The role of Records Management in the education of archivists in Flanders - Belgium

1
The role of Records Management in the education
of archivists in Flanders - Belgium

• Marburg 11 June 2008

2
Objectives

• overview of RM education practices in Flanders
• embedded in Master programme in Archival Science
  in Flanders
• in order to
• provoke comparison
• exchange experiences
• find new teaching methods

3
Overview of the presentation

• Introduction to the Flemish archives and records
  management programme
• Needs of the students
• Educational answers
• Whats next the future

4
I.

• Introduction to the Flemish Archives and Records
  Management programme

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Characteristics of the programme

• Master after master
• Specialist and basis
• Student profile lt History
• 1 year
• Inter-university
• Unique in Flanders
• Curriculum Archives AND Records Management

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Curriculum

• 3 basic theoretical archival courses
• Archival science theory and methodology (5
  credits)
• Records Management (5 credits)
• Archival legislation (5 credits)
• 3 other courses
• Information systems management (4 credits)
• Management for non-profit organizations (4
  credits)
• 1 optional course (5 credits)
• practical exercises are integrated in a seminar
  styled course (8 credits)
• work placement (300 h) paper (24 credits)

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II.

• Needs of students

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Competences pursued by the programme

• Executive level -gtapplication
• Attitude responsibility, team oriented
• Management -gt methodology
• Attitude solution oriented, positive
• Research -gt theory
• Attitude critical, change oriented
• -gt Aim create a scholar attitude

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Competences learned in
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General skills learned in RM

• The student should be able
• to apply general principles and methodologies of
  archival science and information supply
• be able to design a records and archives
  management policy and strategy in an
  administration
• execute an organisational analysis (structures
  and work processes)
• formulate requirements
• choose an archives or RM application
• coach the implementation

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III.

• Educational answers

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Educational answers

• Theoretical courses
• Information Systems Management
• Records Management
• Seminar
• Work placement and thesis

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Information Systems Management

• The ICT Process best practices framework1.
  Application Development and Maintenance2.
  Support ICT Services3. Security Management
  Service4. Deliver ICT Service 5. Manage the
  Infrastructure6. Business Perspective of ICT
  Management7. ICT Governance
• in relation to information management

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Records Management

• most students interests tend to be focused on
  static archives
• only a small group has an explicit interest in
  Records Management
• of all archival courses, RM seems to be the most
  exotic for the students

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Evolution of student numbers
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Evolution of spheres of interest
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Themes covered (1)

• Introduction
• difference data-information-knowledge
• difference document-record
• lt ISO 15489
• models life cycle records continuum
• characteristics records records system
• lt ISO 15489

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Themes covered (2)

• Structural organisational analysis
• Functions activities
• Methodologies to use

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Themes covered (3)

• Classification
• Creation registration
• Metadata
• Selection
• Sampling
• Preservation strategies
• Standards in Records Management

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Approach

• lecture styled course for theory
• examples in class
• list with literature
• exam
• theoretical knowledge
• application in cases - understanding

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Seminar

• Practical exercises
• Bibliography internet sites
• Classification exercises application of
  keywords, thesauri, subject systems
• Construction of a classification scheme
• Application of a retention schedule - disposition
• Case strategies for digital born records
  (DAVID-project Antwerp)
• Case Process analysis and RM-software (DISSCO)
• (Experiments group projects)

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Work placement thesis

• students with a thesis on records management
  practical training in administrations
• Proceeding of the work placement
• Organization of feed-back
• Journal
• Promotor
• Definition of result a report
• Evaluation

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Students comments

• Students
• difficult
• volume of course material
• theoretical questions about applicability
• Graduates
• more more graduates find a job in RM
• courses evaluated as a very good basis

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IV.

• Whats next? The future

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IV. Whats next? The future

• Solutions within the programme
• more practical examples and exercises
• do it yourself train yourself small exercises
• through online learning environment
• wiki input of students (limited)
• forums QA (used during exam period)
• exercises (next year)
• more practical examples
• demos of commercial systems
• demos of RMS systems in administrations

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Learning Environment
planned for next year
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Learning Environment
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Learning Environment
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IV. Whats next? The future

• evaluation method
• combination of
• assignment case study
• exam
• exercises

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IV. Whats next? The future

• more study material to compensate for lack of
  background knowledge
• more literature (recommended)
• syllabus with all key information
• difficult to delete a theme from the course
  outline

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IV. Whats next? The future

• Solutions outside the programme (long term
  wishful thinking)
• - 1 year -gt 2 years
• - two specialisations
• Cultural Heritage and Archives Management
• Records Management