Forward Together: Working with the New Standards for Accreditation

The American Library Association Committee on Accreditation (COA) will host an interactive session on working with the newly approved Standards for Accreditation of Master’s Programs in Library and Information Science (2023). The 2023 Standards were adopted by approval of the Council of the American Library Association (the Council) on November 30, 2023. These revised Standards eliminate redundancies, improve clarity, and infuse concepts of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion throughout the standards. The collaborative process that supported this work will ensure that these revised standards support a responsive, 21st century library and information education rooted in the fundamental principles of the profession as espoused by the American Library Association. The 2023 Standards take effect for all programs with comprehensive review visits scheduled for Spring 2026 or afterward, and programs with comprehensive review visits in 2025 may choose to respond to the new standards if they wish. COA members will discuss the structure and intent of the 2023 Standards and how those can be applied across diverse programs. Panelists will discuss how programs with reviews after 2025 might transition from the 2015 to 2023 standards. Additionally, the panel will share their thoughts on types of evidence sufficient to meet the needs of the new standards and reporting expectations for those standards in program statistical reports, biennial narrative reviews, and comprehensive reviews. Finally, attendees and panelists will discuss opportunities and challenges in responding to the new standards. Attendees and panelists will discuss strategies for reporting on the standards to demonstrate that the program embraces the values of the LIS professions while also taking into account those programs’ local and regional contexts.