Standard II--Curriculum

Note: In fall 2004 UIUC will implement a new course numbering system, resulting in a renumbering of all GSLIS graduate courses. The revised course numbering will make UIUC practice consistent with that of other UI campuses as well as common practice at other higher education institutions. Courses in which graduate students enroll are now numbered in the 400/500 range, rather than the 300/400 range. Because reviewers of this program presentation will be consulting some materials that use the old course numbers and other materials that use the new course numbers, fall 2004 course numbers will be used in this document, followed by the old numbers in parentheses. Coinciding with this change in course numbering is a change in the designation of credit awarded: ½ unit of credit becomes 2 graduate semester hours; 1 unit of credit becomes 4 graduate semester hours. The credit required to earn the MS becomes 40 graduate semester hours rather than 10 units.

Standard II.1

The MS curriculum reflects a philosophy that “library” and “information science” should be held together, while accommodating students with diverse backgrounds and career objectives.   Therefore there are two courses required of all students (15-20% of the hours needed to earn the degree).  For the remaining 80-85% of credit, students may choose from a wide range of electives, with the option to further individualize their program of study by enrolling in a practicum, independent study, and/or thesis. 

As specified by the standard, the two required courses provide a strong foundation in their treatment “of theory, principles, practice, and values necessary for the provision of service in libraries and information agencies and in other contexts.”   The brief course descriptions provide an indication of the scope of each course:

LIS 501 (380) Information Organization and Access (4 graduate hours)
Emphasizes information organization and access in settings and systems of different kinds. Traces the information transfer process from the generation of knowledge through its storage and use in both print and non-print formats. Consideration will be given to the creation of information systems: the principles and practice of selection and preservation, methods of organizing information for retrieval and display, the operation of organizations that provide information services, and the information service needs of various user communities. Required MS degree core course.

LIS 502 (390) Libraries, Information and Society (2 or 4 graduate hours)
Explores major issues in the library and information science professions as they involve their communities of users and sponsors. Analyzes specific situations that reflect the professional agenda of these fields, including intellectual freedom, community service, professional ethics, social responsibilities, intellectual property, literacy, historical and international models, the socio-cultural role of libraries and information agencies and professionalism in general, focusing in particular on the interrelationships among these issues. Required MS degree core course.

While these two courses have been the required core for several years, they are regularly revised and updated based on student feedback and developments in the knowledge base and practice of the profession and related disciplines. Although these two courses are not strict prerequisites for most other courses, the expectation is that they will be taken early in a student's program of study. They provide a foundation of key concepts and exposure to issues that elective courses can build on. They represent the content that the faculty feel all MS graduates, regardless of career objectives, should master.

For on-campus and Fridays Only students, LIS 501 is offered in the fall and LIS 502 is offered in the spring, with weekly lectures team-taught by full-time faculty (currently Les Gasser and Carole Palmer for LIS 501 and Leigh Estabrook and Dan Schiller for LIS 502). Smaller discussion sections, facilitated by GSLIS doctoral students serving as teaching assistants for the course, also meet weekly. In summer 2003 LIS 502 was changed from 2 semester hours to variable credit (2 or 4 semester hours), giving students the option of investigating some of the topics covered in greater depth. LEEP students enroll in LIS 502 in an intensive on-campus session during the summer in which they begin the program and enroll in LIS 501 as their first online course the following fall. The LEEP sections of LIS 502 have been team-taught for several years by Leigh Estabrook and Maggie Kimmel from the University of Pittsburgh (with Leigh Estabrook the sole instructor in summer 2004, assisted by four teaching assistants). Stephen Downie has been the primary instructor of the LEEP sections of LIS 501 for the past few years.

The Course Information section of the GSLIS web site has a full listing of available courses and course descriptions as well as the schedule of courses being offered in a given semester.  Most faculty for both on-campus and LEEP courses provide full course syllabus information online in the space created for the course on the LEEP server.   The audience for most GSLIS course offerings are students pursuing the MS. Some courses (numbered in the 200’s and 300’s) are exclusively for undergraduates; some courses (numbered in the 400’s) may enroll upper-level undergraduates as well as MS students; and doctoral seminars may be open to MS students with permission of the instructor.   Each semester there are a large number of electives from which students can choose, both regularly numbered courses and sections of LIS 590 Advanced Problems in LIS, the rubric for special topics courses when they are first introduced into the curriculum.   Offerings for fall 2004 are typical:

• 5 undergraduate courses, of which 2 allow enrollment by MS students
• 1 required MS course (with sections for on-campus/Fridays Only students and LEEP students)
• 18 elective on-campus courses, 5 elective Fridays Only courses, and 15 elective LEEP courses [with possibilities for cross-enrollment in Fridays Only and LEEP courses on a space-available basis]
• 5 doctoral courses, of which 3 allow enrollment by MS students with instructor permission

The requirements for the degree specify the allowable credit that can be taken in other departments at UIUC or transferred in from other universities.   At least 28 of the 40 hours required for the degree must be taken in library and information science at the University of Illinois. The remaining 12 hours can be earned as additional University of Illinois graduate-level courses in library and information science; as transferred graduate-level course work in library and information science from an ALA-accredited master’s program (maximum 8 hours); or as completed approved graduate-level course work in a field other than library and information science taken at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (maximum 12 hours), or as a University of Illinois extension course, or from any accredited institution (maximum 4 hours).    The student’s advisor must approve counting courses taken outside GSLIS as credit toward the MS.  Transferring credit from another university requires approval by the Graduate College.

Sources of Evidence:
LIS 501 (380) course syllabus
LIS 502 (390) course syllabus
GSLIS Course Listing
GSLIS Course Catalog
Links to Course Schedules
Links to Course Syllabi

Standard II.2

The faculty has undertaken significant discussion of the curriculum and has shaped it into four areas that reflect the different aspects of library and information science:

• Design and Evaluation of Information Systems and Services
• Information Organization and Analysis
• Management and Consulting for Information Systems and Services
• Access—People and Collections

These areas represent our school's perspective on the different professional roles in LIS. They have been articulated to provide guidance to students with diverse backgrounds and goals who seek to develop a coherent program of study as well as match their talents and interests with the opportunities for work. The LIS student seeking to become a thoughtful generalist with a broad vision of service will choose courses balanced across the range of the four categories. The LIS student desiring to concentrate in a specialized field will want to choose more courses in one or two categories while still sampling each of the other areas.   Clusters of courses associated with each are identified on the School’s web site.

Sources of Evidence:
Curricular Areas of Concentration
Suggested Curricula for Areas of Concentration

Standard II.3

II.3.1

II.3.2

II.3.3

II.3.4

II.3.5

II.3.6

II.3.7

The two core required courses lay the foundation for meeting the above curricular objectives.  Examination of course descriptions and syllabi for the elective courses reveals that these objectives are reinforced throughout GSLIS course offerings.  GSLIS faculty are committed to updating existing courses each time a course is taught and to introducing new dimensions of the field through development of new special topics courses.

With respect to II.3.3 in particular, having our own instructional technology and information technology staff enables GSLIS to emphasize course-integrated technology instruction.   Each course has its own server space where the syllabus is posted and course-specific bulletin boards are set up.  Each student has web space where completed assignments can be posted.  Courses needing more sophisticated hardware and software support have dedicated classroom servers maintained by GSLIS IT staff.

Treatment of the objectives enumerated above can be found in many different courses. Nevertheless, it can be instructive to highlight particular courses that treat some of these objectives in greater depth. The following courses are given as examples, with an indication of the faculty member who currently has primary responsibility for the course.

II.3.1 fosters development of library and information professionals who will assume an assertive role in providing services

LIS 590IC Information Consulting (Fernando Elichirigoity)
This course is designed to provide students with "real world" experience as Information Specialists on cross-functional teams working on actual projects for business and industry clients. In addition to regular class sessions, students are assigned to work with teams of MBA students, providing crucial assistance in accurately defining and satisfying the clients' project information needs. Course Objectives: 1) to become effective and contributing members of cross-functional work teams; 2) to develop an understanding of the people, processes, and resources involved in business and industry information work; and 3) to apply knowledge of information resources and technologies to organizational problem-solving. The 2 hour option will require participation in several of the scheduled class sessions in addition to work on project teams; the 4 hour option requires students to attend all scheduled class sessions in addition to completion of assignments and work on project teams.

II.3.2 emphasizes an evolving body of knowledge that reflects the findings of basic and applied research from relevant fields

LIS 590DM Document Modeling (Allen Renear)
An introduction to information modeling for textual and document-like data, emphasizing fundamental modeling principles and XML-related information processing standards. Specific topics include document analysis, document modeling techniques, markup systems and markup language metagrammars (SGML and XML, including XML Schema), and markup semantics, as well as character encoding (Unicode), and metadata (DC, RDF, TEI headers). Several important markup systems (TEI, ISO 12083, DocBook, XHTML) will be examined in detail. We draw on perspectives from formal language theory, data structures, and formal semantics, and explore the relationships between document modeling and other data modeling disciplines, such as the relational model. Students will undertake a substantial document modeling project.

II.3.3 integrates the theory, application, and use of technology

LIS 590DP Document Processing (David Dubin)
An introduction to computational problems in electronic document handling, and information processing standards employed in electronic publishing. Specific topics include structured markup languages (e.g., SGML and XML applications), linking and pointing mechanisms (Xpath, Xpointer, XLink), styling languages (CSS and XSL-FO), document transformation languages, (DSSSL, XSLT), API models for structured documents (DOM, Sax), character encoding (Unicode/UCS), and page description languages (PostScript/PDF).

II.3.4 responds to the needs of a rapidly changing multicultural, multiethnic, multilingual society including the needs of underserved groups

LIS 590SJ Social Justice in the Information Professions (Ann Bishop)
This course examines how issues of social justice are treated in LIS and related fields. It provides students with the opportunity to revisit the conceptual foundations of LIS and explore current practice related to achieving equitable, democratic, and beneficial information services for all members of society. The course will introduce students to prominent researchers and proponents of underserved groups, such as the poor and minorities. Students will investigate policy and practice related to marginalized society members, analyzing various aspects of information service provision (e.g., reference, cataloging, collection development, access to materials, public access computing, user studies and evaluation).

II.3.5 responds to the needs of a rapidly changing technological and global society

LIS 590IL Global Perspectives in Library and Information Science (Terry Weech)
This course is designed to acquaint students with of the issues in international and comparative librarianship. Examines how concepts such as "one-world" and "free flow of information" are valid in the international information arena; the importance of internationalizing library education; role of international information agencies and the need for information policy making.

II.3.6 provides direction for future development of the field

LIS 590CD2 Current Topics in Collection Development (Carole Palmer)
Explores current topics and problems related to the development and management of library collections. Addresses changes in scholarly communication and the production and distribution of information resources that impact planning and policy for building, budgeting, and providing access to collections. Examines issues related to developing libraries that blend traditional and digital materials, including economic challenges, cooperative strategies, and specific selection and evaluation practices. Provides an overview of current digital library projects and products. Conducted as a seminar, will revolve around discussion of readings and case material collected by students. Class sessions will cover contemporary problems and trends in the field. Students will help guide the direction of the course by selecting themes to be addressed.

II.3.7 promotes commitment to continuous professional growth.

LIS 590II Interfaces to Information Systems (Michael Twidale)
This course will provide an introduction to the following: Issues in Human Computer Interaction; Analysis of interfaces and their use; Synthesis: the design process as an engineering activity; Designing usable interfaces under constraints of resources; The rapid prototyping and evaluation cycle; Metacognition: learning how to learn and to operate in this domain as a reflective, continually improving professional.

Standard II.4

Individualization of programs of study is facilitated by several factors: 85% of the coursework required for the degree is elective; a student may take up to 4 hours of independent study; a student may take a 2 hour practicum to gain field experience in a setting of his/her choice; and a student may complete a master’s thesis for up to 8 hours of credit.  Up to 12 hours of credit may be taken in other departments at UIUC, thus allowing a more interdisciplinary selection of courses.

Each student is assigned an academic advisor from among the full-time faculty, based on shared areas of interest. Students are encouraged to consult with their advisor in making course selections each semester and in planning their overall program of study in relation to their career goals. They are also free to consult with other faculty as needed or to formally change their academic advisor at any time. In addition there is an Academic & Administrative Q&A bulletin board that is continually monitored by administrative staff to give prompt answers to student questions. Given the wide range of elective courses available to MS students, we are working on strengthening advising and course planning guidance for students, by making the structure of the curriculum more visible and improving advising documents. Current tools available on the GSLIS web site include: Advising FAQ, Advising Guide for MS Students, LEEP Advising Guide, and What Courses Do I Take? A Worksheet for Master's Students .

Students in the MS program may undertake original research either as an independent study or as an MS thesis. LIS 592 Independent Study gives the intermediate or advanced student the opportunity to undertake the study of a topic not otherwise offered in the curriculum or to pursue a topic beyond or in greater depth than is possible within the context of a regular course.  The student identifies a faculty member willing to direct the independent study and gets approval of a proposal outlining the scope and purpose, the method to be used, and the form in which the final product will be presented.   An MS student may earn up to 4 hours of independent study credit. 

The MS thesis is a more ambitious undertaking, for up to 8 hours of credit. The student identifies a faculty advisor and prepares a brief proposal prior to registering for LIS 599 Thesis Research. The thesis must conform to the requirements of the Graduate College, as stated in the latest edition of the Handbook for Graduate Students Preparing to Deposit, and be deposited in the Thesis Office before the MS degree will be awarded. Once the thesis is complete, the dean, on recommendation from the faculty advisor, who serves as first reader, appoints a second reader. The first reader (faculty advisor) and second reader will confer and must agree upon the acceptability of the thesis or whether any revisions must be made before final acceptance. Should the two readers be unable to reach agreement about the evaluation of the thesis, a third reader may be appointed. Ordinarily there is no oral defense of the thesis. The final version of the thesis must have a format check done by the GSLIS departmental format checker and receive a format approval form signed by the departmental checker before it can be deposited in the Graduate College . Most students electing to pursue independent research for credit choose to enroll in independent study rather than the MS thesis option.

The tables below show the pattern of enrollment of LEEP, Fridays Only, and on-campus students in independent studies and theses. While numbers vary from term to term, typically 10-14 students enroll in independent studies each semester, with LEEP and on-campus students most likely to choose this as one of their courses toward the degree. The number of MS theses completed in the last four years is somewhat higher for LEEP (7) than on-campus (5), with no Fridays Only students choosing this option.

Enrollment in Independent Study

Term	LEEP	Fridays Only	On-campus	Total
Fall 2000	3	1	7	11
Spring 2001	4	3	7	14
Summer* 2001	2	2	6	10
Fall 2001	6	1	3	10
Spring 2002	8	1	21	30
Summer 2002	6	2	2	10
Fall 2002	6	1	4	11
Spring 2003	7	0	3	10
Summer 2003	6	0	6	12
Fall 2003	9	1	3	13
Spring 2004	2	0	11	13
Summer 2004	2	0	1	3
Total	61	12	74	147

* Summer includes both the 4-week Summer I and 8-week Summer II sessions.

Enrollment in Thesis Research 

Term	LEEP	Fridays Only	On-campus	Total
Fall 2000	1	0	0	1
Spring 2001	0	0	0	0
Summer* 2001	0	0	0	0
Fall 2001	1	0	1	2
Spring 2002	0	0	1	1
Summer 2002	0	0	0	0
Fall 2002	1	0	0	1
Spring 2003	1	0	0	1
Summer 2003	1	0	0	1
Fall 2003	2	0	2	4
Spring 2004	0	0	1	1
Summer 2004	0	0	0	0
Total	7	0	5	12

* Summer includes both the 4-week Summer I and 8-week Summer II sessions.

Experiential opportunities for MS students come in two forms:  service learning and practicum.   Service learning is a part of a number of GSLIS courses:  it may be the focus of a single assignment, as in students doing volunteer reference work for the Internet Public Library in the basic reference course, or it may be an integral part of the overall course design, as in Martin Wolske’s LIS 451 (formerly 315) Introduction to Network Systems, in which teams of students engage in the design, development, and implementation of community technology centers in disadvantaged areas of Illinois, such as East St. Louis.

The service learning activities in LIS 451 grow out of the work of Prairienet, a member- and donation-supported community information network for Champaign-Urbana and the surrounding East-Central Illinois region.  Prairienet was founded by GSLIS faculty members Ann Bishop and Greg Newby and went online in June 1994.  Operated as a public service by GSLIS, Prairienet serves the citizens of Illinois by providing access to electronic information resources and communication technologies.  In addition to Prairienet, GSLIS has several other auxiliary units, including the Center for Children’s Books, the Publications Office, Information Researchers, and the Library Research Center. With the encouragement of former Dean Estabrook and now Dean Unsworth, staff of the auxiliary units have sought to identify ways in which they can become more closely integrated in the life of the school in addition to providing services to a wider constituency.   We anticipate that this initiative will lead to more experiential opportunities for MS students.

LIS 591 (formerly 360) Practicum has been an optional elective for 2 hours of credit for many years.  It involves supervised field experience of professional-level duties in an approved library or information center.  Over the past three years, under the leadership of Assistant Dean Dale Silver as practicum coordinator, a large proportion of students pursuing the MS have enrolled in a practicum.   The practicum web site offers many tools useful to the student planning a practicum: the Practicum Guide, a Practicum FAQ, information for site supervisors, a list of areas of expertise of potential faculty advisors for practicum, and a directory of sites where other GSLIS students have completed a practicum in the past.  Testimonials in the student and supervisor feedback section speak to the value of the experience from both perspectives.  As coordinator, Assistant Dean Silver: 1) responds to questions from students and potential site supervisors who want to know more about setting up a practicum; 2) orients new site supervisors to their responsibilities; 3) coordinates communications with all students enrolled in practicum through orientation sessions (face-to-face and online), a shared course bulletin board, and a final focus discussion session (face-to-face and online) aimed to enhance reflection and sharing of experiences;  and  4) publicizes available practicum and internship opportunities.

The table below shows enrollment in practicum by degree option (on-campus, Fridays Only, LEEP). It is evident from these data that students in all enrollment options are successful in arranging practicums. The directory of practicum sites demonstrates the range of institutions hosting practicums: academic and research libraries, public libraries, school libraries, special libraries, and other types of organizations such as archives, library system headquarters, publishers, and museums. Locations range from Fairbanks , Alaska to Brussels , Belgium .

Number of Students Enrolled in Practicum
Summer 2000 through Summer 2004 

Term	On-Campus	Fridays Only	LEEP	Total
Summer* 2000	9	4	16	29
Fall 2000	8	4	5	17
Spring 2001	12	2	3	17
Summer 2001	17	2	10	29
Fall 2001	10	2	5	17
Spring 2002	18	1	7	26
Summer 2002	18	3	12	33
Fall 2002	13	1	5	19
Spring 2003	21	1	5	27
Summer 2003	32	1	12	45
Fall 2003	13	5	7	25
Spring 2004	19	2	8	29
Summer 2004	18	5	8	31
Total	208	33	103	344

* Summer includes both the 4-week Summer I and 8-week Summer II sessions.

Sources of Evidence:
Advising FAQ
Advising Guide for MS Students
What Courses Do I Take? A Worksheet for Master’s Students
Handbook for Graduate Students Preparing to Deposit
Independent Study
LIS 451(315) syllabus
LIS 591(360) Practicum Web site
Practicum Sites
Center for Children’s Books web site
Information Researchers web site
Library Research Center
Prairienet web site

Standard II.5

At present the only formally defined area of specialization in the M.S. curriculum is the K-12 media program.  In spring 2001 the Illinois State Board of Education approved a combined MS in LIS/K-12 Library Information Specialist Certification Program that requires 14.5 units (58 semester hours) of coursework.  Graduates are qualified to receive an Illinois K-12 Library Information Specialist certificate for library work in a school environment.  The program was developed under the direction of GSLIS faculty member Christine Jenkins and meets an area of critical need in the state of Illinois.  Implementation of this program has proceeded over the past three years and enrollment is growing.  One student completed all requirements in 2001-02, followed by 4 in 2002-03, and 6 in 2003-04. More than 20 are currently enrolled, including students in both the LEEP and on-campus enrollment options. In addition to courses focused on youth services, the curriculum includes basic courses in reference, cataloging, and administration as well as the core courses required of all MS students.

We are also experiencing high demand from students interested in pursuing positions in youth services in public libraries.  The core courses specific to the youth services curriculum (LIS 403 (formerly 303) Literature and Resources for Children; LIS 404 (formerly 304) Literature and Resources for Young Adults; LIS 409 (formerly 309) Storytelling; and LIS 506 (formerly 406) Youth Services Librarianship) are offered to capacity enrollments on-campus and in LEEP.   The Center for Children’s Books (CCB) and the offices of the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (BCCB) have been housed in the LIS Building since summer 2001.  This has resulted in heavy use of the CCB collection by students in youth services courses and enrichment of the youth services curriculum through programs sponsored by staff of CCB and BCCB.   Electronic bulletin boards are used to good effect to build community and answer questions among students in the K-12 Program and Youth Services more generally.  This year’s GSLIS-sponsored spring Storytelling Concert featured students from the spring storytelling course taught by Betsy Hearne.  MS students in youth services also benefit from interactions with the strong cohort of PhD students with that specialization.  The two faculty members coordinating the youth services specialization, Betsy Hearne and Christine Jenkins, have been informed by the competency statements developed by AASL, ALSC, and YALSA. 

Other areas of specialization are currently represented by particular courses in the curriculum.  For example, the course LIS 590SL (formerly 450SL) Special Library Administration reflects the Special Libraries Association statement of Competencies for Information Professionals. 

Sources of evidence:
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books web site
Center for Children’s Books web site
School Library Information Specialist Certification Program

Standard II.6

All MS students, regardless of enrollment option, complete the two required core courses, have the choice of a wide range of electives, and may choose to enroll in practicum, independent study, and/or thesis.   Fridays Only sections of courses are identical in content and mode of delivery to other sections of courses taught on campus.  Instructors may adapt assignments somewhat to allow students to use library resources in other locations and to complete computer-related exercises from home instead of in the School’s computer laboratory.  Commuting students are expected to meet the same standards as on-campus students.  Although the scheduling and mode of delivery of LEEP sections is different, we are committed to making them comparable in scope, quality, and requirements to on-campus offerings.  More details regarding LEEP courses are included in the Special Area of Emphasis section of this program presentation.

Scheduling for Fridays Only guarantees that over the course of 2 ½ years, students will have the opportunity to take certain courses on Fridays: LIS 501 (380) Information Organization and Access; LIS 502 (390) Libraries, Information and Society; LIS 453 (370) Systems Analysis and Management; LIS 451 (315) Introduction to Network Systems; LIS 504 (404) Reference and Information Services; LIS 507 (407) Cataloging and Classification I; LIS 505 (405) Library Administration; and LIS 526 (431) Searching Online Information Systems.  Some additional specialized courses are scheduled on Fridays that the students may take as electives.  In the past few years these have included: 404 (304) Literature and Resources for Young Adults; LIS 409 (309) Storytelling; LIS 452 (317) Foundations of Information Processing in LIS; LIS 503 (436) Use and Users of Information; LIS 525 (424) Government Information; LIS 544 (434) Library Cooperation and Networks; LIS 548 (428) Library Buildings; LIS 577 (408) Cataloging and Classification II; and sections of 590 (450) on Collection Development, Adult Popular Literature, Electronic Publishing, and Evaluating Programs and Services. In addition students may choose to commute on a different day in a given semester if they wish to include a particular course that is not offered on Fridays in their program of study. In scheduling an effort is made to group related courses, such as those in the area of children's services, on the same day to allow Fridays Only students to take two related courses when they do commute on a different day. Increasingly Fridays Only students are enrolling in LEEP courses on a space-available basis to get access to courses not available on Fridays and to reduce the amount of time spent commuting to campus.

Scheduling courses for LEEP depends on the possibility of successfully adapting them for delivery in a site-independent mode.  In the first 8 years of LEEP, 48 different courses have been offered at least once, providing a rich range of courses suitable for students with a variety of career goals.   LIS 502 is offered in a 10-day on-campus format and the remaining courses combine weekly synchronous online sessions, asynchronous communication, and a 1-2 day face-to-face session during the semester.   Implementation of first Fridays Only and more recently LEEP has been accompanied by ongoing evaluation to ensure that these offerings meet the standards of the on-campus program as well as the needs of the participants in these enrollment options.

The table below shows the number of courses by enrollment option (on-campus, Fridays Only, LEEP), as well as undergraduate and doctoral courses, over the past 10 terms (with summer I and summer II combined to give a total for summer). The number of on-campus courses includes the required course in fall and spring in which Fridays Only students also enroll. The number of LEEP offerings is now 3 to 4 times the number of Fridays Only offerings, but still somewhat below the number of courses available to on-campus students.

Number of Course Offerings by Degree Program
And Enrollment Option 

Term	On-Campus (Masters)	Fridays Only (Masters)	LEEP (Masters)	Subtotal (Masters)	Under-graduate	PhD	Grand Total
Fall 2001	24	4	17	45	5	4	54
Spring 2002	23	5	14	42	9	3	54
Summer* 2002	12	3	8	23	1	0	24
Fall 2002	25	5	16	46	6	5	57
Spring 2003	26	5	18	49	7	4	60
Summer 2003	11	2	10	23	0	0	23
Fall 2003	25	5	17	47	5	3	55
Spring 2004	21	5	22	48	8	5	61
Summer 2004	9	2	10	21	0	0	21
Fall 2004	19	5	18	42	5	5	52
Total	195	41	150	386	46	29	461

* Summer includes both the 4-week Summer I and 8-week Summer II sessions.

Source of Evidence:
Course schedules [The Week-at-a-Glance displays courses offered on Fridays; LEEP course sections end in “L”, “LE”, “LEA”, “LEB”, or “LEC”.  LEEP courses are scheduled Monday-Thursday, mostly in the late afternoon or evening central time.]

Standard II.7

According to the GSLIS Bylaws, “the Curriculum Committee shall be responsible for all aspects of the curriculum, subject to the approval of the full Faculty on substantive issues, including but not limited to: establishing degree requirements for the undergraduate minor, the MS, and the CAS degrees; working with Faculty in the development of new courses; and monitoring the curriculum as a whole.” Membership of the Curriculum Committee includes four GSLIS faculty, three student representatives (one MS, one CAS, one PhD), and the LIS Librarian (ex officio).  Several administrative staff generally attend meetings as well.  In spring 2004 the current scope statement for the work of the Curriculum Committee was developed to better ensure articulation between courses and programs at the undergraduate, MS, CAS, and PhD levels. 

The curriculum is very receptive to innovation.  Any faculty member may propose a new course as a section of LIS 590 (formerly 450) Advanced Problems in LIS.  Such a course proposal is reviewed by the Curriculum Committee prior to the course being scheduled for the first time.  To ensure that faculty as a whole are kept apprised of these new course offerings, reports on the experience with the first offering of these  courses are scheduled at faculty meetings in the following semester.   Thus in spring semester 2004, the faculty heard presentations on LIS 590 (450) LR Literacy, Reading and Readers; LIS 590 (450) MIH Medical Informatics and Healthcare Infrastructure; and LIS 590 (450) PE Information Organization and Access: Practice and Experience.  Feedback from faculty colleagues as well as students enrolled in the first offering of the course provides the faculty member who developed the course guidance in shaping subsequent offerings and a better understanding of the value of the course to the MS curriculum.   Faculty are encouraged to regularize 590 courses that have been offered multiple times and proven their value.  This process involves completing and submitting the required forms for review by the Graduate College, following approval by the faculty. The Curriculum Committee worked closely with several faculty members in spring 2004 to accomplish this for several courses that had been offered multiple times, including Adult Popular Literature, Building Digital Libraries, Collection Development, Financial Management, and Indexing and Abstracting.  [There was a moratorium on submitting new courses for review by the Graduate College over an extended period while the new Banner ERP software was being implemented by the University. With the end of the moratorium, we hope to migrate additional sections of 590 to their own course numbers.]

Curriculum development also results from the collaboration of faculty in creating clusters of courses, including revisions to existing courses and the introduction of new ones.  Allen Renear and David Dubin, principals in the School’s Electronic Publishing Research Group, have developed an electronic publishing course cluster including LIS 590EP (450EP) Electronic Publishing and Information Processing Standards; LIS 590DM (450DM) Document Modeling; and LIS 590DP (450DP) Document Processing.  Ann Bishop and Chip Bruce have developed a series of courses related to community inquiry labs including LIS 590IBL (450IBL) Inquiry-Based Learning, LIS 590CI (450CI) Community Information Systems, LIS 590SJ (450SJ) Social Justice in the Information Professions, and LIS 590PT (450PT) Pragmatic Technology.  With encouragement from Dean Unsworth, Les Gasser, Stephen Downie, David Dubin, Bryan Heidorn, and Bruce Schatz are engaged in discussions defining a set of courses to support a specialization in digital libraries.   While the focus is on the development of a post-MS (Certificate of Advanced Study) program of study, some of the courses for this specialization would likely also be of interest to MS students as electives.  UIUC and Indiana University have recently received a 3-year grant from IMLS for “Building an Effective Digital Library Curriculum through Library School and Academic Library Partnerships.” This should accelerate implementation of this digital libraries specialization.

Feedback from current students, alumni, practicum supervisors, and other practitioners also guides course revision and the introduction of new courses.  Students complete course evaluations at the conclusion of each course, giving direct feedback to the faculty member on content and method of instruction.  Students, alumni, and adjunct faculty may suggest new courses where they perceive gaps in the curriculum relative to knowledge needed in contemporary work settings.  Practicum supervisors provide feedback on the performance of students during their practicum placements and identify both areas in which the students are well prepared as well as aspects in need of improvement. 

While formal systematic evaluations of alumni achievements and employer satisfaction are not in place at this time, a number of data sources contribute to ongoing evaluation of courses and the curriculum.  Individual faculty gather feedback from selected alumni with whom they stay in touch.  The quantity and quality of feedback to the School from alumni and others in the field has been enhanced by increasing opportunities for face-to-face interactions with GSLIS faculty and staff as well as electronic communications.   More frequent face-to-face interactions include: 1) staffing a GSLIS booth in the exhibit area at American Library Association annual conferences; 2) site visits made by Assistant Dean Susan Barrick to alumni around the U.S. in their workplaces; 3) sponsorship or co-sponsorship of receptions at many professional association meetings (ILA and ISLMA in Illinois; AALL, ALA, ASIST, MLA, SLA national conferences); 4) increasing efforts to sponsor programs for the large number of Chicago-area alumni as well as alumni receptions in different locations in Illinois.  Electronic communication includes: 1) alumni contributions to various threads on the GSLIS electronic bulletin boards; 2) participation in various GSLIS courses, such as serving as e-mentors in the Technical Services Functions course or serving as guest speakers in a wide range of LEEP courses; 3) responses to surveys on needs for continuing professional development conducted by Marianne Steadley, the GSLIS Continuing Professional Development Program director; 4) responses to the quarterly eUpdates, sent to all alumni for whom we have valid e-mail addresses (currently 2200).

GSLIS participation in the WISE (Web-based Information Science Education) pilot together with Syracuse University this past spring has given us experience with a new strategy for filling gaps identified in our curriculum.  In the WISE courseshare model, select online courses from other programs are cross-listed as courses at the student’s home school.  For example, if a student from Illinois wants to take a cross-listed course offered by Syracuse University, the student will register in the course through Illinois.  In WISE each participating school controls which courses (and the number of places in each) are offered to the consortial pool; chooses which courses offered by other schools to list (based on enhancing their own offerings); and determines limits on the number of WISE courses their students may take.  In order to participate in WISE, schools must meet quality standards for online education and the Dean must sign a consortial agreement.  In spring 2004 one GSLIS student enrolled in IST 659: Data Administration Concepts and Database Management and five GSLIS student enrolled in IST 775: Information Industry Strategies, courses offered through WISE by Syracuse University.  Two students are enrolled in IST 575 Managing Information Systems Projects this summer.  At the May 2004 faculty meeting, GSLIS faculty agreed on the following guidelines for participation in WISE:

1. Students can count no more than 8 semester hours of courseshare coursework toward their degree.
2. M.S. students may accumulate only 8 semester hours courseshare OR transfer credit toward their degree.  If the student counts courseshare credit toward the degree, the amount of credit that can be transferred in will be reduced by a corresponding amount.
3. Courses will be selected for the courseshare program as they complement and supplement those currently offered in the GSLIS curriculum.
4. Courses proposed for the courseshare program will be reviewed by the Curriculum Committee. Where the committee does not contain the expertise to evaluate a course offering, appropriate faculty will be asked to provide comment.  If the Curriculum Committee approves their inclusion as a courseshare offering, each course will be given a unique course number as a section of LIS 590. 
5. Subsequent offerings of a course through courseshare will be subject to approval of the faculty, based on feedback from the students who completed the course.
6. LEEP students will have priority for courseshare seats, but Fridays Only and on-campus students can also register for courseshare seats on a space-available basis.

Initial enrollment in the WISE courses has included both LEEP and on-campus students. Illinois and Syracuse University have recently received a 2-year IMLS grant to expand the WISE consortium to include additional schools and courses.

Sources of Evidence:
GSLIS Bylaws
GSLIS Curriculum Committee Minutes 2003-2004
Criteria and Procedures for Review of Proposed New and Revised Courses That Carry Graduate Credit
Newsletters and eUpdates
GSLIS Continuing Professional Development