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2023/24 Library & Academic Success Centre Annual Report

Integrating and Expanding

Student Learning Supports

The Academic Success Centre

LSSC Student AmbassadorsThe Academic Success Centre (ASC) consists of four academic support services (Langara Student Success Course, Langara Return to Learning course, Peer-Supported Learning and the Writing and Tutoring Centre) under the Library and Academic Success Centre portfolio. With a strong student centered focus and a collaborative approach with campus partners, the ASC is well-positioned to achieve the aims and goals of the Academic Plan and the Student Success Plan.

The ASC, now in its second year, had an engaging 2023/2024 highlighted by strong student participation in our services and a focus on long term planning. Students continued to access the wide range of academic support offered by the ASC, including individual tutoring, group study sessions, and asynchronous academic skills courses. Data on utilization, student satisfaction, and academic outcomes demonstrate the strong value the ASC brings to student success. The ASC developed a strategic plan that will serve as a valuable roadmap in our work with students. Working as a team and with our campus partners, the ASC launched new initiatives that improved student access to academic support and built the foundation for a greater scope of services.

2023/24 Snapshot

  • 1,630 students completed an ASC course
  • 8,912 visits by students to ASC services
  • 187 student positions hired as tutors, ambassadors, facilitators
“Understanding the importance of active learning and the benefits of smart study makes me rethink my study habits. I think that's the best part of this module; it made me realize that simply reading and watching videos are not the most effective method of studying. Although it might be effective in high school, truly understanding concepts and grasping them to reflect on your own needs to be intentional and entails more time and effort." - LSSC Student

 

“The most helpful part of the LRTL course was the reflection assignments, where I had to write my strengths, weaknesses, challenges, and achievements. This helped me gain more self-awareness and confidence in my academic abilities.” - LRTL Student

Photo: LSSC student ambassadors

Research, Writing, and Tutoring Help

The Library is busier than ever. The 2023-24 gate count surpassed surpassed 800,000 for the first time in the Library's history, representing over 400,000 visitors to the Library space. Group Study spaces were booked for a record 21,644 hours this year.

The Library’s online and in-person information literacy instruction program continues to be popular with instructors, with more almost 800 library classes delivered in 2023/24. While in-person instruction remains lower than pre-Covid levels, librarians still delivered over 300 hours of synchronous instruction.

"It's been so great to have you do the workshop for my classes. The students enjoyed it and shared in their course evaluations how useful the resources were for them. Thank you!” - Langara instructor

The Reference (Research Help) and Borrower Services teams both saw increases in the number of questions received this year. The online collaborative service, AskAway, is busier than ever, with Langara librarians and library staff assisting 840 students through the virtual chat platform and 2,259 Langara students receiving assistance from AskAway librarians. 

"I am so very grateful for all of the help you gave our group with our paper." - Langara student

Students at Langara can access writing support in numerous ways. They can connect with a tutor in-person or online at the Writing Centre, or they can submit their papers for review through the collaborative WriteAway service. This year, the Writing Centre assisted over 2,000 students and more than 350 papers were reviewed through the WriteAway service.

Note: Writing support services are provided in collaboration with the Writing Centre, which is coordinated by Langara's English Department.

The Tutoring Centre had its second busiest year in history, assisting more than 5,600 students with coursework in a range of subjects.

“I feel like subject tutoring has helped me to deconstruct otherwise difficult to understand topics into more digestible pieces. In addition, it has greatly helped with my confidence.” - Writing and Tutoring Centre Student

Note: Data includes the Math and Statistics Activity Centre, which is coordinated independently by the Math Department and located in the B building. The ASC provides tutoring platform and webpage support.