Hi all,

Just a quick comment - or two- on Carol's message regarding Education in
Records Management.

Community Colleges
Having developed and implemented both a Professional Certificate and a
2-year degree program on the Community  College level, I can state they are
not the same in the US (at least in NY). The professional certificate was 30
credits designed to provide records and information management knowledge and
skills to those who may have been in a position and already had a degree but
wanted a fairly fast infusion of knowledge and skills from an accredited
institution - curriculum was designed around ARMA's curriculum guide at the
time (early 90s). The 2-year degree was 63 credits designed for those who
did want an Associates with the thought they might go on to a 4-year degree
at some point but could not right then. They were prepared to go work in to
the field. This was also very useful for those thrust into RM positions
without the background - especially if the company or government agency for
which they worked paid the cost of education.

San Jose University
Carol is correct in stating that SJSU has a school of library science that
offers records management courses as part of the program. The MLIS is one
that is accredited by ALA and students who may want to work in the library
field or an archives in a library are encouraged to go this route. More
information can be found at http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/slis/mlis.htm 

But SJSU is also in the first year of a brand new master's in archives and
records management (MARA). This is  not ALA accredited, you are right. So
those who want to work in archives (especially corporate) and records and
information management would do well to take this degree. Students in the
first MARA cohort are currently in RM positions and some are being funded by
their employers to get this degree. We posted a page to help students decide
which is better for them - MLIS or MARA:
http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/mara/mlisormara.htm 

If students decide the MARA degree is for them, they can learn all about it
at: http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/mara/index.htm 

Two additional notes on the MARA degree - 1) because of SJSU's School of
library and 'information' science, this program utilizes the latest
technology and also incorporates coursework covering electronic records. 2)
Care is taken to be sure the ARMA core competencies have been used as a
basis for the courses - Larry Medina, former chair of ARMA's SDC has served
on the program advisory committee the last 2 years, and Alan Andolson,
President of ICRM, is a current member. Alan has done a great deal of work
this year revising our internship and professional certification courses and
will be the next virtual speaker for our student's next Colloquium on
leadership in archives and records management. 

Having been in education at secondary and post-secondary levels, graduate
and  undergraduate, and corporate training and adult ed, and even having
served as Education ISG leader for 3 years for ARMA, I can safely say no one
solution is best for all. As Carol said, each individual must look at their
own goals  -  and their own current background and experience - and then
develop a plan that will help them reach their goals whether it is by taking
additional courses from ARMA or AIIM or any other organization, going for a
certificate or a 2-year degree, pursuing a master's degree, or seeking CRM
certification. And - if ARMA is serious in pushing for records management as
a 'profession,' it is important to establish a continuum of education and
training opportunities that those of us in the field or those new people
looking to enter the field could look to for guidance. 

Pat

__________________________________________
Patricia C Franks, Ph.D., CRM
MARA Program Coordinator
School of Library and Information Science
San Jose University
Member, ARMA's SDC
Member, AIIM's iECM

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