Measuring the effectiveness of a maths learning support centre-The Dublin City University experience

The Maths Learning Centre in Dublin City University opened in February 2004. Its aim is to provide additional; assistance to all undergraduate students taking a mathematics course as part of their degree programme.; The Centre has the particular remit of addressing student retention by assisting those first year students; who struggle with their mathematics module. To address the effectiveness of the Centre we studied (i) usage; statistics, (ii) student feedback on the Centre, including interviews and (iii) the pass rates of students who; were judged to be at risk of failing their first-year maths module. Under (iii), this cohort was sub-divided; further into students who attended the Centre and those who did not. By comparing the pass rates of these; two groups, we argue that the Centre has made a positive contribution to student retention. This was among; the points made in an ongoing proposal for the permanent establishment of a Maths Learning Centre.