Does Use of SLCC's Student Writing Center Improve Student Performance?
Abstract
The Student Writing Center (SWC) at Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) offers peer and faculty writing tutoring for students at a number of locations: Redwood, Jordan, South City, West Valley, Library Square and the Academic Literacy Center (in TB on Redwood campus). Students using the SWC are seeking consultation on papers they are writing for a variety of courses: English 1010 and English 2010, primarily, but also courses such as, among others, Math 1030, Political Science 1100, History 1700, Communications 1010 and Psychology 1100. A previous study showed a large improvement in grades for students who used the SWC compared to students in the same classes who did not use the SWC. However, that study did not control for self-selection bias. It is possible that improved grade outcomes for students choosing to use the SWC was due to their greater motivation and engagement compared to peers. The present study updates the previous one by controlling, as much as possible, for self-selection bias. Research questions included:- Did students who used the SWC get higher grades in the originating course? (By “originating course” we mean the course for which the students sought SWC tutoring help.)
- Did students who used the SWC have higher rates of retention into the subsequent semester?
After PSM, statistical analysis showed that:
- Students who used the SWC earned higher grades in the originating course compared to those who did not use the SWC. On a 4 point numeric scale, using the SWC was associated with, on average, a 0.27 to 0.39 advantage in grade performance.
- Students who used the SWC had higher average retention rates into the next semester compared to those who did not use the SWC, by a margin of about 1% to 4%.
Average course grades by SWC usage and class (matched data)
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