Valdosta State Univ. in Georgia Gets LIS Accreditation

Lynn Blumenstein -- Library Journal, 08/09/2007

 The Committee on Accreditation of the American Library Association (ALA) has announced accreditation actions taken in June at the 2007 ALA Annual Conference in Washington, DC. Initial accreditation status was granted to the Master of Library and Information Science program offered by Valdosta State University, GA. The VSU MLIS is now the only ALA-accredited program in Georgia, following the 2004 closure of the program at Clark Atlanta University, and one of just 56 accredited programs in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The program at Valdosta State is primarily distance education, incorporating Internet instruction and some face-to-face classes at central locations, usually weekends at Macon State College. Approved by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia in 1999, the program formally began in fall of 2001. The next comprehensive review visit is scheduled to occur in 2014.

Continued accreditation status was granted to the following programs, with the next comprehensive review visit at each institution scheduled to occur in 2014: Master of Library and Information Studies, University of Oklahoma, Norman; Master of Library and Information Science, San Jose State University, CA; and Master of Science in Information Studies, University of Texas at Austin. Conditional accreditation status was granted to the Master of Library and Information Studies program at the University of Rhode Island, Kingston. The next comprehensive review visit is scheduled to occur in 2010. The conditional accreditation status of the Master of Library Sciences and the Master of Arts in Library Science programs at Texas Woman’s University, Denton, was continued. A progress review visit is scheduled to occur in 2010.