Fostering College Fluency: Results from a National Survey of Community College Library and Campus Partners
To better understand the current landscape of college fluency, and the challenges faced by institutions, Ithaka S+R and the Borough of Manhattan Community College, with support from IMLS, fielded a national survey to gather insights from administrators, librarians, and faculty and staff from academic and student affairs departments across community colleges in the US.[2] This survey aimed to explore the perceptions of college fluency, evaluate the effectiveness of existing support and resource referrals, and identify gaps in non-curricular information and resources available to faculty, staff, and students.
Key Insights
- While institutions value traditional indicators of success (e.g., graduation and retention), they often overlook the opportunity to reduce bureaucratic barriers to accessing college services and resources that could enhance students’ ability to navigate college effectively.
- While the majority of respondents feel confident in their own college fluency, respondents consistently rated the college fluency skills of students and peer faculty and staff as only moderately proficient.
- When addressing non-curricular inquiries, departments prioritize providing information on technology needs, fostering a sense of belonging, and supporting mental health over other complex student needs, such as housing or transportation.
- Respondents of color reported greater confidence in providing cultural adjustment and fostering a sense of belonging for diverse student populations compared to their White counterparts. This underscores the need for institutions to hire and support staff of color and to train all staff to better support students from diverse backgrounds.
- Librarians prioritize providing students with access to technology and information, and most respondents, particularly the ones affiliated with academic affairs, view the library as a key resource for directing students to non-curricular inquiries. To maximize their impact, librarians can further embrace their potential role in guiding students to critical information about non-curricular support services.
- The most common challenges to supporting students’ college fluency include insufficient staffing, bureaucratic complexity, and inadequate cross-departmental collaboration.
- Digital platforms like college websites, online portals, and email are the preferred channels to reach students, but their effectiveness depends on how they are integrated into departmental workflows and kept up to date with relevant information.
