Thomas A. Childers
A.B. Kroeger Professor of Information Studies
Director of Library and Information Science Programs
College of Information Science and Technology
Drexel University
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Phone: 215-895-2479
E-mail: childeta@duvm.ocs.drexel.edu

Structured Curriculum Change: Information
Science and Technology at Drexel University

GENERAL SESSION III: Technology and the New Information Profession,
Friday, February 14, 1997, 10:45am - 11:30am

The College of Information Science and Technology, Drexel University, is in the midst of two initiatives that address the educational needs of information professionals of the 21st century. Three main forces drive the need for considering changes in the content and method of delivery of education for information professionals: rapid change in the landscape of information services and systems, fueled by the emerging information technologies and reflecting new social configurations among information handling stakeholders; alternative technologies for delivering education that remove or diminish the dependency on the traditional same-time, same-place mode; and increasing competition for students through those technologies.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation is supporting the College as it defines the information professional of tomorrow and designs an appropriate curriculum content. This paper describes the current status of the Kellogg Project. Major topics include:

  1. The process used thus far to define the broad information and computing field

  2. The curriculum design methodology that is being tested, based on a systems engineering model

  3. The progress of curriculum design, including a job niche-by-competency matrix used in isolating learning units and an ongoing program of market analysis

  4. A groupware application that supports the faculty and administration in the curriculum design and maintenance effort, linking course descriptions and syllabi, marketplace competencies, and various sources of job market information to each other

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