COA announces accreditation decisions made at 2019 Annual Conference

For Immediate Release
Tue, 07/09/2019

Contact:

Karen O'Brien

Director

Office for Accreditation

American Library Association

312-280-2434

accred@ala.org

CHICAGO — The Committee on Accreditation (COA) of the American Library Association (ALA) announces accreditation actions taken at the 2019 ALA Annual Conference.

What follows reflects the April 2018 policy revision to section I.15 (Accreditation decisions) of Accreditation Process, Policies, and Procedures (AP3), implemented to enhance public disclosure, that went into effect for all programs beginning in May 2018. The policy states that “any standard on which a program has follow-up reporting (following a comprehensive review or interim reporting review) is made public by the Office for Accreditation in the Directory of ALA-Accredited Programs and as a part of the usual means (e.g., press release, Accreditation Decisions and Actions Taken reports, and Prism).”

Continued Accreditation status was granted to the following programs (listed in alphabetical order by institution), with the next comprehensive review visit scheduled to take place in spring 2026:

  • Master of Information Science and Master of Library Science at Indiana University, Bloomington. Standard cited for follow-up reporting: II.1 (curriculum evolves in response to ongoing systematic planning).
  • Master of Library Science at Indiana University Purdue University, Indianapolis. Meets all standards. No follow-up reporting required.
  • Master of Library and Information Science at University of Southern Mississippi. Standards cited for follow-up reporting: I.1 (program's mission and goals pursued through implementation of an ongoing, broad-based, systematic planning process) and II.2.3 (responds to needs of a diverse and global society, including needs of underserved groups).

Initial Accreditation status was granted to the following program, with the next comprehensive review visit scheduled to take place in spring 2026:

  • Master of Science in Library and Information Science at Chicago State University. Meets all standards. No follow-up reporting required.

The following program’s status was changed from Continued to Conditional, with the next comprehensive review visit scheduled to take place in spring 2022:

  • Master of Library and Information Science at Louisiana State University. Standards cited for follow-up reporting: I.1 (program's mission and goals pursued through implementation of an ongoing, broad-based, systematic planning process), I.1.4 (communication of planning policies and processes to program constituents), II.3 (curriculum provides opportunity for students to construct coherent programs of study), II.5 (procedures for continual evaluation of curriculum), II.6 (documented evidence to substantiate evaluation of curriculum), III.1 (faculty capable of accomplishing program objectives), III.6 (faculty with diversity of backgrounds and skills and an intellectual environment that enhances the accomplishment of program objectives), IV.5.3 (students receive academic and career advisement and consultation), IV.6 (applies the results of evaluation of student achievement to program development), IV.7 (documented evidence to substantiate the evaluation of student learning outcomes), and V.1 (program is an integral yet distinctive academic unit within institution).

Candidacy status was granted to the following program, with the comprehensive review visit scheduled to take place in spring 2022:

  • Master of Arts in Library and Information Studies at University College London. Standard cited for follow-up reporting: I.1 (program's mission and goals pursued through implementation of an ongoing, broad-based, systematic planning process)

ALA accreditation indicates that the program has undergone a self-evaluation process and has been externally reviewed in accordance with the Standards for Accreditation of Master’s Programs in Library and Information Studies and Accreditation Process, Policies, and Procedures (AP3). COA evaluates each program for conformity to the Standards, which address systematic planning; curriculum; faculty; students; administration, finances, and resources.

A complete list of programs and degrees accredited by ALA can be found in the Directory of ALA-Accredited MLIS Programs. Individuals who would like more information about a particular program should contact the program directly.

The ALA COA is a leading force in accreditation, having evaluated educational programs to prepare librarians since 1924. The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) recognizes ALA COA as the authority for assessing the quality of education offered by graduate programs in the field of library and information studies.