PROGRAM PRESENTATION

Appendix M: STUDENT OPINIONS ABOUT THE CURRICULUM

The results from a survey of students distributed in the spring of 1999 are reported below. Fifty-six Master's students responded.

Curriculum. Students were asked whether they were satisfied with class size, frequency and number of course offerings and their opinions about the strengths and weaknesses of the curricular offerings. Their summarized responses and comments appear below.

Class Size
Too Large
Too Small
Just Right
Of Required Classes (n=56)
15
0
41
Of Elective Classes(n=54)
9
2
43

Seventy-three percent of the students report satisfactory with required class size and 80% with the size of elective classes.

Class Offering Frequency
Insufficient
Adequate
Of Required Classes (n=55)
4
51
Of Elective Classes (n=55)
29
26

Students are generally satisfied with the frequency of required class offerings (93%) but not as satisfied with the frequency of elective offerings (47%).

Students were asked to identify knowledge and skills essential to student in their degree programs in an open ended question. Fifty-four students responded -- 15 IS students and 39 LS students. Responses for each group appear below:

Skills and Knowledge Identified as Necessary by IS Students (number identifying each in parenthesis following the concept):

Mentioned once were design skills, organization and management, project management, reference, and awareness of librarianship and library services.

An example of one fairly detailed response was, "General computer skills, knowledge of at least one operating system, low level programming language (at least one, e.g., C), high level language (at least one, e.g., Visual Basic).

Skills and Knowledge Identified as Necessary by LS Students (number identifying each in parenthesis following the concept):

Mentioned once were various character traits such as resourcefulness, enthusiasm, persistence, adaptiveness, judgment and other topic areas, such as project management, online searching, website design, definition/philosophy of the field, the core requirements, and trends. One person emphasized the important of practical work experience; another valued a liberal arts background. On person said, "The skill of knowing how to read the professor's attitude is most essential. Many look past your work and judge you on a personal basis." Another said, "I don't think this needs to be as rigid as the question implies. People will regard different skills as essential, depending upon their concentration." One person commented negatively on the requirement for management and communication asserting that "they take time from other courses that are more useful."

Coherent Program of Studies. One question on the survey was,

"One of the funamental purposes of the curriculum is to help you construct a coherent program of studies. What suggestions do you have for helping the School support your achievement of this coherence (e.g., requirements, specializations, instructional methods, course offerings, time of offering, field experience, independent study)?"
Forty-three students responded with various comments -- 14 IS students and 29 LS students.

IS students offered the following:

One said, 'Get rid of "fantasy" courses listed in the catalog. Develop a curriculum that "starts here" and "ends there" with opportunities for "side trips."'

LS students offered the following:

Several areas were singled out with suggestion to offer more courses, such as public libraries (2), academic libraries, youth services, archives, special collections, rare books. One student said, "I don't feel qualified to comment on this. I wonder about the system of a "core" or "block" -- I know the program used to be this way. Some benefits in groups of students going through required classes as a community: less fragmentation and better coordination/synthesis by faculty. Even discretionary courses could be "bundled," perhaps. May yield more effective delivery of content -- e.g., a reference "bundle," an IT "bundle." Team teaching?"

Discrepancies Identified. Students were asked if there were discrepancies between what they expected and what they found the curriculum to be. Twenty-three students said yes, 9 IS students and 14 LS students.

IS students said:

One suggested an open house for prospective students with an opportunity to drop in on classes.

LS students said:

One said, "Internet applications should be required and undergrads should not be allowed in graduate level courses, or let future students know that undergrads are allowed in classes and to be prepared for their lack of discipline."

Future Curriculum Initiatives. Students were invited to identify curriculum initiatives for the future that may be important in helping students be competitive in the job market. Thirty-five students offered suggestions -- 12 IS and 13 LS.

IS students said:

One student said, "I think SILS recognizes that it will be very important to keep pace with changing/evolving technological developments and how they affect librarianship and IS."

LS students said:

Strengths and Weaknesses of the Curriculum. Two final questions on the student survey asked students to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the curriculum. Forty-one students identified strengths -- 13 IS and 28 LS students. Thirty-three students identified weaknesses -- 12 IS and 21 LS.

IS students identified as strengths:

LS students identified as strengths:

IS students identified as weakness:

Others mentioned aspects already mentioned above --some courses not offered; communication and management courses less strong, lack of programming course, insufficient technical orientation, too little emphasis on design.

LS students identified as weakness:

Others mentioned things mentioned before -- infrequent course offerings, too few public/children/YA courses, problems with management and communication courses, poor adjuncts.

Revised 9/26/99