WISE Adds Five New Members

WISE Adds Five New Members
2/1/2005

WISE welcomes new members at ALISE

Five schools join the Web-based Information Science Education consortium

Founding members of the Web-based Information Science Education consortium (WISE), the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University and the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, announce that five institutions of higher education have joined to create a cost-effective, collaborative distance education program that will increase quality, access and diversity of online educational opportunities. The initiative is part of a two-year, $713,492 grant received by SU and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

The new members to the consortium were introduced at the WISE membership meeting at the ALISE conference held in Boston, January 11, 2005 and include:

• Rutgers University, School of Communication, Information & Library Studies (Gustav Friedrich, Dean).
• Simmons College, Graduate School of Library & Information Science (Michele Valerie Cloonan, Dean).
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Information & Library Science (Jose-Marie Griffiths, Dean).
• University of Pittsburgh, School of Information Sciences (Ronald L. Larsen, Dean)
• Indiana University Purdue University- Indianapolis, School of Library and Information Science (Blaise Cronin, Dean)

 The WISE program is a joint effort between SU and the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, focused on developing faculty training for online pedagogy; standards and metrics for high-quality online library and information science (LIS) education; and a collaborative marketplace for online LIS courses.

“Many people aspire to pursue graduate studies in LIS, but with only 54 accredited schools in the U.S., many potential students often do not have access to local site-based programs. With the introduction of our new members, students can access a wide variety of high-quality courses and faculty from leading information science schools within the nation,” says Kingma.

Kingma added that WISE courses are currently available for the spring semester and will have expanded offerings in the fall of 2005. Kingma stated the consortium will work to expand WISE to include more LIS schools as the organization approaches its introduction at SLA in Toronto, June 5-8, 2005 and prepares for additional student enrollment beginning in fall 2005.

For more information, visit the WISE Web site at www.wiseeducation.org.