The admission requirements for the School are as follows:

• A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in this country, or its equivalent from a foreign institution.

• A GPA of 3.0 or better (on a 4.0 scale) in the last two years of the undergraduate program.

• Acceptable score on the General Test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), taken within the five years preceding application.

• A strong liberal arts and sciences background is highly desirable.

  For applicants whose native language is not English, a minimum TOEFL score of 550, with a minimum score of 50 on each of the three sections of the test.

In accord with the school's mission and identity statement (see Chapter 3 above), we make no distinction at the time of admission between applicants for the MSLS and MSIS degrees, as degree choice in the first year can be fluid. The faculty members of the Master's Committee review each applicant's file individually and collectively. All criteria for admission (clearly stated in the school's catalog and on its website (http://ils.unc.edu) are weighed.

Admission to the master's programs is competitive. Meeting all of the stated requirements for admission will not necessarily insure admittance. university-imposed restrictions on the number of students permitted to enroll in the School of Information and Library Science limit the number of vacancies available each term. Currently, the rejection rate is about 40%.

Failure to meet all of the stated requirements does not necessarily imply that an applicant will be rejected as the Master's Committee considers each individual case on its merits. The school seeks a diverse student body. Each year a limited number of students who have not met all the minimum requirements are admitted on the basis of high motivation, unusual promise for the profession, or their special characteristics. Individuals not meeting the stated requirements but believing that their application merits consideration because of special qualifications are encouraged to submit application materials accompanied by a statement explaining the reasons for asking that the requirements be waived.

All admitted students are considered for financial aid which is merit-based, although some financial aid is earmarked for a particular subset of the student body, for example, students indicating a desire to work with children, minority students, students interested in school library work, and the like. Occasionally the school seeks and receives special grants for students in one of these categories.

The student body is of high quality and sufficiently diverse in culture, ethnic and language background to form a stimulating group. Not all students are active in the life of the School outside of classes but many are. The student responses to the last student survey attests to their beliefs in the fact that opportunities to participate in many different ways are possible. Student comments on the quality of student life may be found in section G of that survey (see Appendix L: Survey of Current Students).

Information about the school and its programs is made available to students in a variety of ways. Chief among them are the School's catalog and its website (http://ils.unc.edu). Student listservs are popular. The students-l listserv is used for general announcements of special interest to students; the announce-l listserv is used for announcement of general interest to all members of the School. In addition, each student association maintains its own listserv, as do virtually all classes. The school has a reputation as a heavy email culture. All students have email accounts and typically check them at least once a day if not more frequently.

The school's website contains the most up-to-date information about the curriculum and the faculty.

Criteria for evaluating student performance is provided in each syllabus (see the Class Home Pages from the website) and often with each assignment as well. Once of the aspects examined by faculty in their peer observation activities is how this information is provided (see Appendix T: Peer Observation Guidelines); it is also part of the Instructional Rating Survey filled out by all students at the end of a class.

The school assists students with placement through career advising and the services of the University Career Services (UCS) and an annual career fair sponsored by the school. More details about these activities is available in Chapter 4 above in the section describing the need and demand for graduates of the program.

Information about the admission policies, procedures, and process is outlined above. We believe that students admitted to the school are well qualified to make a success of the program and to the field.

Data on placement of students and on publications that Master's students have produced after graduation (often as the direct result of work on their master's paper and often with substantial support and encouragement from their faculty advisor) is available.

Descriptions of how the advising process works to allow students to select a coherent program of study that will best fit their needs and their interests is described above in Chapter 4 within the sections on the Master of Science in Information Science and the Master of Science in Library Science. Many specializations are offered and others can be developed collaboratively between the student and his/her advisor. The students appear well satisfied with the advising process as the information from the most recent student survey attests (see Appendix F: Quality of Academic Advising).

Case studies of 15 MSIS student and 15 MSLS students and their programs of study are provided in Appendix G. An examination of these cases will show the kinds of programs individuals have developed with the assistance of their advisors.

All faculty have posted office hours and are often in their offices and available at other times as well. Faculty will make an effort to accommodate to a student's schedule. Although each student has an assigned advisor, he/she may request transfer to another faculty. Requests to transfer are routinely honored unless the requested faculty has too many advisees to accommodate another one. Students may, and often do, seek advice from more than one faculty member. They are also referred to the University Counseling Service for placement assistance.

The seven student organizations are active and contribute to the intellectual and social life of the school.

Students are members of all school committees and contribute fully to the decisions made. Both the student survey and the alumni survey provide evidence suggesting that students and graduates are pleased with the learning experience provided. The faculty as a whole considers student needs and desires carefully in reviewing policies and procedures.

SILS has been blessed with an unusually responsive staff in the main office. The former [Graduate] Student Services Manager, Betty Kompst, and the current incumbent, Lucia Zonn, as well as the former Student Services Assistant, Kirsten Donohoo who is now the Undergraduate Student Services Manager, are highly considerate of students. They exert a lot of effort to find information for individual students requesting help. Students often single members of the staff out by name as having provided valuable assistance.

Members of the administrative staff serve on the Master's Committee and other committees of the School and assist in the evaluation and planning processes.

In formal and informal ways, faculty discuss results of data received from students in classes and on surveys to consider if there are ways the programs can be made more responsive to their needs. Students are encouraged to express opinions about all aspects of the school -- curriculum, classes, lab and library policies, administrative policies. Problems uncovered are examined by standing and ad hoc committees composed of faculty, staff, and students. Recommendations for change are brought to the faculty or directly to the dean.