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Description:
Anecdotal evidence from CSUSM librarians
indicates that transfer students from local community colleges do
not possess the same level of information competency as native
students. We are using the phrase “information competency” in this
context to describe a person’s ability to successfully find,
evaluate and use information appropriately and ethically. It is
imperative that transfer students from Palomar and MiraCosta
Colleges posses the same foundation of information competency skills
to ensure seamless transfer from the community colleges to CSUSM and
guarantee the academic success of community college transfers.
At CSUSM, 70% of freshman students take
GEL-100: General Education Lifelong Learning during their first
year. A three-week information competency module is embedded in the
course and gives the students a foundation of information competency
skills upon which they build during their college career. Along with
this required course, students also receive information competency
instruction in other lower-division classes such as lower division
writing and oral communication classes, Introduction to Organismal
and Population Biology (Biology 211), General Chemistry (Chemistry
150), and U.S. Government and Politics (Political Science 100), all
of which fulfill a general education requirement. Although community
college transfer students do receive information competency
instruction in lower division communications, composition and
variety of other courses, the instruction is neither consistent nor
systematic.
Should our proposed skills assessment provide
further evidence of this gap in information competency skills, the
grantees will coordinate information competency efforts to
adequately prepare community college students for transfer to CSUSM
and other 4-year colleges.
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Goals:
Objective 1: Review
existing information competency skills and assessments.
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Outcome: upon completion of the review, the grantees
will have a thorough understanding of available information
competency assessment tools.
Objective 2: Adapt an
existing or develop an effective assessment instrument and
methodology.
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Outcome: Grantees will have produced a uniform
information competency assessment tool.
Objective 3: Identify
cohort groups and develop procedures for selecting skills assessment
participants.
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Outcome: A representative pool of transfer and
“native” juniors will have been identified.
Objective 4: Conduct
skills assessment of junior level students
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Outcome: A significant number of participants will
have completed the skills assessment
Objective 5: Compile,
analyze and publish results
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Outcome: Grantees produce a “snapshot” of the
information competency skills of transfer and “native” juniors.
LONG-TERM GOAL (subsequent to grant
completion): Use skills assessment findings to develop a unified
approach among the three institutions for information competency
instruction.
Objective 1: Conduct a review of existing
information competency programs at each participating
institution.
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Outcome: Grantees summarize existing information
competency programs.
Objective 2: Compare
strengths and weaknesses of information competency programs at the
three institutions vis a vie skills assessment results.
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Outcome: Grantees share findings at their individual
institutions.
Objective 3: Develop
a plan to coordinate information competency instruction to insure
the success of junior level transfer students.
§
Outcome: Grantees develop a coordinated approach to
information competency instruction at all participating
institutions.
§
Outcome: Junior level students, both transfer and
native, exhibit a consistent level of information competency.
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If the results of the information competency
skills assessment do in fact point to a gap in information
competency between community college transfer students and “native”
students, then we will work on the development of a unified approach
among the three institutions for information competency instruction.
By coordinating efforts and developing an information competency
plan between the community colleges and CSUSM, we hope to ensure the
retention and academic success of junior level transfer students.
Contact the project
directors:
Allison Carr,
Social Sciences Librarian, CSU San Marcos
Katy Farrell French, Information Competency
Librarian, Palomar Community College
Pamela Perry, Instruction Librarian, MiraCosta
Community College
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