Accreditation

Clarion University LIS accreditation

Clarion University has offered undergraduate library science instruction since 1937. Its master’s program in library science dates to 1967 and was first accredited by ALA in 1974-1975.

The home of the Department of Information and Library Science at Clarion University is in the College of Business Administration and Information Sciences (COBAIS) within the School of Information Sciences made up of two departments, each with its own chair: Information and Library Science and Computer Information Science. Clarion University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Information and Library Science (the department) has the distinction of being the only American Library Association (ALA)-accredited program in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE, the system). Additionally, the department’s programs are included in accreditations from Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA) and Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) with additional program approval by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE).

In the period following the last review by the Committee on Accreditation the department has made significant and innovative strides both in its ALA-accredited MSLS program as well as in programs that support and feed the MSLS degree.

Since the last accreditation review the department has worked with its constituencies to review and revise its curricula, with particular emphasis on the teaching/research strengths of its faculty.

At the time of the last accreditation review the department had both face-to-face, fully online, and blended degree options. Because of student demand the face-to-face degree option has been dropped so that all MSLS degree is available fully online, even though the department continues to offer on-site graduate assistantships to students who desire an on-campus experience even though the actual coursework is fully online.

Annual Program Assessment Data

ALA LIS accreditation

Accreditation is a process of assessment, evaluation and validation in which the accreditation agency confirms that the academic program is following the 2015 Standards for Accreditation of Master’s Program in Library and Information Studies.