Program Objectives and Student Learning Outcomes

1. Bachelor of Science in Information Science

Program Objectives:

The program goals for the Bachelor of Science in Information Science:

• To prepare learners with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to construct and deliver solutions, services, and processes at the intersection of people, information, and technology.
• To develop in learners their capabilities to analyze, design, implement, evaluate, manage, and lead to address and meet social, organizational, and individual information needs.
• To provide learners with rigorous courses, experiential learning, and real-world opportunities leading to successful and worthwhile careers in the information field.

Program Student Learning Outcomes:

Program Student Learning Outcomes for the Bachelor of Science in Information Science indicate specific, demonstrable (measurable), and learner-centered statements of the knowledge and skills graduates of the program will be able to demonstrate:

• Collect, analyze, and interpret data related to understanding users information needs and behaviors.
• Design, implement, and evaluate user-centered technical systems and applications to meet users information needs and behaviors.
• Use and/or construct processes and procedures to solve problems related to organizing, managing, and preserving data, information, and knowledge for diverse user groups.
• Discuss and explain professional, social, policy, ethical, legal, and security issues and responsibilities of information professionals and researchers.
• Demonstrate excellent written and spoken communication as well as effective interpersonal skills by working in teams and collaborate on projects
• Recognize and demonstrate independent and responsible learning abilities by engaging in life-long learner activities.

2. Bachelor of Science in Data Science

Program Objectives:

The Bachelor of Science in Data Science is designed to meet the rising workforce demand of professionals in data management, big data, and data analytics fields. The program objectives are for students to demonstrate knowledge and skills related to:

• Using a broad range of tools, techniques, and methods to work with data and information in an information intensive environment;
• Performing data and information intensive management and analysis, including data management, data modeling, big data, data analytics, data and information visualization, information organization, Internet applications development, game design and technology.

The program helps students to acquire the type of skills, critical thinking, and competencies needed in data science and digital data management, as well as one of the professional fields. The program will educate a new generation of information professionals, particularly those students with a science background pursuing an analytic related field.

Student Learning Outcomes:

• Data intensive systems development. The student will be able to develop a data intensive system for extracting values from data using principles and techniques of data science.
• Designing tools and methods for solving data related problems. The student will be able to propose tools and methods for solving data related problems, which include tasks that are in each phase of the entire life cycle of data. The tasks include data specifications and collection, data cleaning, data transformation, data management, exploratory data analysis, data mining, data analytics, data visualization, result reporting, data quality evaluation, protection for data security and privacy, project management for development of data intensive systems, and validation of data intensive systems.

• Data science solutions for a professional field. The student will be able to develop a data science solution for addressing data science problems in an Information Science professional field or a Business Analytics professional field.

3. Master of Science with Majors in Library Science or Information Science

Program Objectives:

The program goal for the Master of Science with majors in Library Science or Information Science is to prepare students for careers as information professionals in a variety of roles and settings. The master's program objectives are for students to demonstrate knowledge and skills related to:

• The roles and impact of information policies, practices, and information itself on diverse populations, including underserved groups, in a rapidly changing technological and global information society.
• The design and implementation of conceptual and technological systems and services to facilitate the discovery, identification, selection, acquisition, organization and description, storage and retrieval, preservation, dissemination, management, and use of recordable information and knowledge in any format for effective access.
• Human information behavior in order to develop and implement information systems and services that meet user needs related to information and knowledge creation, communication, discovery, identification, selection, retrieval, analysis, interpretation, evaluation, synthesis, management, and use.
• Communication and networking for personal and professional growth, leadership, collaboration, policy development, and change management.
• Teaching, research, and service, including interdisciplinary activities, that contribute to the advancement of the field.
• The philosophy, principles, and legal and ethical responsibilities of the field.

Student Learning Outcomes:

• Management/Leadership - Students will be able to describe and/or propose valid solutions to typical organizational problems in their professional areas by demonstrating skills in management and leadership.
• Information Organization/Systems - Students demonstrate knowledge in information organization and presentation as well as systems for organizing information and facilitating information access by describing and/or proposing valid solutions to typical professional problems in these areas.
• Information Access/Resources - Students demonstrate knowledge in information access and information resources by describing and/or proposing valid solutions to typical professional problems in these areas.
• ePortfolio Blogs/Reflections - Students will be able to demonstrate the ability to understand, analyze, and synthesize key issues of the information/library profession through reflection.

4. Master of Science in Data Science

Program Objectives:

The goal of the Master of Science in Data Science program is to address the current market needs for highly skilled data science and data analytics professionals. The objectives of the program are for students to demonstrate knowledge and skills related to:

• Designing, implementing and transforming data sets into actionable knowledge
• Managing data science and anlytics projects and work with data analytics tools and technologies.
• Taking the leadership role through connecting the dots and using data to support strategic initiatives within the organization.

Student Learning Outcomes:

1. Define important concepts in Data Science - The student will be able to use data science concepts to define a solution for a data science task including data specifications, data collection, data cleaning, data transformation, data management, exploratory data analysis, data mining, data analytics, data visualization, reporting results, data security and privacy protection, data quality evaluation, and validation of data intensive systems.

2. Data intensive system development - The student will be able to build a data intensive system for extracting values from data for supporting decision making in different professional fields.

3. Data analysis ability - The student will be able to build a system for extracting values from data for supporting decision making using statistical analysis and machine learning methods.

5. Information Science Doctoral Program

Program Objectives:
The doctoral program's goal is to prepare students to contribute to the advancement and evolution of the information society in a variety of roles and settings as researchers, educators and administrators. The doctoral program seeks to:

• Develop scholars passionate about the role of information in human affairs.
• Nurture critical and reflective thinking on fundamental issues and problems related to information.
• Promote cross-disciplinary thinking and research that expands expertise in cutting-edge areas of information science.
• Instill a commitment to the philosophy, principles, and legal and ethical responsibilities of scholarly and applied research.
• Foster an environment of substantive and productive mentoring and apprenticeship that integrates resources, courses, and faculty from related disciplines within other academic units.

Student Learning Outcomes:

• Subject Core - Students will demonstrate the ability to understand, analyze, and synthesize core scholarly knowledge about the information science.

• Research Methods Core - Students demonstrate the ability to understand, explain, propose, and justify the appropriate application of specific research approaches and methods to address typical information research problems.

• Specialization - Students demonstrate the ability to understand, analyze, and synthesize scholarly knowledge about the history, philosophy, theories, and/or research problems of their specialization areas such as information systems, human information behavior, information policy and management, etc.