Gene T. Sherron, D.B.A.
Professor of Information Technology
School of Library and Information Studies
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL 32306-2048
Phone: 904-644-6400
Fax: 904-668-2562
E-mail: sherron@LIS.fsu.edu

Reinventing the Bachelor's Degree!
Call It "Information Studies"

JURIED PAPER SESSION, Wednesday, February 12, 1997, 4:00pm - 5:30pm

This is the story of how Florida State University's School of Information Studies developed a strategy for education in an emerging niche of the information profession. Approaching its 50th anniversary in 1997, this graduate School saw a need to be met in the area of information support services and determined it was in its best interest to add an undergraduate program; the rationale for that decision will be delineated. The four-year process to plan, propose and gain authorization to offer a new degree in a state university system will be briefly described.

The emphasis will be on the curriculum which includes a presentation of the set of core courses which relate to the core competencies associated with this new baccalaureate degree. The electives that are used to complete the 36 hour major will be described. In arranging these supporting electives, several clusters of electives are identified to demonstrate how students will be able to learn skill sets to sharpen their focus in the information field so as to be appealing to employers and point them toward a real-world career step. The development process for this curriculum drew heavily on the three forward-thinking library schools which have information-oriented rather than specifically library-oriented bachelor's degree programs--the University of Pittsburgh (1979--Information Science), Drexel University (1984--Information Systems), and Syracuse University (1987--Information Studies. As part of a grant solicited and obtained by FSU through the Kellogg Foundation, each of these schools were visited by a team from the School to learn, first hand, how their programs compared and to learn from their experiences. These "lessons learned" will be highlighted in the presentation as we demonstrate this new approach to educate students to work in the information industry in the 21st Century; however, no curriculum plan is complete until it has been tested and the first students were not admitted until Fall 1996.

This new program features a considerable emphasis in the use of information technologies. The strategies for how to teach these students with $300,000 of new technology laboratories will be explained. In addition to the normal set of laboratories typically in the School, we will describe a new Usability Lab, New Technology Lab, and the new Technologies Instructional Lab. Sizes, costs, functions, and hardware and software associated with these new labs will also be covered.

What positions in the workforce do we expect these BSIS graduates to fill? This leads us to a discussion of the job titles and places where we expect these students to find employment. The program is designed to prepare students, at a beginning level, to develop, organize, store, retrieve, administer, and facilitate the use of information with the single guiding principle that our approach to information is with the user's perspective! With a curriculum that ranges from Analysis to Usability, the focus is on users and the appropriate sources and services to serve them.

The presentation will close with audience participation where the attendees will get a chance to "vote" on the components of our design.

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