MARA 200-11
The Records and Information Management Professions
Fall 2020 Syllabus

Andrew Ysasi MS, FIP, FIIM, CIPM, CIPP, CISM, PMP, CRM, IGP, CIP, CSAP
Email
Office Hours: by appointment
Phone: 616-822-8887

Canvas Information: Courses will be available beginning August 19, 6 am PT unless you are taking an intensive or a one-unit or two-unit class that starts on a different day. In that case, the class will open on the first day that the class meets.

You will be enrolled in the Canvas site automatically.

Course Description

Overview of the management and role of records and information in business, society, and history. The course examines definitions and important concepts related to records and information management and core archival and information management professional functions.

Course Requirements

Assignments

Grading will be based on a total accumulation of possible 100 points, distributed as follows:

• Class Participation and Discussion - 30 points (30% of final grade)

Participation in weekly discussion boards
Due: Weekly
(Supports CLOs #1-5 and Core Competencies A B G)

• Records in the News/Media - 10 points (10% of final grade)

Lead a records/information in the news discussion
Due: Date will be assigned by instructor
(Supports CLOs #1-5 and Core Competencies A B G)

• Assignment #1 – 15 points (15% of final grade)

Archives Web/Social Media Presence Assignment
Due: Sept 20 (11:59 pm Pacific Time)
(Supports CLOs #1, 2, 4. and 5 and Core Competencies A B G)

• Assignment #2 – 15 points (15% of final grade)

Archives Tour/Archivist Interview Assignment
Due: Oct 4(11:59 pm Pacific Time)
(Supports CLOs #1, 2, 4 and 5 and Core Competencies A B G)

• Final Course Assignment - Research Paper – 30 points (30 % of final grade)
  A critical extended essay of 15-20 pages on a topic relevant to the course proposed by the student and accepted by the instructor.
  • Due: Topic Instructor Approval Oct 25 (11:59 pm Pacific Time)
  • Due: Preliminary Citations Nov 8 (11:59pm Pacific Time) 5pt
  • Due: Final Paper Dec 6 (11:59pm Pacific Time) 25pts
    
    (Supports CLOs #1-5 and Core Competencies A B G)

• Mid-Course Review and Reflections
  

Due: Week 7

Grading

Late assignments will not be accepted. In extreme circumstances, and in consultation with the course instructor, late assignments may be accepted, however, late assignments submitted after the assignment deadline will receive a 10%-point reduction for each day up to 5 days based on the total point value of the assignment. No points will be awarded after 5 days late.

Discussion board postings will not be accepted for credit after the module's discussion has ended.

All course materials must be completed by the last day of the class.

NOTE: Students should provide their initial discussion board posts by the first Thursday of each module by 11:59 PM (Pacific Time), to leave ample time for follow-up discussion. Please participate early and actively in the required discussions.

Details for all of the discussions and assignments will be provided in Canvas.

Assignments Due

Unless otherwise noted, each module begins on Monday and ends on Sunday. Assignments will be due by 11:59 PM (Pacific Time) on the due date.

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GWAR

This course satisfies the Graduate Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR).

INFO 200 gives students graduate-level writing experience, including a literature review and research paper. Graduate-level academic writing is formal and logical. It involves the avoidance of bias, the inclusion of evidence, and the development of strong arguments. Scholarly writing uses concise, precise, and clear language, is cohesive, and utilizes a logically organized flow of ideas. Successful completion of the research paper satisfies San José State University's Graduate Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR). If the instructor finds that a student's writing is unacceptable, the instructor will require the student to sign up for online writing tutoring. The student will ask the tutor to confirm with the instructor that he or she is attending sessions.

Course Workload Expectations

Success in this course is based on the expectation that students will spend, for each unit of credit, a minimum of forty-five hours over the length of the course (normally 3 hours per unit per week with 1 of the hours used for lecture) for instruction or preparation/studying or course related activities including but not limited to internships, labs, clinical practica. Other course structures will have equivalent workload expectations as described in the syllabus.

Instructional time may include but is not limited to:
Working on posted modules or lessons prepared by the instructor; discussion forum interactions with the instructor and/or other students; making presentations and getting feedback from the instructor; attending office hours or other synchronous sessions with the instructor.

Student time outside of class:
In any seven-day period, a student is expected to be academically engaged through submitting an academic assignment; taking an exam or an interactive tutorial, or computer-assisted instruction; building websites, blogs, databases, social media presentations; attending a study group;contributing to an academic online discussion; writing papers; reading articles; conducting research; engaging in small group work.

Course Prerequisites

Demonstrated computer literacy through completion of required new student online technology workshop. 

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

1. Evaluate and explain the significance of records and information to society and the history of archives and records and information management in the Western tradition.
2. Articulate and employ fundamental archival and information management concepts, such as authenticity, reliability, integrity, and the role of records and information in institutional and public accountability.
3. Describe and assess the dominant records and information management philosophies and models and their advantages and limitations.
4. Evaluate, and use the archival and information management professional and academic literature and resources.
5. Demonstrate the written and oral skills required of the information management professional.

Core Competencies (Program Learning Outcomes)

MARA 200 supports the following core competencies:

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Textbooks

Required Textbooks:

• Millar, L. (2017). Archives: Principles and practices (2nd ed.). ALA. Available through Amazon: 0838916066

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Grading Scale

The standard SJSU School of Information Grading Scale is utilized for all iSchool courses:

In order to provide consistent guidelines for assessment for graduate level work in the School, these terms are applied to letter grades:

• C represents Adequate work; a grade of "C" counts for credit for the course;
• B represents Good work; a grade of "B" clearly meets the standards for graduate level work or undergraduate (for BS-ISDA);
  For core courses in the MLIS program (not MARA, Informatics, BS-ISDA) — INFO 200, INFO 202, INFO 204 — the iSchool requires that students earn a B in the course. If the grade is less than B (B- or lower) after the first attempt you will be placed on administrative probation. You must repeat the class if you wish to stay in the program. If - on the second attempt - you do not pass the class with a grade of B or better (not B- but B) you will be disqualified.
  
• A represents Exceptional work; a grade of "A" will be assigned for outstanding work only.

Graduate Students are advised that it is their responsibility to maintain a 3.0 Grade Point Average (GPA). Undergraduates must maintain a 2.0 Grade Point Average (GPA).

University Policies

Per University Policy S16-9, university-wide policy information relevant to all courses, such as academic integrity, accommodations, etc. will be available on Office of Graduate and Undergraduate Programs' Syllabus Information web page at: https://www.sjsu.edu/curriculum/courses/syllabus-info.php. Make sure to visit this page, review and be familiar with these university policies and resources.

In order to request an accommodation in a class please contact the Accessible Education Center and register via the MyAEC portal.

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