Graduate Information Programs and Accreditation: Landscape

Survey and Analysis

ASIS&T Information Professions Accreditation MeetingSeptember 9, 2008Washington, D.C.

Samantha BeckerMLIS Candidate | The Information School

MPA Candidate | Evans School of Public AffairsUniversity of Washington

Methodology• 2008 Peterson’s Graduate and Professional

Programs– surveyed annually– accredited by USDE or CHEA– 6 volumes, 491 disciplinary fields

• Looked for programs with keywords– information– informatics– human-computer interaction– knowledge management

Methodology

• Visited websites of about ½ of the programs• Built database with

– institution name– administrative unit– degree(s) offered– title of major or concentration area

Example

University of Oklahoma, Graduate College, College of Arts and Sciences, School of Library and Information Studies, Program in Library and Information Studies, Norman, OK 73019-0390. Offers knowledge management (MS); library and information studies (MLIS); school library media specialist (certificate); M Ed/MLIS; MBA/MLIS.

Key Findings• Approximately 900 information-related

master’s degrees• Offered in 468 colleges and universities• 220 distinct majors or concentration areas• Most frequent majors

– information systems (93)– management information systems (93)– information technology (57)– bioinformatics (51)– library and information science (43)

Key Findings

– 1/3 of academic units on the computerinformation science spectrum

– 1/3 bio- and health sciences, library science, public administration, communications, & education

– 1/3 in academic units focused on business

Academic Units

• Found programs spread across 500 academic units

• The highest administrative unit for 85% of programs was a school, college, or faculty

• 30% of colleges and universities have information programs in more than one unit

Academic Units• Larger institutions tend to have stand-alone

departments concerned with information– Graduate schools have mostly an administrative

function

• Medium sized institutions tend to have information programs in 2nd level departments, mostly within colleges of arts & science

• Smaller institutions often have graduate schools that encompass all master’s level programs

Major Disciplinary Areas

Information Disciplines

Bates, M.J. (2007). "Defining the information disciplines in encyclopedia development" Information Research, 12(4) paper colis29. [Available at http://InformationR.net/ir/12-4/colis/colis29.html]

Computer Information Science Spectrum

• 350 programs in computer technology fields– Engineering– Computer science– Information science

Program Types

• 220 majors or concentration areas• Top 17 account for 60% of programs• Split professional degrees/master of science• 12-24 month completion• Internships or professional experience often

required• Capstone projects emphasized; fewer w/thesis

requirements

Program Types

• 4 major categories– information systems– Informatics– Information technology– Information science

Information Systems

• 205 colleges and universities• 305 programs• Majors/concentrations include

– information systems (93)– management information systems (93)– computer information systems (34)– information systems management (12)

Information Systems

• Program focus– analysis, design, and implementation of

information systems– data management– project management– strategic management and use of information

technology

• Differences mostly in level of technical preparation

Informatics

• 106 programs• Focused on the use of information within

specific disciplines– biology/genetics– health/medical sciences– chemistry– media

Informatics

• Bioinformatics/biomedical informatics– 53 programs– 15 in academic units with biology focus– 11 in medical schools– curricula includes

• advanced life sciences• design and implementation of information systems• statistical modeling and analysis• many interested in managing and analyzing data from

genetic research

Informatics

• Health informatics– 30 colleges and universities– 2/3 in medical, nursing, or health sciences units– 34 programs

• health informatics• medical informatics• nursing informatics

– emphasizing use of information for evaluation of patient outcomes

Information Technology

• 95 colleges and universities• 118 programs

– 45% in business schools

• Majors/concentrations include– information technology (57)– information technology management (22)

• 59 master of science degrees• 35 MBA

Information Technology

• Program focus– managing technology projects

• databases• e-commerce systems• computer networks

– decision support– also business topics

• accounting, organizational development

Information Science

• 84 colleges/universities• 98 programs• Majors/concentrations include

– library and information science (43)– computer and information science (26)– information science (11)– information studies (6)

Information Science

• Library and information science– ALA accredited– those within iCaucus schools have less emphasis

on traditional library subjects (cataloging, reference services, collection development)

• Computer and information science– more emphasis on infrastructure

• architecture, networking, software engineering

Information Science

• Information science/information studies– more general or theoretical approach– emphasize human-computer interaction,

information organization, information behavior– relatively small portion of information graduate

school universe

Other Program Areas• Information security

– 30 programs– some designated as National Center of Academic

Excellence in Information Assurance by the NSA– emphasize cryptography, digital forensics, risk analysis

• E-Business/E-Commerce– 23 programs– 18 MBA– emphasize design and implementation of electronic

commerce applications

Accreditation Agencies

• Two types of accrediting agencies– regional and national

• accredit entire institutions

– specialized agencies • accredit particular programs

Relevant Specialized Agencies

• American Library Association (ALA)• Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of

Business (AACSB)• Association of Collegiate Business Schools and

Programs (ACBSP)• Accrediting Board for Engineering and

Technology (ABET)

Recommendations

• Clarify the need for and purpose of a new accrediting agency

• Complement existing accrediting agencies• Define the scope along the

computerinformation spectrum• Focus on domain-specific programs, especially

business programs