University Times

With support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), Pitt’s School of Information Sciences (SIS) and the University of the Virgin Islands-St. Thomas have entered into a unique partnership. IMLS granted $965,910 to the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) to fund 25 students as they earn their M.L.I.S. degrees via the FastTrack distance education program.

FastTrack offers the American Library Association-accredited master’s degree program through web-based asynchronous delivery. Students from more than 26 states have participated since the program’s inception five years ago.

The UVI students will begin their FastTrack studies in May.

This grant is part of the IMLS’s multi-million dollar initiative, 2005 Librarians for the 21st Century, to help offset a shortage of professional librarians working in underserved communities.

Students are admitted to the FastTrack program as a cohort that will move through the program together, allowing for peer interactions and support similar to that found in the on-campus program. Students will participate through asynchronous course delivery, real-time conferencing with other students and faculty and on-campus learning experiences.