Faculty Services

Information Literacy Standard: Vermont State Colleges

In September 2001, the VSC proposed that all students meet a graduation competency for information literacy modeled on the Association of College and Research Libraries' (ACRL) Competency Standards for Higher Ed at

Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Ed

Associate's and Bachelor's degree candidates must meet the VSC standard for information literacy as a requirement for graduation. The standard addresses a student's ability to:


1. Define a research topic and the information needed.
2. Use a variety of traditional and electronic resources to collect and organize that information.
3. Evaluate the information and its sources critically.
4. Acknowledge and document the sources needed.

Over the years, the ACRL has developed subject-specific competencies to demonstrate how these standards may be applied within the disciplines.  Find these links in the See Also section of this page.

Information Literacy and Library Instruction at JSC

JSC faculty have designed first year seminars to meet the following objectives: Explore interdisciplinary content; Promote extended classroom experiences; Offer experiential learning opportunities; Include an information literacy component.  Librarians deliver introductory sessions in these seminars, which will serve as the basis of a developmental program for information literacy instruction at JSC.

Students will satisfy the graduation standard for information literacy by successfully completing the VSC TILT tutorial and the three related assessments mounted on Blackboard™.

TILT: Questions and Answers

What is TILT?

Developed by the University of Texas--Austin, TILT is a Web-based instruction tool that introduces students to the research process. The VSC adapted the tutorial to gauge student mastery of basic concepts associated with information literacy.

How long does it take?
TILT consists of three modules plus an introduction. Each section takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. Following each module, there is a review and a quiz.

What are the pedagogical principles behind TILT?
Librarians throughout the University of Texas system collaborated on the development of TILT over several years. Based on Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, the original tutorial was created by an instructional designer (Beth Dupuis), a curriculum coordinator (Clara Fowler) and a technical developer (Brent Simpson). For more information, please refer to the article below, which is freely available at the ACRL Web Site.


  Orme, W.A. (2004, May). A study of the residual impact of the Texas Information Literacy Tutorial on the information seeking ability of first year college students. College & Research Libraries, 65(3), 205-215.

See Also