Top-Down or Bottom-Up: eLiteracy in Canadian Undergraduate Universities
Karen Hunt, Information Literacy Coordinator, University of Winnipeg
Sherri Vokey, Information Literacy Intern, University of Winnipeg
Tamsin Bolton, Reference Coordinator, Acadia University,
Canada
Paper: 1/2 hour
Ethics, Economics & Exclusion
Each year Maclean's, Canada's number one newsmagazine, publishes their ranking of universities in Canada. However the ranking does not include an evaluation of curriculum nor does it attempt to assess student's ability to be successful lifelong learners. This paper will present the results of our analysis of publicly available information about eLiteracy at primarily undergraduate universities in Canada. Qualititative analysis of University mission statements reveals a commitment to liberal education, however there are few statements regarding information or technology literacies. Preliminary research has not found that statements of lifelong learning and commitment to liberal education translate to eLiteracy as a priority in academic plans.
Our survey also includes an examination of eLiteracy programs available to students, including non-credit courses, certificates, course-integrated instruction and credit-based programming. Based on this data we will construct a ranking of eLiteracy programs in Canadian Undergraduate institutions and relate that ranking to the Maclean's ranking.
Our hypothesis is that the state of eLiteracy in Canadian universities is related to the accreditation process for Canadian Universities, compared to the UK, Australia, United States and South Africa.
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