This past week, three INLS 781 professors – Brad Hemminger, Brian Sturm, and Mary Grace Flaherty – joined the Master’s Committee to discuss INLS 781 and 581 – the purpose and scope of each course, what knowledge and deliverables students should have/produce by the end of each course, and whether or not the courses in their current form are giving students what they need to successfully complete their Master’s Papers. Because 1.5-credit courses require as much faculty preparation as a 3-credit course, and because students often continue to work on their proposals and research collection once 781 ends, the majority of the Committee agreed that changing 781 to a 3-credit course could be beneficial to both students and the faculty who teach 781. The Committee agreed to collect data from course evaluations and a student poll that would support this decision. The next step will be to introduce the topic and the data at an upcoming faculty meeting and bring the Committee’s proposal to a vote.
In addition to discussing 781 and 581, the Committee confirmed that Dr. Flaherty’s Special Topics course Disaster Planning for Libraries was approved to be added to the SILS course catalogue as INLS 711, a 1.5-credit course. The addition of four more 1.5-credit courses will be discussed at the next meeting.