THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN e-learning PROGRAM FOR THE MASTER OF LIBRARY SCIENCE DEGREE AT SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSITY CASE ANALYSIS

Transcription

1 THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN e-learning PROGRAM FOR THE MASTER OF LIBRARY SCIENCE DEGREE AT SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSITY CASE ANALYSIS JOSEPHINE YU CHEN SCHE Abstract ALA-accredited programs for Master of Library and Information Studies, are offered only in 63 of the total 3000 colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. The professional goals and objectives of the current 2008 Accreditation Standards are highlighted and applied to both traditional oncampus and the newly created elearning courses for the MLS/MLIS programs. Factors for establishing the MLS elearning program at SCSU and the methods for quality control and assessment of the MLS online courses are explained. Keywords: E-learning Courses Development and technology, ALA-Accredited MLIS Programs in the United States, ALA 2008 Standards for Accreditation. ala-accredited masters of library and information studies programs in the united states and the development of an mls program at southern connecticut state university A. Current status of ALA-Accredited MLS/MLIS programs in the United States Of the more than 3,000 colleges and universities surveyed by US News and World Report, only 63 of them offer accredited Master of Library and Information degree programs. The American Library Association is the sole accrediting organisation for the MLIS/MLS degree programs in the United States and Canada. International Journal of Humanities and Arts Computing (2012): Edinburgh University Press DOI: /ijhac Edinburgh University Press and the Association for History and Computing

2 Josephine Yu Chen Sche In the United States, the ALA-accredited Master in Library and Information Studies degree is the first professional degree for entry-level librarians. Requiring an MLIS/MLS degree for hiring professional librarians is an established personnel policy used by a majority of the approximately 10,000 academic and larger public libraries that employ professional librarians in the United States. The ALA s Directory of ALA-accredited master s programs in library and information studies, published on that organisation s Website, currently lists 63 MLS/MLIS accredited programs in the United States (56), Canada (6) and Puerto Rico (1). As the ALA s directory reveals, not every state has an ALA-Accredited MLS program. For example, in the six states in the New England area, only three Massachusetts (Simons College), Rhode Island (Rhode Island University), and Connecticut (Southern Connecticut State University) have a university that offers an accredited MLS/MLIS program. Library Science students from Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine must attend ALA-Accredited programs offered in the other states and lose such important advantages as geographic proximity and in-state tuition fees. ALA-Accredited programs must comply with the ALA s 2008 Standards for Accreditation of Master s Programs in Library & Information Studies. This current version of the ALA Accreditation Standards superseded the ALA s 1992 Standards. The 2008 standards were adopted by the Council of the American Library Association on January 15, 2008 and have been used to review and evaluate MLS/MLIS programs for accreditation beginning in The programs are evaluated every seven years. The current 2008 Standards for Accreditation of Master s Programs in Library & Information Studies is available at standards/standards_2008. The Council of the American Library Association appointed a standing Committee on Accreditation To be responsible for the execution of the accreditation program of ALA, and to develop and formulate standards of education for library and information studies for the approval of Council. 1 These standards apply, of course, to graduate programs of library and information studies leading to a master s degree. 2 B. ALA-Accredited Program Objectives As explained in the ALA s Standards for accreditation of master s programs in library & information studies: Adopted by the Council of the American Library Association, 1. technologies to facilitate their management and use, encompassing information and knowledge creation, communication, identification, selection, acquisition, organisation and description, storage and retrieval, 212

3 e-learning Program for Master of Library Science Degree preservation, analysis, interpretation, evaluation, synthesis, dissemination, and management; [Program objective I.2.1]. 2. the philosophy, principles, and ethics of the field; [Program objective I.2.2]. 3. appropriate principles of specialisation identified in applicable policy statements and documents of relevant professional organisations; [Program objective I.2.3]. 4. the value of teaching and service to the advancement of the field; [Program objective I.2.4]. 5. the importance of research to the advancement of the field s knowledge base; [Program objective I.2.5]. 6. the importance of contributions of library and information studies to other fields of knowledge; [Program objective I.2.6] 7. the importance of contributions of other fields of knowledge to library and information studies; [Program objective I.2.7] 8. the role of library and information services in a diverse global society, including the role of serving the needs of underserved groups; [Program objective I.2.8] 9. the role of library and information services in a rapidly changing technological society; [Program objective I.2.9] 10. the needs of the constituencies that a program seeks to serve. [Program objective I.2.10] C. Sample Information of the Schools of library and information studies to explain the online course option and new opportunities for students, in addition to the traditional on-campus courses, as posted at website of Rutgers University for its accredited MLS/MLIS: OUR VISION: Information makes a profound difference in the lives of people and of society. OUR MISSION: Our program s mission is to enable our graduates to make significant contributions to the social development and the quality of life of individuals by strengthening the links among people, libraries and information, and technology in the context of promoting the values and freedoms of a democratic society. Earn your Master of Library and Information Science (M.L.I.S.) degree and enter a world of professional education for service and management careers in libraries, information agencies, the information industry, and in business, industry, government, research in short, any environment where information is a vital resource. 213

4 Josephine Yu Chen Sche You can earn your degree in a traditional face-to-face classroom setting. You can earn your degree entirely online. Or you can earn your degree with a combination of both delivery options. The same faculty teach and develop the courses offered no matter how you choose to put your program together. The M.L.I.S. program prepares you for a wide range of careers, including: Information Broker Information Retrieval Specialist/Reference Librarian Information Subject Specialist and Archivist Knowledge Manager Manager of Library and Information Organisations Medical Informatics Specialist School Library Media Specialist Technical Services Librarian Web Librarian Youth and Children s Librarian Ready to get started right now? You have all the information you need on this web site! Please see our Program Details menu on this page for further information on admissions, courses, careers, and more. The Rutgers program in Library and Information Science is accredited by the Committee on Accreditation of the American Library Association, under the Standards for Accreditation, Its most recent reaccreditation was awarded in To contact us: For general inquiries and for further information about the on campus option: fdbrown@rutgers.edu x8955 For general inquiries and for further information about the online option: online@comminfo.rutgers.edu If you would like to explore both options, please send one and copy both addresses. No matter which option you would prefer, you can reach us by mail at: Department of Library and Information Science, SC&I Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey 4 Huntington Street New Brunswick, NJ

5 e-learning Program for Master of Library Science Degree chronology of the development of the mls program at southern connecticut state university a library education program for a four-year undergraduate education is initiated at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut; the Connecticut State Board authorises a comprehensive undergraduate program in library science at Southern (then known as New Haven Teachers College); The ALA Council adopts the 1951 Accreditation Standards specifying that the Master level of Library Science degree should be the required education and qualification for the professional librarian in the United States; the Connecticut State Board authorises a Master s degree program in Library Science, established at Connecticut State University at New Haven; The Master of Library Science program at Southern Connecticut State University is accredited by the American Library Association. The program has been continuously accredited by the ALA since that time; 6. Between 1972 and 2011 the number of ALA-accredited MLS programs declines. Of the 88 programs accredited by the ALA since 1925, 17 or 19% were discontinued between 1972 and today According to the ALA, there are currently only about 60 accredited MLS/MLIS programs in the United States and Canada. Approximately half of these offer elearning (or distance learning) courses via the Internet. Examining the MLS program at Southern Connecticut State University reveals several salient factors that affect the success of ALA-accredited elearning programs. factors of establishing the web-based distance program for mls degree at southern connecticut state university A. Faculty Interest in Teaching Online Courses Because of the nature of the field, Information and Library Science unavoidably relies on computer-based information technologies to manage library services and resources. In 1999, the faculty of Southern Connecticut State University s Information and Library Science Department undertook the challenge to develop and teach online courses using available information technologies. Southern s ILS Department was one of the first academic departments in the Connecticut State University system to undertake such an effort. Southern s ILS Department 215

6 Josephine Yu Chen Sche was assisted by a special grant from Connecticut State University System to promote the establishment of elearning education courses in all four the CSU campuses: SCSU, Central Connecticut State University, Eastern Connecticut State University, and Western Connecticut State University. B. Benefits of elearning MLS/MLIS Course Offerings for both Students and Faculty The development online education clearly helps increase access to higher education to students who reside a substantial distance from the universities that offer the MLS/MLIS programs. This allows students who could not attend MLS courses offered at the SCSU campus, located New Haven, to participate in an ALA-accredited MLS program, which is, as previously stated, the only one in Connecticut and one of the few in New England. Online MLS course offerings at SCSU are essentially the same as the oncampus courses. The newly added online courses are taught by the same faculty in ILS Department. The courses cover the same materials and meet the same learning objectives. Online elearning MLS/MLIS programs also offer specific benefits to both students and faculty. These include: 1. The elearning courses have allowed students and faculty to avoid the expense and time of commuting substantial distances to class, such as would be the case if teaching MLIS courses in Simons College and Rhode Island University; 2. It has made the MLS program accessible to a wide audience. Students who do not have access to an ALA-accredited MLS/MLIS program courses in their region. Southern, for instance, has students in its MLS program from several American states (Oregon, California, Iowa, New York, New Jersey, etc.) and from overseas (United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Japan, Korea, etc.) 3. MLS credits can typically be transferred to other library schools. ALA- Accredited MLS/MLIS programs generally accept transfer credits from each other. Many students who are enrolled in other library school program can register and take our online courses (up to 9 credits) and can then transfer the credits to their enrolled ALA-accredited MLS/MLIS library education programs/institutions. The policy allows MLS/MLIS students in other library schools to take SCSU courses, where: (a) a desired online course titles is not available in their own school; (b) they can benefit from has lower tuition costs (the cost of tuition per credit is different in public and private universities); or (c) because some online courses may simply be more convenient for them to take at SCSU. 216

7 e-learning Program for Master of Library Science Degree Based on the Institutional Statistics collected between 1999 and 2003, the total annual student enrolment of our MLS program at SCSU has increased from 150 to 250 FTE. In our MLS/MLIS programs most students are part-time students who also work. As part-time students, they typically take less than three (3) courses, nine (9) credits per semester. Of the MLS students currently registered in a SCSU MLS program, four-fifths (4/5ths) of them are taking online courses. Due to the high demand for seats in the online courses (typically limited to 20 students), many MLS students are prepared to register on the first day of registration and as soon as registration opens. This is particularly true for students taking online core courses (offered online in each semester) or some sought-after elective courses. C. Leadership and Management (1) Administrative and Faculty Commitment to elearning - In 1999, the Chancellor s CSU Office lent support the development of online courses. The ecollege, an online course management system, was selected for a pilot program to offer online courses from four CSU campuses via the internet. The ecollege system was a user-friendly system that facilitated faculty and student learning and promoted the development of, and student interest in, online courses. A very good technical support team also provided valuable assistance to the faculty who were creating course materials, managing the assignments, announcements, and discussions provided via the distance learning platform. This team solved many technical problems for faculty and students. CSU Systems Office provided promotional policy and support to the Faculty in the four CSU campuses to teach in the online pilot program for more than three years, from 1999 to This included an incentive award to faculty members who developed an online course, in addition to a laptop computer for the faculty to could use in teach online to ensure they could work from home or on campus. Valuable support during the Pilot Program period also came in the form of an internet access network and communication services. This promoted the use of internet and services to all CSU faculty. (2) Management of Training and Support Services In 2003, the elearning Vista management system (from Blackboard) was selected by an information technology team representing the four SCU universities. Blackboard s elearning Vista platform was more economical and offered the best potential for developing comprehensive distance learning programs at the CSU universities. 217

8 Josephine Yu Chen Sche The CSU Office had also decided, in 2003, to establish an elearning management team on each individual campuses, including Support staff and Training workshops to comprehensively support online instruction. Currently Southern s on-campus support services for online instruction are provided by the Training and Learning Technologies Group, within a newlyestablished Office of Information Technology (OIT). Most of the OIT staff are computer science professionals specialising in instructional technology. They supervise a large pool of part-time student assistants who are typically computer science majors. The assistants staff a Helpdesk and solve technical problems for faculty and students. They also provide tech support for the on-campus computer labs. D. User Friendliness and Functionality of the elearning System The elearning Vista system currently in use at SCSU is a learning management system, containing a set of tools that facilitates the creation and delivery of online instruction. The Vista system can be used to create fully online courses or to create online supplements to existing courses (whether they are online or on-campus). The selection of this Broadband elearning Vista system supports a broad range of learning styles, teaching methods, and course formats, and can be used to teach almost all types of university course. The support and training for elearning vista is provided through the OIT s Teaching and Learning Technologies Group of the OIT to individual Faculty who are teaching elearning courses at SCSU. The Vista support site is located at E. Enthusiasm and Sustained Efforts of ILS Department Faculty The Faculty of the Information and Library Science Department received online teaching training sessions and updating workshops every semester. Eight special workshops were offered just for ILS Faculty during the summer 2003, when we started to use the new elearning Vista system. Currently, the elearning Vista courses are available on the internet, to both the faculty and students, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, during the Spring or Fall semesters or the Summer session. ILS Faculty can teach online courses at home, on campus, or anywhere they have internet access. This allows faculty teaching online courses to promptly answer student questions, which can be sent to the online course faculty/instructor and classmates every day (24/7) through the course and discussion board tools. 218

9 e-learning Program for Master of Library Science Degree The university provides important support, including (a) the Helpdesk which is available 24/7 online to answer any technical problems for Faculty and students; (b) university administration has provided computers to faculty who could teach online courses at home, and (c) the implementation of a specific university registration policy requested by the Dean of the School and approved by the Provost. Under this policy, the ILS Department has established a limit of the 20 student seats in each of our online courses offered during each semester and summer sessions, in order to encourage online teaching of MLS courses. F. Banner Web System Supporting Online Teaching and Learning (1) Banner Web s Role to Students At Southern Connecticut State University, Banner Web is a Student Information System. Banner Web allows students who reside in distance to do the following academic processing work online: Check admission status, after the students have sent their application; Search course catalogs for undergraduate and graduate programs, to review the admissions and graduation requirements, and the general and special degree requirements, as well as the description of courses offered in each department; Register for classes and check if there are still seats available for registration in specific classes; Check financial aid awards, qualifications for tuition waiver for veterans, who have served in the Armed Forces, or special tuition waivers for the senior citizens who are over the age of 62, in the state universities of Connecticut. Pay tuition and fees online. The registration is confirmed after the fees are paid. Check grades. Students can check their grades for each individual assignment using the grade book tool for each online course. The final grade will be available to the students online, after the due date for posting the grades by Faculty, who simply upload them to the class grade report, prepared for each individual course by the Registrar Office. Get a copy of transcript online from the Registrar s Office. Apply for graduation. Students must submit an application for graduation in order to get the Diploma for each individual degree, or/and attend the commencement. 219

10 Josephine Yu Chen Sche (2) Banner Web Assists Faculty in Administering Courses and Students (advisees) Banner Web Assists in the Administration of Courses by allowing faculty to: Check course schedules listing courses that have been approved for teaching in each semester, arranged by course titles, faculty names, and whether the courses are offered online or on-campus. View detailed class list since the students register online, the list of registered students, i.e. names and other information are available online to the instructor/faculty who is responsible for teaching that course. Submit mid-term and final grades online by faculty who are teaching the courses. View student course schedules, to answer the questions of advisees, if the students would like to consult the opinions of the advisors, i.e. on the selection of core and elective courses for completing their degree programs. View student transcripts, this function will allow the advisors, department heads who are responsible to audit the student academic records, i.e. for the review and approval of the graduation applications for their degrees. Search student by name. Faculty could search the academic records of students by their name, the Banner Web has compiled the student database and provided the student information back to 10 years ago, if the student has an question about the academic records. Display the class roster. This is the list of current enrolled students, so that their names will also be on the class list for receiving online assignments, and discussion. ( G. elearning Vista Tutorials and Workshops for Faculty The Tutorial prepared for Faculty to create and manage courses has more than 700 print pages, and more than 8 workshops have been prepared for all faculty who want to learn how to create online courses. The major tools and methods of using them are described in the tutorials, such as: (1) Communication Tools Creating Discussion Topics and Posting Messages Creating Announcements Using to the whole class or individual student (2) Administrative Tools Adding a Syllabus to your Course 220

11 e-learning Program for Master of Library Science Degree Exporting and Importing Learning Modules Save or Print Course Content, Submissions, Mail, etc. (3) Learning Tools Uploading Files Creating Your Homepage Creating Assignments Using Grade Book ( H. Important elearning Vista Tutorial Prepared for Students The Tutorial for Students provides the following instruction to help students taking online courses: Posting Messages to a Discussion Board Submitting Assignments Taking Assessments (tests or online course survey) Using the Calendar (different courses with different assignments due date) Using Mail (send to the whole class, group of students, or the instructor) Viewing Announcements (class information post by instructors) quality control and assessments of the ala-accredited mls degree program at scsu The Department of Information and Library Science at SCSU must prepare two comprehensive reports for the program assessments: (1) A Graduate Program Review Report should be prepared every five years and submitted to the Academic Standards Committee of 15 members appointed by the Graduate Council at Southern Connecticut State University, and (2) A comprehensive Program Presentation Report must be prepared every seven years, according to the most current ALA Standards for Accreditation and the Process Policies and Procedures (AP3) guidelines. An External Review Committee with six panel members are appointed for onsite visit to each program, arranged by the Office for Accreditation of ALA-COA. Each External Review Panel should provide an External Review Report, based on a three-day onsite visit of the MLS/MLIS Program and in response to the Program Presentation Report, which includes all the documents and evidences. This review report should be submitted to the Committee on Accreditation of the American Library Association for the final decision on the status of accreditation. The ALA Accreditation process and procedure is conducted every seven years for each ALA-accredited MLS/MLIS program. 221

12 Josephine Yu Chen Sche (1) Course Evaluation and Five-Year Graduate Program Review at SCSU In preparation of the Five-Year Graduate Program Review for each graduate program at Southern Connecticut State University, one of the standards is the student survey for evaluating each course by the end of every semester, this valuation survey is conducted by the University Research Institution for courses taught by every faculty. The report of the student evaluation, based on a set of 24 questionnaires in the standard survey, is the university wide faculty teaching evaluation document and used as one of the evidences on teaching quality for faculty evaluation. e.g. to be submitted in the faculty promotion and tenure application files. The Information and Library Science Department has revised the standard student survey, originally designed for the on-campus courses, by adding 6 (six) more questionnaires in relation to online course teaching and learning environment in the student survey, which has been adapted by SCSU for the evaluation of online courses. (2) Distance learning courses in ALA accredited Master s programs Most ALA accredited MLS/MLIS programs accept courses taken in ALA accredited programs from schools or graduate departments in other colleges and universities. In general, each ALA-accredited program recognises up to 12 credits from other ALA-accredited programs for students who may take courses from other universities and complete their MLS/MLIS degree in their home university. Many ALA-accredited programs provide distance-learning opportunities for students through a variety of delivery methods, including online courses. In some universities, students can complete the entire MLS/MLIS program online, or with some on-campus courses. In some other universities, regional residency may be required for distance course program. All courses, both on-campus, in distance or online, offered by the universities and colleges for ALA-accredited MLS/MLIS programs are recognised as courses for ALA-accredited degree. Because these elearning course offerings could be developed and with changes in each higher education institutions every year, prospective students should contact the individual university and college programs directly for the latest information for taking the elearning courses and other distance learning options. Distance education options for ALA-accredited programs could offer: Faceto-face courses at other locations; Primarily face-to-face with selected online 222

13 e-learning Program for Master of Library Science Degree course offered; Primarily online some face-to-face courses required; Satellite or other broadcast methods; and 100% online program available. The contact information and the list of library education institutions that offer the can be found in ALA Directory of Accredited Program, posted at website of the American Library Association. end notes 1 ALA, ALA handbook of organization , [World Wide Web search interface]. [2008] < URL: 20.pdf. > [2011]. 2 ALA, Standards for accreditation of master s programs in library & information studies: adopted by the Council of the American Library Association, (ALA Standards of Accreditation), [World Wide Web search interface]. [2008] < URL: educationcareers/education/accreditedprograms/standards/standards_2008.pdf. > [2011]. 3 ALA, Accredited library and information studies master s programs from 1925 through present, [World Wide Web search interface]. [2011] < URL: educationcareers/education/accreditedprograms/directory/1925present/index.cfm. > [2011]. 223