School Media Program ranks first for student services, technology

Tuesday, January 10, 2012, By J.D. Ross

The masters degree in library and information science with school media specialization offered by the School of Information Studies (iSchool) has been ranked first in the Student Services and Technology category of the U.S. News and World Report Top Online Education Programs rankings for 2012.

The category ranking is determined by evaluation of technologies available to students, such as live streaming of classes and online access to learning management systems, as well as evaluation of online access to student services, academic advising, career services and digital library services.

Professor Ruth Small, director of the School Media Program, has watched the iSchool’s distance education presence evolve and grow exponentially over the years. “One thing has remained constant,” Small says. “Faculty must have strong technology and instructional design support as they develop and implement their online courses. I have always been very impressed by the level of support provided by our outstanding instructional design and IT staff and this was recently reinforced by our No. 1 ranking.”

The School Media Program offers a formal area of specialization in school librarianship, and focuses on teaching library and information science students the skills to help children in all grades and areas of literacy and technology fluency. Students who complete their degrees with the school media specialization work with SU’s School of Education to achieve New York State certification as school library media specialists.

“As always, we are delighted to see iSchool staff be recognized for the exceptional instruction, guidance and support they provide to our students who are taking their degrees online,” says iSchool Dean Elizabeth D. Liddy. “While we hear directly from many of the online students as to their appreciation of the staff’s high quality work, it is rewarding to have this demonstrated in the rankings.”

In addition to the first-place ranking for Student Services and Technology, the School Media program ranked eighth for faculty credentials and training, and 11th for admissions selectivity.

Full rankings and category descriptions are available on the U.S. News website.