LIS Program Data 2019-20
- Retention rate: One year retention for LIS who entered in 2019-2020 AY is 88%
- Average time to degree completion: LIS students who graduated in the most recent 4 quarters – Fall 2019-Summer 2020 – is 2.5 years
- Percentage of graduates holding positions relevant to the degree within 12 months of degree completion (may include further graduate study): For students who completed a LIS degree in the 2019-20 AY, 65% responded to post graduation surveys and 94% report full-time employment one year after graduation
LIS Program Assessment
The College of Computing & Informatics is a member of the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE). In 2017, the American Library Association reaccredited the Drexel LIS graduate major program with "continuous accreditation" status until 2025. Systematic planning and program learning assessment are an integral part of our program’s ongoing efforts. As explained in our 2017 ALA Accreditation Program Self-Study, we conduct systematic data gathering from our constituencies including students, faculty, alumni, employers and administrators.
The MS in Information LIS Program Learning Objectives are fundamental to our ongoing assessment efforts.
MS in Information LIS program student learning achievement is assessed on a four-year evaluation cycle that ties the MSLIS program outcomes to the ALA competencies and to the core course assignments. The current four-year evaluation cycle began with the fall of academic year 2017/2018, when a new degree program revision was implemented, as described in the 2017 ALA Accreditation Program Self-Study. The program assessment cycle is shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Data collection cycle for MSLIS program learning outcomes assessment.
Program learning outcomes #1 and #2 were evaluated during AY2019/2020, as per the assessment review cycle:
- Program learning outcome #1: Explain the foundational principles, professional ethics and values, and sociotechnical contexts in which information professionals work.
- Program learning outcome #2: Identify and analyze the information needs of various communities (e.g., academic institutions, local neighborhoods, workplaces, schools) and design and implement library/information programs and services to meet those needs.
These two outcomes are addressed in three of the LIS core courses: INFO505: Information Professions and Professionals, INFO506: Users, Services, & Resources, INFO590: Foundations of Data and Information, INFO591: Data and Digital Stewardship, and INFO890: Capstone Project. For each course, we matched assignments to course-level learning objectives and collected anonymized students’ grade data for each assignment.
In the MSLIS grading scale, B or above is a satisfactory grade, and A or above is an excellent grade. For our collected data on INFO505, 5% of students received a grade lower than B and 95% received B or higher grades, with 79% receiving A or higher grades. Figure 1 shows the learning objective (LO) level grade distribution.
Figure 1: Learning objectives fulfilled by students in INFO505.
Thus, 99% of students met LO2, 95% met LO1, 96% met LO3, and 96% met LO4. These results indicate student achievement beyond the 80% benchmark success rate.
For our collected data on INFO506, 90% of students received B or higher grades, with 80% receiving an A or higher. Figure 2 shows the learning objective (LO) level grade distribution for assignments from this course.
Figure 2: Learning objectives fulfilled by students in INFO506.
Thus, 96% of students met LO1 and LO5, and 94% met LO2, LO3, and LO4. These results exceed the desired 80% student achievement benchmark.
For our collected data on INFO590, 96% of students received B or higher grades, with 79% receiving an A or higher. Figure 3 shows the learning objective (LO) level grade distribution for assignments from this course.
Figure 3: Learning objectives fulfilled by students in INFO590.
Thus, 97% of students met LO1, 98% met LO2, 91% met LO3, and 96% met LO4. These results exceed the desired 80% student achievement benchmark.
For our collected data on INFO591, 98% of students received B or higher grades, with 88% receiving A or higher grades. Figure 4 shows the learning objective (LO) level grade distribution for assignments from this course.
Figure 4: Learning objectives fulfilled by students in INFO591.
Thus, all students met LO2 and LO4, 88% of students met LO1, and 98% of students met LO3. These results indicate student achievement beyond the 80% benchmark success rate.
For our collected data on INFO890, 94% of students received B or higher grades, with 82% receiving A or higher grades. Figure 5 shows the learning objective (LO) level grade distribution for assignments from this course.
Figure 5: Learning objectives fulfilled by students in INFO890.
Thus, 96% of students in this course met LO1 and LO2, and 91% met LO3. These results indicate student achievement beyond the 80% benchmark success rate.
As such, our systematic program assessment to this point indicates that our learning objective benchmark of at least 80% of students receiving at least a B or higher was surpassed for examined program learning objectives across the board. Systematic assessment continues with the next year of the assessment cycle, AY2020/2021.
View the 2020-21 LIS Program Assessment
View the 2018-19 LIS Program Assessment
View the 2017-18 LIS Program Assessment