows facilitate out-of-class study groups. Drop-in peer-tutoring is available at the Gilroy campus up to 12 hours per day and on the Hollister campus for four hours per week during the first 15 weeks of each semester (II.B-24). All students, including Distance Education students, can access online assistance from a specially trained Program Specialist who responds to online requests for writing assistance and feedback (II.B-25).
Peer Educators: To support personnel responsible for student learning and support, the Learning Commons and Writing Center provide extensive training and leadership opportunities for peer educators. A great example of this is the Peer Education Leadership—Basic and Advanced Certificates of Proficiency which students working as peer leaders and educators on campus are encouraged to pursue as they work. These certificates prepare students to serve in a variety of on and off campus peer education roles including tutoring, mentoring, supplemental instruction, and community leadership. Students learn a variety of traditional and non-traditional leadership skills and strategies for interacting with individuals and groups of differing opinions, values, cultures, and frames of reference (II.B-26).
Math Lab: The Math Lab provides support at all Gavilan sites, including Coyote Valley, for all students in all levels of math. Students in pre-transfer level math courses complete lab hours to meet course requirements. Math Lab coordinators, peer tutors, and instructors provide assistance for students taking face-to-face and online courses. Drop-in math tutoring on the Gilroy campus takes place six days per week. For drop-in tutoring on other campuses, please refer to the Math Lab website (II.B-27).
STEM Center: The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Center is a space dedicated for science, math, engineering, physics, and computer science students to meet and study. Tutoring from instructors and students in all of the above subjects is provided. Academic Excellence workshops are offered for various STEM classes as well. The STEM Center is open on the Gilroy campus five days per week (II.B-28).
Tutoring Center: The Tutoring Center offers both one-on-one and group tutoring sessions four days per week on the Gilroy campus. Tutoring is offered once per week at the Hollister campus and twice per week in Morgan Hill for limited hours (II.B-29). Online tutoring is offered through NetTutor 24/7 (II.B-30).
ESL Lab: The English as a Second Language (ESL) lab currently employs a substitute instructional program specialist, available 20 hours per week, who provides tutoring services for credit and noncredit ESL students (II.B-31).
Analysis and Evaluation for Standard II.B.1
Library and other learning support services are available to all students. The library supports student learning and achievement by providing a wide range of learning support services of sufficient quantity, currency and depth in both face-to-face and virtual modes of delivery.
Relying on appropriate expertise of faculty, including librarians, and other learning support services professionals, the institution selects and maintains educational equipment and materials to support student learning and enhance the achievement of the mission.
Evidence for Standard II.B.2
Faculty, including librarians, and other learning support services professionals provide expertise in selecting and maintaining educational equipment and materials to support student learning. This includes technology, the permanent book collection, electronic resources, and reference materials.
The library has 55 desktop and 50 laptop computers available for student use. The desktops are upgraded on a regular rotation cycle articulated in the District Technology Plan (II.B-32).
Collection development is based on an ongoing mapping of current curriculum to the library collection. This process tracks new and updated courses and is integrated into the collection development cycle that keeps the collection relevant over time (II.B-33, II.B-34). In addition, faculty input occurs both informally—via email and conversations—and formally through a faculty survey (II.B-35). A new process for deselection was inaugurated in 2017 and allows for resources to be removed as they become outdated or no longer are relevant (II.B-36).
With advisement of librarians and other faculty, the Learning Commons purchased laptops, touch-screen computers, rolling whiteboards, tablets, and a SmartBoard to support use of technology in curriculum and technology literacy. Learning Commons staff and faculty develop workshops and learning activities to support student learning in collaboration with library and discipline-specific faculty (II.B-37, II.B-38).
Writing Center staff and faculty collaborate with library faculty via special training sessions with peer-tutors regarding research technology (II.B-39). The Writing Center has 14 computers available for student use (II.B-40) and promotes the sharing of equipment, such as smart boards (II.B-41), technology-equipped study rooms, and laptops and library-led presentations.
In 2015, new computers were purchased for the English as a Second Language (ESL) computer lab (II.B-42). Two additional computers were purchased for the instructional program specialist, one for the lab and one for tutoring. ESL lab staff coordinated with the Information Technology (IT) department to update existing software to run with the operating system upgrade (to Windows 7). In addition to updates of existing software, new software was purchased to support the lab requirements of ESL courses focused on grammar and writing skills. The ESL lab coordinated with ESL instructors who reviewed current ESL software from a variety of publishers and chose the software that best reinforced their curricula (II.B-43, II.B-44, II.B-45). The ESL lab maintains a small collection of reference materials for ESL students which includes English dictionaries, an English thesaurus, and English/Spanish dictionaries.
Analysis and Evaluation for Standard II.B.2
Equipment that supports learning is updated, maintained, and replaced on a regular schedule with input from appropriate faculty and support staff.
The institution evaluates library and other learning support services to assure their adequacy in meeting identified student needs. Evaluation of these services includes evidence that they contribute to the attainment of student learning outcomes. The institution uses the results of these evaluations as the basis for improvement.
Evidence for Standard II.B.3
The library uses a variety of metrics to demonstrate a contribution to student learning outcomes. Ongoing evaluation of resources and support services help determine areas needing improvement as well as areas that are successful in meeting student needs and contributing to student success. Learning Outcomes are a component of cyclical program review. The Library’s last program review was in 2015-2016 (II.B-46).
An example of using evaluation of learning outcomes to improve services is the LIB 200 pilot course. Much effort went into the development of an information literacy course designed to be taken in conjunction with the course ENG 1A. In the pilot and implementation of LIB 200, Spring 2016 success rates in research-related courses were 9% higher for students who had previously taken LIB 200 (II.B-47). The data suggested that the knowledge gained in the course was transferrable and helped build college-level skills. However, because the initial goal in offering the information literacy course had been to both increase information literacy and increase success rates in ENG 1A, and there was no significant change in those rates over two years, the Curriculum Committee recommended against continuing LIB200 as part of a learning community with ENG 1A, which ended the LIB200 experiment. The English Department decided to revise its curriculum and increase the unit load for ENG 1A from three units to four units instead.
Other metrics relate to the support the library provides in provision of quality resources used to achieve learning outcomes. Circulation of reserve materials has increased in the past two years, and use of e-books and periodicals via database subscriptions has grown steadily since 2013 (II.B-48).
Orientations, workshops, and information literacy-related classroom lessons are geared toward the specific outcomes of individual classes. In 2016-2017, there were 169 such sessions, serving 3380 students. At the reference desk, reference librarians record data about each reference interview. In 2016-2017, 965 questions were answered in support of program learning outcomes related to searching, defining or narrowing a topic, locating books, evaluating sources, or citation (II.B-49). Library faculty and staff provide support in both academic and non-academic ways: in the last year staff answered over 2,500 questions related to way-finding, printing, and basic computer use (II.B-50).
The Library faculty maintains approximately 100 research guides (LibGuides) built in collaboration with content-area instructors in support of specific course assignments. These guides not only provide access to high quality resources; they also offer instruction and “helps,” such as tips for creating annotated bibliographies, elements to consider in evaluating resources, and methods for distinguishing between scholarly journals and popular magazines. In 2016-2017, these guides were accessed over 11,000 times (II.B-50).
The support of Library faculty and staff seem to correlate to student success more generally, too. In a sample of library computer users during 2016, the average GPA of those computer users was a half-point higher than the GPA of the overall student population (computer-users GPA: 2.4, average Gavilan student GPA: 1.9) (II.B-51). Computer use remains robust. In 2016-2017, for example, there were nearly 40,000 logins on library desktop computers (II.B-52).
The Learning Commons evaluates the effectiveness of its learning support services, in part, by collecting usage data for the number of classes served, study room usage, and laptop and equipment checkouts (II.B-21). In June 2017, the Learning Commons completed a Program Self-Study Report for the Instructional Effectiveness Committee (IEC) to assess learning support services and evaluate whether those services adequately meet the needs of students. The study concluded that the Learning Commons is an integrated, collaborative model ready for Guided Pathways (II.B-53). The study also identified areas for improvement and developed goals and objectives aimed at increasing faculty participation, better integrating academic support services, and increasing student and faculty access to and use of this collaborative, technology-rich learning environment (II.B-54).
The Writing Center assesses the effectiveness and impact of the Gavilan Reading and Writing Fellows Program by collecting data from students and peer-tutor facilitators about group study sessions (II.B-55), by working with participating faculty to develop assessment that directly measures the program’s effects on student learning outcomes in the classroom (II.B-56), and by working with the Dean of Research, Planning, and Institutional Effectiveness (RPIE) to measure the impact of the program on student success (II.B-57).
Analysis and Evaluation for Standard II.B.3
Gavilan College meets Standard II.B.3. Learning support services are evaluated regularly as part of a continuous cycle of improvement, through program plans, program review, and other summative assessments.
When the institution relies on or collaborates with other institutions or sources for library and other support services for its instructional programs, it documents that formal agreements exist and that such resources and services are adequate for the institution’s intended purposes, are easily accessible and utilized. The institution takes responsibility for and assures the security, maintenance, and reliability of services provided either directly or through contractual arrangement. The institution regularly evaluates these services to ensure their effectiveness. (ER 17)
Evidence for Standard II.B.4
The library maintains partnerships with a variety of institutions. Its main software, an integrated library system (ILS) is shared with local colleges, Monterey Peninsula College and Hartnell College, under a memorandum of Understanding (MOU), and is hosted by a library vendor, Ex Libris. Gavilan maintains memberships in regional consortia (MOBAC and Pacific Library Partnership), a state consortium for resource purchasing through the Community College League of California, and a state professional organization, the Council of Chief Librarians. In addition, the Gavilan Library maintains a variety of service contracts. Each contract is evaluated annually at the time when fees are due; the criteria vary based on the nature of the partnership or contract. A list of partnerships and service contracts is maintained in a shared folder for library faculty and staff (II.B-58).
The English as a Second Language (ESL) Lab purchases and maintains site licenses with software publishers. Email history and access codes are maintained by the ESL Instructional Program Specialist. Gavilan College’s Information Technology (IT) department provides maintenance for the computers in the lab and replaces parts or equipment as needed.
Analysis and Evaluation for Standard II.B.4
Ongoing contracts with outside providers are maintained and evaluated as part of routine end-of-semester activities.
Gavilan College supports student learning and achievement by providing library and other learning support services in sufficient quantity, currency, depth, and variety to support educational programs, regardless of location or means of delivery, including distance education and the satellite site locations in Morgan Hill and Hollister. Learning support services include, but are not limited to, library collections, tutoring, learning centers, computer laboratories, learning technology, and ongoing instruction for users of library and other learning support services. Faculty, librarians, and learning support services classified professionals are instrumental in selecting and maintaining the equipment and materials to support student learning. The library and other learning support services conduct regular cycles of assessment, review and improvement to ensure they are meeting identified student needs, including the attainment of student learning outcomes. Where Gavilan College collaborates with other institutions or sources for library and other support services, these relationships are documented with formal agreements and regularly evaluated for effectiveness. (ER 17)