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These guidelines are designed to give students and supervisors an understanding of the nature, scope, and requirements of the Professional
Experience course.
Prerequisites
Objectives
Structure of the Course
Expectations
Setting Up a Project
Forms
LIBR 596: LIBR 500/ARST 500, LIBR 501, LIBR 502, LIBR 503. Courses directly relevant to the nature of a project will also be prerequisite or corequisite, at the discretion of the Student Services Coordinator, in consultation with the Chair of the Library & Information Studies program.
ASRT 596: ARST/LIBR 500, ARST 510, ARST 515, ARST 516, ARST 520, ARST 540, ARST 573, ARST 587. Courses directly relevant to the nature of a project will also be prerequisite or co-requisite, at the discretion of the Student Services Coordinator, in consultation with the Chair of the Archival Studies program.
After completion of a Professional Experience project, the student will have developed the following:
- Experience and skill in applying theory to a particular area of professional practice in a particular library, organization, or information service
- Experience in project planning and management, under supervision, but with considerable independence and initiative
- Skills in time management and priority planning
- Interpersonal skills needed to work professionally and effectively within an institution or organization
Professional Experience course provides students an opportunity to work on a project in the field, under supervision of an experienced
librarian, archivist, or records manager, for course credit. Students spend 120 hours on the project, equivalent to the time
they are expected to spend on a regular course. The project is typically carried out over a 12-week term, but it can be condensed into
a shorter time frame if that is agreeable to both the student and the supervisor. Projects spanning more than a term are also permitted, though students may not significantly exceed 120 hours in total work.
What kinds of projects are acceptable?
- Projects should have considerable intellectual, analytical and critical challenge of a professional nature, and with some definable
outcome.
- Students should be able to carry out the project work with considerable degree of independence.
- Ideally projects should be designed to be completed in the estimated 120 hours. Projects may be components of a larger project,
however.
- A professional librarian or archivist must agree to supervise the student.
Evaluation
This is a pass/fail course. A pass grade awarded when the agreed upon terms of the project are met and upon submission of all of the
required written reports from the student.
Expenses/Remuneration
Any costs incurred in carrying out the project is to be borne by the host institution. Students are not allowed to receive both credit
and financial rewards for the project. Since the project is being done for academic credit, paying of a salary for time spent on the project
is not appropriate. However, acknowledgement of the student's contribution to any publication resulting from the project is expected.
Expectations of Supervisors:
- Regular communication channels should be established between student and supervisor, including an initial meeting to come to an agreement
about the nature and expectations of the project.
- Supervisors are asked to fill out the Supervisor's Interim Report Form about mid-way through the project
and the Supervisor's Final Report Form upon completion of the project. Forms should be emailed to the Coordinator of the course as an attachment. Interim and final reports
are shared with the student, unless requested otherwise.
Expectations of Students:
- is required before project work begins. The plan outlines the timeline and target dates of project deliverables (including due dates for BOTH interim reports) and should
be approved by the Supervisor. Once the plan is received students will be registered in the course by the Student Services Coordinator. Examples of Project Plans available here.
- These reports should discuss how the project is progressing, any new skills/knowledge gained, and any problems/issues
that have come up. There is no form or template for the interim reports; a report in Word format and written in paragraph format is fine.
Up to 500 words is adequate.
- Final Report Form to be submitted upon completion of the
project.
There are two ways to set up a project:
- Organizations who wish to set up a Professional Experience project with a student may submit a Project Proposal Form to us. Approved
projects are posted to students on the SLAIS News Blog, under the categories Archival Professional Experience and Library Professional Experience. Check the brief project descriptions; if one interests you, contact the Student Services Coordinator for the full proposal. You then apply by sending a resume and cover letter to the SLAIS Student Services Coordinator, who will contact the project hosts.
- Students may initiate a project by approaching organizations about possible projects suitable for the course and their experience. A resume MUST be included in this process. Once a project idea is
agreed upon between student and organization, a Project Proposal Form should be completed by the Supervisor and submitted to the School
for approval, via the Student Services Coordinator.
- In either case, once a project has been approved, the student will work with the host to develop a project plan. Both the project plan and resume are to be sent to the Student Services Coordinator, who will register the student in the course.
Supervisor forms
Student forms
For more information contact:
Michelle Mallette
Student Services Coordinator
Phone (604) 822-2461
Fax: (604) 822-6006
E-mail: michelle.mallette@ubc.ca
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