The iSchool is launching a new advanced certificate program in spring 2016 designed to address the increasing demand for information professionals skilled in the management of digital assets and use of emerging technologies.

Staying current with the job market, the San José State University (SJSU) School of Information is launching a new advanced certificate program designed to address the increasing demand for information professionals skilled in the management of digital assets and use of emerging technologies.

The Advanced Certificate in Strategic Management of Digital Assets and Services program, which begins in spring 2016 and is offered entirely online, is open to current Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) and Master of Archives and Records Administration (MARA) students, as well as to working information professionals seeking to quickly gain practical skills.

The new advanced certificate program allows students the opportunity to customize their education by offering three different certificate pathways: Digital Assets Management; Information Governance, Assurance, and Security; and Data Analytics and Data Driven Decision Making. Students choose three courses in a particular pathway for a total of nine units to complete the program.

All three pathways share the same overarching learning outcomes highly prized by employers. First, certificate holders will demonstrate proficiency in “identifying, using, and evaluating current and emerging information and communication technologies to connect individuals or groups with accurate, relevant, and appropriate information.” Second, students completing the program will “apply the fundamental principles of planning, management, marketing, and advocacy to the selection, evaluation, organization, curation, and security of physical and digital information items.”

Students following the Digital Assets Management pathway will choose from a variety of courses designed to highlight the ways that digital content management, digital curation tools and services, and new digital media characteristics are used in a variety of information organizations. The Information Governance, Assurance, and Security pathway focuses on cybersecurity and best practices in information governance in organizational and networked contexts. Individuals drawn to the Data Analytics and Data Driven Decision Making pathway will take courses concentrating on big data, information visualization, and social media research.

The goal of the advanced certificate program is to ensure information professionals gain the practical skills necessary to navigate the increasingly complex world of digital assets and services and to manage all types of digital content successfully and make it accessible to users.

Students currently enrolled in the MLIS or MARA program at the School of Information can pursue the Advanced Certificate in Strategic Management of Digital Assets and Services concurrently with their MLIS or MARA degree and can learn more about the program here.

The program is also offered as continuing education to information professionals with a bachelor’s or master’s degree. Information professionals can apply for admission in spring 2016 beginning August 1, 2015.

More information about the program is available on the program’s web page.