The study findings provided the basis for a series of five concrete recommendations for the Carleton community to consider. These recommendations are taken from the Executive Summary.
- Ensure curricular support is perceived as a resource for all students not just those who are struggling.
- Fine-tune support efforts based on support needs of students as they vary across class years, by the locations and times in which students typically work, and in the needs associated with specific courses.
- Recognize, further articulate, and strengthen the multifaceted roles that students, educational associates, staff members, and faculty members play in assisting students as they work with visual materials.
- Coordinate curricular support efforts that span academic departments and support units taking care to design a support model that is efficient and easy to engage. Pay particular attention to the roles students play in providing curricular support and provide fora for focused discussions about the creation of assignments using visual materials.
- Clearly communicate and provide expert reference among support units about curricular support available at the College.
These recommendations are informed by careful considerations of variations in student needs based on class year, the assignment types, and a detailed understanding of the times and locations in which students work on assignments. The educational environment at Carleton will further benefit from ongoing consideration of the role that students themselves play in providing curricular support and the importance of designing workspaces with specific types of assignments in mind. (Executive Summary p. iv)
A full version of the study is freely available online.