In January, the School of Information Sciences was awarded continued accreditation by the Committee on Accreditation of the American Library Association. This marks 50 years of continuous accreditation for the program, which has been in existence for almost 100 years.

Since obtaining accreditation in 1967, the program has graduated over 4000 library and information professionals and has expanded to include a comprehensive online program in addition to traditional on-campus coursework. Currently ranked 22nd in the country by U.S. News and World Report, the program had nearly 200 graduates in 2016, in concentrations focused on Library Services, Archives and Digital Content Management, and Information Management.

Accreditation is a long process that involves multiple steps, including an extensive self-study and an on-site visit by the Committee on Accreditation. The self-study is a thorough analysis of curriculum, evaluation methods, faculty, resources and admission requirements. Interviews, surveys, and course assessments are part of the process which is then thoroughly reviewed and verified by the Committee on Accreditation. The hard work of the SIS accreditation committee, led by Associate Dean Dr. Stephen Bajjaly, had positive results with the SIS program receiving accreditation until 2023, at which time the program will seek renewal of this important status.

"Our self study, which resulted from a comprehensive and collaborative review with input from a great number of SIS stakeholders, reflects accurately our current situation and our progress since 2009,"said Dr. Bajjaly. "We are pleased that all of our hard work and dedication to library and information science education have been recognized and we look forward with confidence to continuously improving all that we do over the next seven years and beyond."

To celebrate 50 years of continuous accreditation SIS will be hosting a series of in-person and online events. To find out more as events are posted, check the website at http://sis.wayne.edu/ or follow SIS on Facebook.