Standard IV -- Students

Standard IV.1

The GSLIS web site maintains current information for MS students regarding admission, financial aid, degree requirements, and placement. Admissions are increasingly competitive. The first table below shows trends in applications to each of the enrollment options: applications to the MS program have increased for the on-campus and LEEP options, while declining for the Fridays Only option. As LEEP has become established, increasing numbers of in-state students are opting to apply to LEEP rather than the Fridays Only option which requires a commute (from as far away as Rockford and Chicago in the north, Quincy in the west, and Carbondale and Edwardsville in the south) to campus. The second table below shows trends in admissions and enrollment. Admissions have become more selective because the number of applications has increased while the percent admitted has decreased as we experienced higher yields from those admitted. Given the decline in applications to the Fridays Only program, enrollment is also declining. We will be assessing whether to continue this option or whether the LEEP option now can meet our responsibility for serving students from around the state who cannot relocate to Urbana-Champaign for their studies. Students in the LEEP option may still enroll in on-campus courses and commute to campus for courses not available to them online.

Applicants to the MS Program -- Summer II/Fall 2000 through Fall 2004 

Semester	On-Campus	Fridays Only	LEEP
Summer II / Fall 2000	183	40	109
Spring 2001	39	1	30
Total	222	41	139
Summer II / Fall 2001	172	44	135
Spring 2002	3	0	0
Total	175	44	135
Summer II / Fall 2002	251	34	196
Spring 2003	8	1	0
Total	259	35	196
Summer II / Fall 2003	257	24	215
Spring 2004	33	1	0
Total	290	25	215
Summer II / Fall 2004	242	15	189

Applicants Admitted to the MS Program and the
Number of Those Who Actually Enrolled (in Parentheses) 

Term	On-Campus	Fridays Only	LEEP
Summer II / Fall 2000	151 (97)	39 (20)	75 (55)
Spring 2001	22 (18)	0 (1*)	23 (17)
Total	173 (115)	39 (21)	98 (72)
Summer II / Fall 2001	142 (110)	36 (22)	93 (73)
Spring 2002	3 (3)	1 (0)	0 (1*)
Total	145 (113)	37 (22)	93 (74)
Summer II / Fall 2002	186 (130)	27 (23)	84 (80)
Spring 2003	7 (6)	1 (1)	0 (0)
Total	193 (136)	28 (24)	84 (80)
Summer II / Fall 2003	147 (98)	18 (19*)	122 (99)
Spring 2004	19 (17)	0 (0)	0 (0)
Total	166 (115)	18 (19)	122 (99)
Summer II / Fall 2004	129 (83)	10 (11*)	128 (111)

* Resulted from a recode.

Data compiled in the Campus profile demonstrate the growth in enrollment in our graduate programs over the past four years (includes MS, CAS, and PhD enrollments):

	2000-2001	2001-2002	2002-2003	2003-2004
Total graduate enrollment on-campus	290	324	337	315
Total LEEP enrollment	129	166	175	192
Total enrollment	419	490	512	507
% enrolled in LEEP	31%	34%	34%	38%

It is not our intention to grow overall enrollment in the MS program significantly above the current level. In the eight years since LEEP began in summer 1996, enrollment in that option has grown from 31 to around 200. As explained in the Special Area of Emphasis section, we have been able to maintain quality while growing the program but are reaching limits on the number of students for whom we can ensure a quality experience. The table below shows trends in MS degrees earned over the past few years. The on-campus option (where most students are full-time) still accounts for the largest number of degrees, followed by LEEP (where most students are part-time). Fridays Only graduates are a decreasing percentage of MS degrees awarded. 

Month of Degree Conferral	On-Campus	Fridays Only	LEEP	Total
January 2001	31	5	11	47
May 2001	38	7	16	61
August 2001	33	8	19	60
October 2001	2	2	0	4
December 2001*	23	6	23	52
May 2002	47	6	31	84
August 2002	44	4	18	66
October 2002	3	0	3	6
December 2002	40	0	23	63
May 2003	51	5	29	85
August 2003	35	7	25	67
October 2003	0	0	0	0
December 2003	29	10	23	62
May 2004	61	8	29	98
August 2004	30	7	18	55
Total	467	75	268	810

* Beginning in December 2001, the conferral date for Fall semester was changed from January of the next year to December of the current year.

The School has made progress in recruiting and retaining a multicultural, multiethnic, and multilingual student body through a multifaceted approach to minority recruitment and through involvement with the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs.  Using 1996 as a base year, the number of minority students increased from 27 to 66 by 2003.

Year	AI	AP	B	H	W	I	NA	Total	#M	%M	%I
1996	0	11	11	5	196	14		237	27	11.4	5.9
1997	3	10	8	7	208	14		250	28	11.2	5.6
1998	2	9	5	9	256	15		296	25	8.4	5.1
1999	1	12	9	9	280	18	1	330	31	9.4	5.5
2000	4	12	15	5	308	28	3	375	36	9.6	7.5
2001	3	11	16	9	356	32	11	438	39	8.9	7.3
2002	3	13	18	14	359	33	17	457	48	10.5	7.2
2003	4	22	23	17	361	49	29	505	66	13.1	9.7

Assistant Dean Curt McKay has been actively involved in recruitment through participation in minority and other career fairs to encourage minority students to consider careers in library and information science and to apply to UIUC.  He has also enlisted the help of GSLIS alumni and current minority students in recruiting.    The University Library is also consistently helpful in providing support in the form of graduate assistantships to minority students.  From the beginning of ALA’s Spectrum Scholarship program, GSLIS has granted Spectrum Scholarship winners a waiver of tuition and fees.  Data compiled by Tracie D. Hall, Director, and Wendy Prellwitz, Program Officer,   Office for Diversity of the American Library Association  show that UIUC is one of the five schools with the largest percentage of scholars over the first six years of the Spectrum Scholar Initiative (along with San Jose State University, Dominican University, University of Pittsburgh, and University of South Florida).  The table below shows the number of new minority students enrolling each year for the past four years in each of the enrollment options. It is evident that both the Fridays Only and LEEP options are enabling us to add to the diversity of our student body.

Enrollments of New Minority Students in the MS Program 

Semester	On-Campus	Fridays Only	LEEP
Summer II / Fall 2000	9	1	4
Spring 2001	1	0	0
Total	10	1	4
Summer II / Fall 2001	11	3	8
Spring 2002	0	0	0
Total	11	3	8
Summer II / Fall 2002	16	4	9
Spring 2003	2	2	0
Total	18	6	9
Summer II / Fall 2003	20	4	11
Spring 2004	1	0	0
Total	21	4	11

 

The Mortenson Center for International Library Programs brings librarians and library science students from all over the world for stays of a few days to a year.  Those Mortenson associates who are in residence for at least a semester often attend GSLIS courses and participate in the life of the School.  Under the leadership of Mortenson Center Director and past ALA President Barbara Ford (a GSLIS alumna), more collaborative activities are being developed.  As the enrollment data presented above demonstrate, the number of international students pursuing degrees through GSLIS has increased substantially over the past few years, with international students now making up almost 10% of GSLIS enrollment.

Sources of evidence:
MS program admission requirements
MS program financial aid information
MS program degree requirements
MS program placement information
Campus Profile
Mortenson Center for International Library Programs

Standard IV.2

Although we still distribute packets of printed materials about the School and its programs on request, there is increasing emphasis on using the Web site as the primary means of making information accessible.  Links to information regarding admission requirements, financial aid information, degree requirements, and placement information are provided above in IV.1.  Additional links are given in the Sources of Evidence below. 

Sources of Evidence:
MS program overview, including links to curriculum descriptions
Faculty information
Code of Policies and Regulations Applying to All Students
A Handbook for Graduate Students and Advisers

Standard IV.3

As a unit of the Graduate College, our admissions policies must conform to those of other graduate programs (though we are free to set a higher standard, as we have with TOEFL scores for international students).  All MS students are subject to the same admissions criteria.   All applicants must fulfill these minimum requirements:

1. Graduation from an accredited institution with bachelor’s degree requirements substantially equivalent to those of the University of Illinois.
2. A grade-point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1, F=0) for the junior and senior undergraduate years or last 60 semester hours.
3. International applicants whose native language is not English must submit evidence of having passed the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) with a score of 620 or higher (or 260 or higher for the computer-administered version). (The Intensive English Institute exam may be substituted with a score indicating comparable English proficiency.)

Applicants must submit the following materials:

1. Application of admission to the Graduate College
2. Transcripts (two copies from all colleges and universities attended; one must be an official transcript, the other may be a copy of an official one).
3. Two essays (these replace the Personal Statement requested in Question 5 of Part B of the Application for Admission to the Graduate College).
1. Applicants must submit a 500-700 word essay that addresses the following question:
   Visit a library, community network, corporate information center, or other setting that employs information professionals (except your current place of employment).  Interview a staff member to identify the three most significant issues related to information services in this setting.  In your essay, discuss what you learned, including:
1. What questions did you ask?
2. Did you learn anything unexpected? Anything that changed your view of the library and information science profession?
3. How do you think your educational experience at GSLIS might prepare you to address the issues you identified?
2. In addition, please submit a one-page essay concerning your previous academic work in your proposed or allied fields of study, including course work, other educational experiences, teaching or relevant employment, publications, and your plans for graduate study and a professional career.
4. Three letters of reference in support of the application for admission and financial aid; at least one should be from an employer and one from an instructor.
5. Resume.
6. TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) scores, for applicants whose native language is not English, including U.S. citizens (Scores should be dated no earlier than two years prior to the application date). The GSLIS TOEFL code is 90.
7. If required, official scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Aptitude Test taken within the last five years. The GRE is REQUIRED for any applicant whose grade point average was below 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) in the final 60 hours of undergraduate course work. The GSLIS GRE Institution code is 1836; the Department code is 4701. [The GRE is waived if the applicant has acquired a J.D. or Ph.D.]

Note: Strong applicants who do not meet all the requirements for admission may be admitted to the School on “limited status” and may be allowed to remediate specific deficiencies. Those with questions about their ability to meet these requirements or remediate deficiencies are advised to contact the School’s admissions officer.

All applications are reviewed by the Admissions Committee, which includes four GSLIS faculty members, the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs (currently Curt McKay), and one member of the University Library faculty (currently Mary Schlembach, Assistant Engineering Librarian and GSLIS MS graduate).  Most decisions are made based on a review of the file, although an interview may be scheduled in cases where the committee feels the need for additional information from the applicant in order to assess the application.  The committee considers the application materials in their entirety and makes decisions as to whether to recommend or deny admission and what priority ranking to give admitted students for the financial aid available from GSLIS or the Graduate College.  The two essays are valuable indicators of an applicant's writing and critical thinking abilities, as well as whether the applicant has a good understanding of opportunities and challenges in careers in library and information science. If an applicant fails to meet a stated admissions requirement (e.g., minimum undergraduate GPA) but otherwise holds promise for success in graduate LIS study, the committee may recommend admission on limited status.  Admission in such cases is dependent upon a review by the Graduate College; the School does not have independent authority to waive minimum requirements.  The table below demonstrates that each year only a small number of students are admitted on limited status and most go on to succeed academically. Once admitted, such students will receive full graduate standing when they have satisfied the conditions spelled out in their letter of admission. 

Term	Number of Students Admitted on Limited Status	Number of Limited Status Students Dropped Due to Low GPA
Summer* 2000	4	1
Fall 2000	2	0
Spring 2001	2	0
Summer 2001	1	0
Fall 2001	7	0
Spring 2002	2	0
Summer 2002	3	0
Fall 2002	3	1
Spring 2003	0	0
Summer 2003	7	0
Fall 2003	2	0
Spring 2004	1	1
Summer 2004	3	0
Total	37	3

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

Sources of Evidence:
MS admission requirements

Standard IV.4

Student Advising

Each student is assigned a member of the full-time faculty as his or her academic advisor, with an attempt to match the student’s interests and the faculty member’s area(s) of expertise.  The student is free to request a change of advisors at any time.  While online registration means that students no longer need to get an advisor’s signature prior to registering for courses or to drop or add a course during the semester, students are encouraged to meet with an advisor (or to confer by electronic mail).  Each semester a “course preview” session provides students the opportunity to learn more about upcoming courses from the faculty who will be offering them.   Mid-semester “Live with Linda” sessions give LEEP students an opportunity to ask questions of the Associate Dean as they make course selections during advance enrollment.  Advising guides available on the GSLIS web site (discussed above under II.4) provide guidance in course selection and most courses have full syllabi online that students can review as they make their course selections.  

Student Evaluation

A review of course syllabi demonstrates that each course generally has a variety of assignments and forms of assessment of student performance.  Many courses involve group projects in addition to individual written work.  Many courses have students do individual or group oral presentations.  Increasingly students are being asked to make certain assignments available online for their fellow classmates as well as for the instructor.  Students are even more motivated to complete assignments of high quality when they know that these assignments will be viewed by their peers as well as the instructor.

Student accomplishments are recognized by a growing number of School awards presented at the annual convocation ceremony.   Faculty meet as a group to select the winners each spring, often with nominations from students.  The faculty also select the graduates each year who are invited to join Beta Phi Mu (founded at UIUC in 1948). A review of the award winners for the past four years (http://www.lis.uiuc.edu/gslis/school/student-awards-recipients.html) shows that LEEP students (Rachelle Ramsey, Avi Janssen, Melissa Henderson, Wendy Holliday, Richard Pearce-Moses, Mary Pergander, Lisa Oldoski, Donna Trenda, Siobhan Champ-Blackwell, Diane Rein, M. Brooke Helman, Gwen Evans, Sarah Gregory, David Monroe, Rose Allen, James Simard, Lynn Dix, Cyndy Colletti) and Fridays Only students (Leslie Owens, Fayrene Muhammad) are among those MS students recognized. The list of Beta Phi Mu initiates for 2003 (http://www.lis.uiuc.edu/betaphimu/initiates/2003.html) includes several LEEP students (Deborah Benrubi, Siobhan Champ-Blackwell, Debra Denslaw, Susan Freymiller, Sarah Gregory, Melissa Henderson, Wendy Holliday, Barbara Landers, Kristy Likeness, Linda Lundquist, Mary Pergander, Jodi Weisz-Fulgione) as well as Fridays Only students (Jane Kauzlaric, Kay Shelton).

Student Counseling

In addition to individual faculty advisors, the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, Curt McKay, serves as a dean of students, offering counseling and connecting students to resources across campus (e.g., Counseling Center, McKinley Health Center, Division of Rehabilitation Education Services) as needed.  His part-time position for the past few years as Co-Director of the Office for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Concerns under the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs has given him a wide network of contacts with staff in student affairs units who can help with student problem solving.   Mid-semester the faculty are asked to identify any students who seem to be experiencing academic or personal challenges, and faculty work with Curt McKay to determine how best to assist such students. 

Job Searching and Placement Assistance

In a competitive job market it is important to give students effective tools to aid them in the job search process.  Over the past few years GSLIS has made increasing use of technology to provide more complete and rapid access to information about available jobs.  In addition we have increased the variety and frequency of workshops related to job searching.  One of the electronic bulletin boards on the LEEP server is devoted to new LIS job announcements and there is a directory of web-based job resources.  Included in this directory are links to the GSLIS eBoard and the Student and Alumni Mentoring Network.  The eBoard allows employers to post vacancies and search student and alumni resumes, and allows students and alumni to post resumes and search for jobs--all free-of-charge.  Sponsored by GSLIS and the Library School Alumni Association (LSAA), the Student and Alumni Mentoring Network is a web-based mentoring network that makes it easier for GSLIS students and alumni to meet up with mentors working in their areas of professional interest.   Students and alumni can search a password-protected alumni mentor database where alumni willing to serve as mentors have posted brief profiles online.

 For several years the School and its professional association student chapters have regularly sponsored workshops on such topics as interviewing, resume writing, and salary negotiation.   These supplement activities sponsored by the recently-launched Graduate College Career Services Office and the UIUC Career Center (which has an emphasis on serving undergraduates).  Recordings of several of these events are linked from the Guest Lectures section of the LEEP server and workshops are often repeated as special events during LEEP on-campus sessions to allow LEEP students to benefit from this programming as well.

Assistant Dean Dale Silver has integrated the existing workshops into a broader program of professional development activities designed to orient students to the program and the profession; enrich their experience while they are in the program; and help them focus on the job search process as they near the end of their studies for the MS.  The initial student orientation session for on-campus and Fridays Only students now includes an informational fair with exhibits and tables sponsored by GSLIS units, programs, and student groups.  In the fall semester, programs include: 1) a public library reception co-sponsored by the Champaign and Urbana public libraries and alternating between the two sites; and 2) LIS Professions and Professionals Forum (break-out sessions with speakers representing the wide range of LIS fields and professions to enable students to learn more about various fields within the LIS profession and to engage in informal conversation with the participating professionals).  More efforts are also being made to include international students in GSLIS extracurricular programs.  For the past two years an American Libraries Seminar for international students (co-sponsored by GSLIS and the Mortenson Center) provided an overview of trends in the field for on-campus international students and Mortenson Center associates.  A GSLIS international get-together is sponsored annually by the ALA Student Chapter International Librarianship Committee.  The academic year concludes with a convocation ceremony (streamed live to LEEP students and graduates’ families at a distance), featuring a distinguished alumnus as the convocation speaker (Bridget Lamont, MS ’72, former director of the Illinois State Library and current vice chair of the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, filled this role in 2004).

Sources of Evidence:
GSLIS Student Awards
Alpha Chapter of Beta Phi Mu
Links to Course Syllabi
GSLIS Job Resources
GSLIS eBoard
Student and Alumni Mentoring Network
Graduate College Career Services Office
UIUC Career Center
Guest Lectures: see links 12/8/03 Preparing to Present: Tips and Strategies for the Interview Presentation; 11/19/03 Salary Negotiation Talk; 2/5/03-3/6/03 Professional Development Workshop Series (The Job Search Process; Introduction to GSLIS Career Central and Writing Cover Letters and Resumes; Interviewing Skills; Salary Negotiation; Professional Development Q&A)

Standard IV.5

MS students are encouraged to take leadership roles within the School.  The School has three active student chapters of professional organizations: American Library Association, American Society for Information Science and Technology, Special Libraries Association.  MS students are generally the officers and most active members of these organizations.  Each has a faculty advisor who offers guidance and support, but the planning and implementation of activities are largely carried out by the students themselves.  The student body at large benefits from the activities of these organizations, since most events are open to anyone who wishes to participate.  The organizations sponsor lectures, workshops, field trips, and social events.  The ALA Student Chapter was named the 2003 ALA Student Chapter of the Year and in 2004 they established the (alpha) student division of ACRL to sponsor more programs for students interested in academic librarianship.  Students received support for this initiative from ACRL Executive Director Mary Ellen Davis and ACRL Associate Director Mary Jane Petrowski, both GSLIS alumni.  Students are also active members of the Information Professionals for Social Justice group.  Each organization maintains its own electronic bulletin board and web site.  The student organizations have made a special effort to involve Fridays Only and LEEP students in activities, welcoming their participation in field trips, scheduling events during the LEEP on-campus sessions, and recording events for inclusion in the online guest lectures archive.

MS students have the opportunity each year to elect a representative to attend faculty meetings and a representative on the Curriculum Committee.  The representative to faculty meetings also meets regularly with the Dean. The availability of a student electronic bulletin board allows representatives to stay in close touch with the student body and to keep students informed of issues being discussed by School committees or the faculty as a whole.  The Library School Alumni Association has at least one MS student representative to their board meetings, opening an avenue of communication between alumni and the current student body. 

Sources of Evidence:
American Library Association Student Chapter web site
American Society for Information Science and Technology Student Chapter web site [soon migrating to http://leep.lis.uiuc.edu/asist]
Special Libraries Association Student Group web site [soon migrating to https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ro/www/SLA]
Library School Alumni Association web site
Guest Lectures archive
Information Professionals for Social Justice web site

Standard IV.6

The School has used a number of forums to get input from students while they are still enrolled.  The student representative to faculty meetings can bring student concerns to the attention of the faculty; the student representative to the Curriculum Committee is involved in ongoing discussion of curriculum matters.   Bulletin boards open to all students include: Academic and Administrative Q&A (“Post administrative questions here and either a staff member or a fellow student will respond”); Feedback to GSLIS (“Share any helpful comments you might have about the program directly with GSLIS”); GSLIS Discussions (“Discussions about GSLIS life and the field of LIS”);  and LEEP Talk (“Questions, comments, thoughts, and discussion related to LEEP”).  “Live with John” and “live with Linda” synchronous online sessions supplement face-to-face forums for getting input from students.  Periodic retreats provide a venue for more in-depth analysis and reflection on the program.  The LEEP retreat held in August 2002, involving full-time and adjunct faculty, staff, current students, and alumni, demonstrates the value placed on involving all interested parties in the evaluation process.  Focus group discussions at the retreat encompassed the many dimensions of the program that affect student achievement and program outcomes: boot camp/on-campus sessions, learning styles online, synchronous sessions, groupwork/LEEP culture, diversity in LIS, technology support, library services, MS curriculum, and administrative support.

Source of evidence:
            LEEP retreat web site