PROGRAM PRESENTATION

Appendix R: ALUMNI CONTINUING EDUCATION ACTIVITIES SINCE GRADUATION


SILS alumnae have tended to seek continuing education opportunities that contribute to incremental technical and professional growth. The first of these categories has been of particular interest to IS graduates, and these alumnae have shown a marked interest in acquiring additional programming skills and computer competencies related to particular applications and systems. These include C and C++ programming languages, JAVA script, and UNIX. In order to pursue these interests, they have taken advantage of local community college courses, professional development opportunities provided by their employers, conference programs, and vendor training. Two of the alumnae have also shown interest in developing management skills, and there has been some interest in improving written and spoken communication.

Examples of some of the topics pursued include:

Several spoke of attending conferences and professional meetings. They obtained new knowledge primarily through their employers; several mentioned community college classes; one identified a professional association and another said "self-taught."

 

LS alumnae have also shown an interest in developing additional technical competencies, and they have taken advantage of opportunities to improve their knowledge of programming languages, operating systems, and web development tools. They have also shown a strong interest in adopting new library technologies and tools, such as NC live, and sharpening their information retrieval skills. Although many of the responses are non-specific, approximately half make reference to activities related to computers, systems, and telecommunication technologies. A much smaller, but significant, number have used continuing education opportunities to improve their management skills.

Specific responses identifying topics included:

Professional associations, employers, state libraries, and colleges have played an important role in providing these continuing education opportunities. Close to 40% of the LS alumnae mention ALA, PLA, MLA, or other professional associations when describing their training activities. About 25% mention conferences. Some also mention state libraries; several indicate that SILS' INFOTOGO workshops and other university-sponsored events have contributed to their continuing development. Institutions of higher learning have played an additional role, with a small number of alumnae indicating that they have completed language, literature, and social science courses at the college level.


Revised 9/26/99