New Intensive Courses Give SJSU SLIS Students More Scheduling Options

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Graduate students in the fully online Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) program at the San José State University School of Library and Information Science have a new option for scheduling their classes.

With the launch of the Intensives program in the Spring 2013 semester, MLIS students can now take courses in an intensive mode of delivery, benefiting from increased scheduling flexibility. For example, with the new intensive courses, students can:

  • Take a seven-week intensive class that that begins at the start of the semester, or choose one that begins in the middle of the semester.
  • Take two back-to-back intensive courses, completing two courses in a single semester without needing to take two courses at the same time.
  • Take one course at the start of the semester, and opt to not take any courses during the second half of the semester, offering them the flexibility of scheduling courses around other personal and professional responsibilities. 
  • Mix intensive courses with regular 15-week courses.

SJSU SLIS faculty member Dr. Arglenda Friday is currently teaching a course in the intensive format and has some advice for students who are considering taking an intensive course in the MLIS degree program.

“Students should realize they’ll have a shorter time frame for completing assignments,” Friday said. “The student needs to have superior time management skills and the ability to put in more hours for a short, intense period,” she added.

The course content in the intensive format is the same as content offered in 15-week courses, and the same time commitment is expected of students. For the intensives, that means about three to six hours of homework daily – including weekends. Students considering taking a course in the intensive format are advised to read the program caveats.

Intensives are completely optional, and not all MLIS classes are available in the intensive format.

SJSU SLIS will continue to offer the intensive courses in the Fall 2013 semester, including one core course, LIBR 200-3 Information and Society, taught by SJSU SLIS lecturer Kevin Bontenbal.

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