Information Literacy Assessment

Student Learning Outcomes

An information literate graduate from UBalt will be able to successfully:

1. Assess structures of authority within a context, examining how barriers have impacted full participation in the construction of authority by members of marginalized communities
2. Ethically participate in the evolving process of creating and publishing new information
3. Evaluate environmental factors involved in making rules and regulations that affect access and discoverability of information sources for a population
4. Apply knowledge of different search methods, and their limitations, in the retrieval of information sources
5. Explain ongoing conversations within a community, using traditional and emerging processes of knowledge creation

Assessment Structure

RLB Library faculty assess student created artifacts collected during the academic year at multiple points in the undergraduate curriculum:

 

INFO 110: Introduction to Information Literacy
This course, required for any student arriving at UBalt with fewer than 24 credits, teaches students the fundamentals of information literacy. Students will determine their research needs, develop a search strategy to select appropriate sources, access those sources, critically evaluate the material found for relevance and credibility, and synthesize that material into original work. In addition, students will learn about the legal and ethical issues surrounding information and information technology.

 

WRIT Courses
Because of the close link between academic research and writing, a librarian is embedded in every section of most WRIT courses. That librarian works with the instructor to integrate information literacy instruction into the course. Librarians often respond to information literacy related online discussions, meet with the students for one or more class periods to improve their research skills related to a specific assignment and make themselves available for individual student research consultations.

 

Library Instruction Sessions

In addition to the courses listed above, there are a number of courses offered at the University that ask students to demonstrate information literacy skills, including courses designated as fulfilling the information literacy graduation requirement as part of the General Education Program at UBalt. 

To help students be successful, librarians partner with faculty to plan one or more sessions in a library lab or classroom. Faculty can request library instruction by completing a Library Instruction Class Request Form online or contacting a librarian. 

After planning in the fall, artifacts are generally collected in the spring semester and are assessed using a rubric as part of a three year cycle. Analysis is conducted over the summer and recommendations are implemented in following academic years as appropriate.