A new Undergraduate Minor in Information Studies and Technology has been
approved by school and college faculty and will be in place fall 2006, when
accepted by the University Undergraduate Council early next year.
The minor will teach university students from all fields how to acquire
information and technology literacy skills, to know how and where to find
information, how to assess its value, how to use it strategically, and how
to design information content and access systems.
“Our faculty see this new minor as an exciting portal for undergraduate
students to learn about information studies and technology,” said SIS
Director Ed Cortez. “The convergence of communication technologies and
information today increases the need for everyone to be more information
literate – whether you choose to be an information professional or not.
Undergraduate students in any discipline need to understand the basic
intellectual and structural underpinnings of information if they are to
succeed in their careers.”
The new Undergraduate Minor in Information Studies and Technology is
targeted to help students learn how policies governing access and control of
information resources are created and implemented, and thus how they affect
organizations, individuals, and society. Other aspects of information and
information use in the new curriculum include the ethical use of
information, intellectual property rights, plagiarism, privacy versus the
right to know, and equity of information access.
The chancellor’s office has agreed to support three full-time doctoral
associateships for Ph.D. students to help teach courses in the minor,
including new courses under development.
Assistant Professor Robert Sandusky is coordinating the minor and is
overseeing the design of the curriculum to ensure quality, consistency, and
logical scheduling.
Sandusky expects that the minor will complement majors in any field.
“Business students will improve their ability to gather and synthesize
performance metrics and competitive intelligence,” he said. “Science and
engineering students will be able to more effectively manage complex data
from multiple sources; arts and sciences students will learn how information
and communication technologies are revolutionizing work in the humanities;
and life sciences students will be prepared to use and manage digitized
patient health information systems.”
The minor also opens the door to a number of exciting and rewarding careers
including information architecture, content management, systems analysis,
technology coordination, and Web development and administration.
The school plans to publicize the new minor throughout the university’s
career and advising centers next spring and anticipates attracting 20 to 40
students to the minor during the first year.
