I would like to extend my thanks to the members of the External Review Panel for their contributions to our MLIS Accreditation review process; we very much enjoyed welcoming the Panel members to the School and to Halifax, and appreciate their hard work and contributions to this very important part of the accreditation process.

Preparing for this site visit was a group effort that involved members of staff, faculty, students, and alumni.  As is usual for SIM, everyone worked collaboratively and in a collegial and giving manner.  I thank my faculty colleagues for their availability over the past two days, and for their help in compiling our Program Presentation.  Alan and Amy, our SIMSA co-chairs did a wonderful job of organizing the very successful student events.  My thanks also to the students who served as campus guides to the Panel members; your efforts were much appreciated by the ERP, and were held as an exemplar for what all programs should do for site visits. Christine Wu did an outstanding job of compiling documents for the ERP to review.  I very much appreciated the enthusiastic participation of our alumni and IM colleagues on Monday night; the ERP members were very impressed with our alumni’s commitment to SIM. JoAnn Watson provided invaluable information about the MLIS program, as well as important documents that highlight the quality, comprehensiveness, and robustness of our program.  Special thanks to Jenn Mitton, who organized all the catering, travel, and accommodation logistics for the visit, looked after the publication and distribution of the Program Presentation, organized and maintained the accreditation BbLearn site, and kept us all on an even keel.

A final decision about accreditation will be forthcoming in February 2013.

 

Very gratefully,

Louise Spiteri