SILS Masters Committee End of Year Report, Spring 2011
April 26, 2012
Committee Members: Barbara Moran (Chair), Reagan Moore (co-Chair), Jaime Arguello, Brad
Hemminger, Richard Marciano, Ryan Shaw, Brian Sturm, Helen Tibbo, Sarah Lippincott, Cheryl
Thompson, Lara Bailey (ex officio), Rebecca Vargha (ex officio)
1. ADMISSIONS
The admissions subcommittee was comprised of Jaime Arguello, Brad Hemminger, Richard
Marciano, and Barbara Moran. The members of the subcommittee did the first reading of all of
the applications. Stephanie Haas, Barbara Wildemuth and Brian Sturm were the second readers.
Student applicants who were put on hold as a result of the first and second readings, were
reviewed as a group by Barbara Wildemuth, Stephanie Haas, Brian Sturm and Barbara Moran.
Although the review of the applications is a time consuming process, the committee found it less
onerous than last year because the Graduate School has implemented the Apply Yourself system
for handling applications which is much easier to use than ConnectCarolina.
The final figures for spring 2012 and summer 2012 admissions are below; the fall 2012
applications are still in process. Although the number of applicants is down from 2010-2011, the
gap is not huge because the 2010 statistics included incomplete applications. To date we have
admitted 223 students for Fall 2012 and 71 students are still awaiting an admissions decision. We
expect to admit about the same number of students as last year.
Spring 2012
Applied
Admitted
Rejected
Withdrew
MSLS
16
11
4
1
MSIS
2
2
0
0
Total
18
13
4
1
Averages
Raw Score
Percentage
Average GPA: 3.6
GRE V
590
79
GRE Q
658
62
GRE W
4
49
Summer 2012
Applied
Admitted
Rejected
Withdrew
MSLS
6
4
2
0
MSIS
4
2
1
1
Total
10
6
3
1
Averages
Raw Score:
Percentage
Average GPA: 3.5
GRE V
159/587*
85/75
GRE Q
148/640
52/56
GRE W
4/4.5
54/57
Fall 2012
Applied
No Decision
Admitted
Rejected
Withdrew
MSLS
247
45
171
30
1
MSIS
105
26
52
27
0
Total
352
71
223
57
1
Averages
Raw Score:
Percentage
Average GPA 3.8
GRE V
159/593
79/80
GRE Q
153/687
62/67
GRE W
4.3/4.1
61/51
Fall 2011
Applied: 538
Complete: 339
Admitted: 273
Rejected: 120
Withdrawn: 75
Enrolled: 114
Declined: 75
Deferred: 6
*New GRE/Old GRE
2. COMPREHENSIVE EXAMS
DATE
Fall 2011
Spring 2012
TOTALS
TAKEN
13
107
120
PASSED
13
105
118
ORALS
0
2
2
All students passed either the comprehensive or oral exams. On the second reading, four exams
that were rated L were converted to P. A learning assessment, based on the comprehensive
exams, is provided in a separate document. The assessment evaluates each of the five learning
objectives, compares MSIS and MSLS scores, and compares current performance with prior year
assessments.
3. AWARDS
2012 Dean's Achievement Award committee: Jaime Arguello, Brad Hemminger, Reagan Moore.
Winners will be announced at Commencement.
The Chatman Award will be given after Summer Session offering of INLS 780 concludes.
4. COURSE CHANGES
The Committee brought 2 changes to the faculty in Spring 2012.
Description Changes
INLS 782, Library Assessment, Approved.
Additions as regular courses
INLS 490-161, Building a Personal Digital Library as INLS 540. Presented to faculty on
4/28/11.
5. MSIS Curriculum Revision
The MSIS Curriculum revision was discussed at multiple faculty meetings during the semester.
Based on discussions at the 3/21/12 Faculty Curriculum meeting, the following assessment
represents a possible approach.
Additional Required courses for MSIS
 A programming course (Java, Python, PHP, or similar, e.g., INLS 560)
 Database I, e.g., INLS 523
 Systems Analysis, e.g., INLS 582
 Information Retrieval, e.g., INLS 509
Rationale.
This represents a potential increase in the number of required courses for the MSIS, however, the
faculty believe these are necessary foundations for the degree. Currently, INLS 523 is not
required, although in practice, virtually all MSIS students, as well as many MSLS students, take
the database course.
Student reaction to required courses, based on ILSSA survey and a 4/11/12 Fireside Chat, was
positive, although students suggested highlighting themes and relationships among courses,
through reorganization/redistribution of topics or other means.
Some students will have had programming or database courses prior to starting the MSIS
program. These students will be able to waive the requirement and increase the number of
electives they take. In the future, we expect that more and more students will do so, either as part
of their undergraduate education, or by their own initiative as they prepare for the MSIS degree.
Although faculty decided it would be premature to require programming and database
knowledge as admission requirements, we should monitor the number of students who are able
to waive these courses.
Admission Requirements
 INLS 461, Information Tools, equivalent
 Finite math, probability, or statistics (e.g., MATH 117, Finite Mathematics)
SILS Required Courses: 16.5 credits
 Organization of Information (520)
 Management (585), recommended in Year 2
 Human Information Interactions (500, redesigned)
 Research Methods Overview (780, redesigned) Year 1
 Proposal Development Class
 Capstone (Semester 4)
Assumption: Capstone will relate to student's specialization)
MSIS Required Courses: 12 credits
 Programming (INLS 560 or similar)
 Database 1 (INLS 523)
 Systems Analysis (582)
 Information Retrieval (509)
Electives: 21 credits. Most, if not all, will be taken in student's specialization. In lieu of selecting
a defined specialization, a student may select electives to meet his/her educational goals, in
consultation with his/her advisor.
Figure 1. Relationship between the components of the MSIS degree.
Field Experience is strongly recommended for all students without professional experience
(e.g., work, assistantship). In most cases, it should relate to student's specialization.
Specializations
Description, scope, and required/recommended/suggested courses (aka advising grids) should be
constructed by faculty for each specialization area. Grids should be reviewed annually by the
Masters Committee, to reflect changes in SILS courses, and by the area faculty to ensure
currency, identify gaps, and updates. The current areas of specialization are summarized in an
excel spreadsheet appended to the report. In the spreadsheet, each column lists the required,
highly recommended, and recommended courses for an area of specialization. The rows list all
of the courses that are suggested by the areas of specialization in MSIS. The document is color
coded to help differentiate between the types of courses:
Required
- red square with the number in bold
Highly recommended – blue square with number in regular font
Recommended
- green square with number in parentheses
One recommendation for next semester is to provide consistent information between the courses
listed on the SILS web site, and the courses listed for each area of specialization. Currently, the
areas of specialization may refer to courses that are not included in the course list. Either we
need to add course descriptions to the web course list or delete the courses from the area of
specialization. The specialization summarization spreadsheet only list courses that are described
on the SILS web site.
A second recommendation for next semester is to pull together current information on
specialization areas that have been developed or proposed. Note that only the first seven
columns (areas of specialization) are listed on the web page. The missing four areas of
specialization should also be listed. The specialization in Human Information Behavior was not
listed, as it strongly overlapped with Human Computer Interactions. A proposal for a new area
of specialization on data management is included which needs to be reviewed and modified by
the Master’s Committee.
A third recommendation is to provide information for understanding the current proposals within
the context of the MSIS curriculum revision. The major impact is the inclusion of required
courses in programming and databases for MSIS students. This provides opportunities for
additional electives.
Other ideas:
 Descriptions of each specialization could include job titles and even employers.
 Provide at least one alumnus profile for each specialization.
 Instructors offering 490 and 890 courses could include specializations for which the
course might be appropriate in the course description.
6. Master’s Committee Student Tracking Report for Spring 2012
The tracking report is appended. Figures for the total number of enrolled students, number of
students in MSIS and MSLS, distribution by gender, minority enrollment, number of
international students, number of part-time students, average age of Master’s students, and class
size are provided.
7. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR 2012-2013 MASTERS COMMITTEE
Specific recommendations are provided for completion of the MSIS curriculum revision. The
areas where consensus is needed include:
1. Specializations
 Determine faculty responsible for each specialization. The list presented in section 6
represents the current coordinators.
 Update or define specializations.
 Post on website with supplemental materials
 Use to publicize MSIS
2. Curriculum changes
 New course requirements (Masters Committee, faculty, SILS Admin Board)
 Specializations (Masters Committee, faculty, also SILS Admin Board?)
 Capstone options (Masters Committee, faculty, SILS Admin Board, Graduate School)
3. Course changes
 New courses should be created, piloted, added to curriculum in 2012-13. Systems
Development, others?
 Update course descriptions
 Suggest when students should take required courses (may vary by specialization)
4. Capstone options
 Research similar options in other campus units, peer schools
 Consult graduate school, especially regarding group work
 Curriculum proposal ready by Fall 2012
5. Adoption plan
 Acquire all approvals
 Change requirements for incoming students
 Grandfathering continuing students
8. OTHER CURRICULUM TOPICS
The following tasks represent continuing objectives for the Master’s Committee:
 Develop and update advising grids – the current grids have been distributed to specialization
area coordinators for review.
 Develop a concentration in data management – an initial draft proposal for a specialization
area in data management has been generated, and is included on the summary chart for
specialization areas.
 Assess field experience and internship opportunities – as part of the curriculum revision
proposal, a strong recommendation is being made to include field experience for all students
without professional experience.
 Monitor Certificate of Advanced Study program – educational material provided by vendors
is being considered for creation of technology-oriented courses for the CAS program.
 As part of the MSIS curriculum revision, the policies for admission to the master's and CAS




programs were revised, and the structure of 780 Research Methods was reviewed.
Replacements for coordinators of dual degree programs were found:
o Public Health – Javed Mostafa
o Business – Barbara Moran
The MS comprehensive exam was written and given.
The curriculum for the BSIS/MS dual degree program should be reviewed based on the
revised MSIS curricula.
Assist hiring of student placement coordinator (done)
Org. of Info. &
Materials / Info.
Architecture
Information
Retrieval
500
509
520
523
560
582
585
Jane Greenberg
Admission
Admission
500
509
520
523
560
582
585
Diane Kelly
Admission
Admission
500
509
520
523
560
582
585
780
992
780
992
MSIS specialization areas
Core Courses: Specialization area leader
Information Tools
Finite math (MATH 117 or statistics)
Human Information Interactions
Information Retrieval
Organization of Information
Database I
Programming
Systems Analysis
Management for Information Professionals
Proposal Development Class
Research Methods
Master's Paper (Capstone Project)
461
Electives - MSIS
Information Resources and Services
Applications of Natural Language Processing
Resource Selection and Evaluation
Consumer Health Information
Electronic Records Management
Information Visualization
History of Libraries and other information-related cultural institutions
Introduction to Archives and Records Management
Information Security
Web Applications I
Introduction to Local Area Networks
Distributed Systems and Administration
Protocols and Network Management
Information Ethics (584)
Text Mining
Database Systems II: Intermediate Databases (623)
Policy-based Data Management
Web Development II
Information Retrieval Search Strategies
Science Information
Humanities and Social Science Information
Health Science Information
Biomedical Informatics Research Review
Government Documents
Law Libraries and Legal Information
Business Information
User Interface Design
Metadata Architectures and Applications
Organization of Materials (II)
Database Systems III: Advanced databases
Abstracting and Indexing for Information Retrieval
Information Services for Special Populations
Digital Libraries: Principles and Applications
Music Librarianship
Special Libraries and Knowledge Management
Health Sciences Environment
Digital Preservation and Access
Preservation of Library and Archive Materials
Access, Outreach, and Public Service in Cultural Heritage Repositories
Archival Appraisal
Principles and Practices of Archival Description
Web Databases
Library Assessment
Human Relations Management
Marketing of Information Services
Professional Field Experience
Seminar in Human-Computer Interaction
Seminar in Academic Libraries
Seminar in Public Libraries
Large-scale Databases for Social Networking (noSQL)
Building a personal digital library
Color coding
501
512
513
515
525
541
551
556
566
572
574
576
578
584
613
623
624
672
701
703
704
705
706
707
708
709
718
720
721
723
724
739
740
746
747
748
752
753
754
755
757
760
782
785
786
795
818
841
843
490
490
780
992
Required
Human
Computer
interactions
Brad
Hemminger
Admission
Admission
500
509
520
523
560
582
585
Archives &
Records
Management
Helen Tibbo
Admission
Admission
500
509
520
523
560
582
585
780
992
780
992
Highly Rec.
(Recommended)
Networking &
Internet
Technology
Arcot
Rajasekar
Admission
Admission
500
509
520
523
560
582
585
780
992
Management Spec. Lib. &
of Information Knowledge
Systems
Management
Stephanie
Haas
Admission
Admission
Admission
Admission
500
500
509
509
520
520
523
523
560
560
582
582
585
585
780
992
(501 or 754)
(512)
780
992
Database
Design and
Development
Brad
Hemminger
Admission
Admission
500
509
520
523
560
582
585
Info. Systems
Design and
Development
Stephanie
Haas
Admission
Admission
500
509
520
523
560
582
585
Digital
Libraries
Jeff
Pomerantz
Admission
Admission
500
509
520
523
560
582
585
Health
Comm.
Javed
Mostafa
Admiss.
Admiss.
500
509
520
523
560
582
585
780
992
780
992
780
992
780
992
(512)
501
(512)
513
501
(512)
(512)
513
Proposed
Data
Management
Helen Tibbo
Admission
Admission
500
509
520
523
560
582
585
780
992
(515)
(525)
525
(525)
(525)
525
541
(551)
(556)
556
556
566
572
574
576
578
572
572
584
(613)
(623)
(613)
(623)
(623)
672
(701)
(701)
(613)
623
623
(672)
(672)
(701)
(703)
(704)
(705)
(706)
(566)
(572)
(572)
(576)
623
(624)
(672)
(672)
(701)
(706)
(707)
(708)
709
(718)
(708)
720
721
(723)
724
(572)
566
572
574
(576)
(718)
(720)
718
718
(720)
(708)
(720)
(723)
724
(723)
724
723
(724)
(740)
(740)
747
(747)
(748)
(708)
718
(720)
(723)
(718)
(720)
(721)
723
(724)
(718)
(720)
723
(739)
(740)
(746)
(747)
(748)
757
(760)
795
(841)
(843)
740
747
740
(747)
(748)
752 or 753
752 or 753
(754 or 501)
755
757
(760)
795
(760)
795
818
(754)
760
(795)
740
795
782
785
786
795
(760)
(782)
(785)
786
795
760
(760)
782
760
795
(818)
(841)
795
(818)
795
(490-163)
760
795
795
(490-163)
490-161
Master’s Committee Student Tracking Report
Spring 2012
Each year the Master’s Committee tracks student data based on data compiled by SILS for the
ALISE statistics (submitted each fall), Kaitlyn Murphy’s undergraduate minor tracking, and data
on admissions compiled by the UNC Graduate School. As of this report, the Graduate School
data for 2012 are not available, so they will be added once they appear on the website.
OVERVIEW OF THE DEGREE PROGRAMS (and the Master’s Programs in particular)
Total Enrolled Students
(PhD, MSLS, MSIS, BSIS, und. minor)
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
Our numbers seem to have plateaued since 2006, though there was a slight increase in
enrollments during that time. The slight 2011 increase is due primarily to a small drop in
enrollments in the master’s degrees in 2011 but a concomitant rise in undergraduate enrollments
(BSIS and minor).
Enrollment in SILS Programs
(figures taken from the annual ALISE statistics)
300
250
MSLS
200
MSIS
150
Und.
Minor
BSIS
100
PhD
50
0
199 199 199 199 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 201 201
6
7
8
9
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
0
1
MSLS
141 144 148 130 110 115 142 167 172 185 203 203 195 239 244 231
MSIS
64
62
67
Und. Minor
79
86
98
107
94
80
71
65
71
75
70
64
59
72
82
75
72
48
65
76
20
25
23
26
23
29
30
65
91
35
30
29
24
18
37
43
50
46
53
58
60
60
47
49
BSIS
PhD
29
28
24
26
31
36
46
This chart shows the details for enrollment in all of our programs. The spike in undergraduate
numbers is indicative of the major PR and marketing effort over the past year, and this bodes
well for a similar increase at the MSIS level once the curriculum review is complete and the
degree gets some critical marketing attention. The decrease in the MSLS may be due to an
overall drop in applications, but we will need to await final data from the Grad School.
GENDER
Enrollment in Master's Programs by Gender
200
180
160
140
120
MSLS M
100
MSLS F
MSIS M
80
MSIS F
60
40
20
0
19
99
MSLS M 31
MSLS F 99
MSIS M 35
MSIS F 44
20
00
23
87
34
52
20
01
20
95
33
65
20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20
02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11
28 37 46 45 51 52 50 49 50 54
114 130 126 140 152 151 145 190 194 177
46 52 52 44 43 50 53 44 40 31
59 43 28 27 22 21 22 26 24 28
The MSLS degree remains predominantly female, though the number of men in the degree is
slowly rising (and is at its highest level since 1999). The MSIS used to be predominantly female
(1999-2002), then male (2003-2010), but the genders are more balanced now. This is due to an
increased enrollment of women, but also to a decreased enrollment of men.
ETHNICITY
Minority Enrollment - MSLS
20
18
Number of students
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
American Indian
Asian/Pacific Islander
Black
Hispanic
Other International
N/A
The MSLS remains a primarily white, female student body, though there has been a rise in
Hispanic/Latino enrollment since 2008. The Asian student population has decreased more than
50% since 2009, most probably due to the economy and lack of funding opportunities, or the
Asian applicants’ primary interest in the MSIS.
Minority Enrollment - MSIS
20
Number of students
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
American Indian
Asian/Pacific Islander
Black
Hispanic
Other International
N/A
The MSIS has been, and continues to be, more diverse than the MSLS, due primarily to the
smaller population in the degree. Of potential interest in this chart, is the resurgence of the
“other international” students since 2008 and the dramatic drop in the Asian student population
since 2002.
Percent Minority/International Students by
Degree
40%
30%
MSIS
20%
MSLS
10%
0%
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
We need to do a better job of recruiting all ethnic minorities to our School, as the figure for total
ethnic diversity shows (one caveat is that this information is self-declared, and our actual
diversity may be higher than depicted here).
IN-STATE/OUT-OF-STATE STUDENTS
250
200
150
In-State
Out of State
100
50
0
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
We are seeing a dramatic increase in the number of in-state students since 2006 with an opposing
drop in out-of-state student enrollments. While this means we are serving the state population
more completely, it also means a drop in overall income for the university from the loss of
tuition.
FULL-TIME/PART-TIME
% Part-time Students
35.0%
30.0%
25.0%
20.0%
15.0%
10.0%
5.0%
0.0%
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
The rise in part-time students seen in 2011 may be attributed to the economy, as more students
work full-time and study part-time instead of the reverse. Out full-time students are also
working 20-30 hours/week to make ends meet. This trend will probably continue as our
financial aid remains low due to budget cuts and economic hardships. An increasing part-time
student body has implications for when and how often we offer our courses. The SILS master’s
degrees are still primarily taken by full-time students. The decrease in percentage since 1999 is
due, not to a drop in part-time students, but to a large growth in our full-time student body.
AGE
Average Age of Entering Master's Students
31
30
29
28
27
26
25
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
The average age of our students has remained fairly consistent around 28-29 years old. The
changes are due mostly to a small number of “second-career” students in their late 40s and early
50s.
CLASS SIZE
Average Enrollments/Course from 1999-2011
Average Number of Courses
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
1 - 5 6 - 10 11 - 15 16- 20 21- 25 26- 30 31- 35 36- 40 41- 45 46- 50 >50
Number of Students
We have been able to maintain our relatively small class sizes over the last 12 years with
additional faculty hires and, until recently, fairly heavy use of adjuncts. We will have to see how
the budget cuts affect our class size in the next couple of years.