Register Your Organization and Submit Projects

When is SI ASB?

The 2011 SI ASB program runs from Monday, February 28 through Friday, March 4, 2011. The 2010 SI ASB Program took place Monday, March 1 through Friday, March 5, 2010.

What exactly is SI ASB?

The University of Michigan School of Information annually hosts an Alternative Spring Break program that matches our very capable information students with non-profit, cultural, government, and educational institutions in Chicago, Detroit, New York, and Washington, D.C. The students spend a week working on professional projects for the benefit of your organization.

What organizations can participate?

Organizations must meet the following criteria to participate:

• Be a public sector organization (non-profit, government, education, or cultural)
• Be in the metropolitan area of Chicago, Detroit, New York City, or Washington, D.C. (Participating organizations must be accessible through public transportation from the downtown area with the exception of Detroit.)
• Organizations must be willing to provide a professional-level project or projects related to the School of Information’s areas of study
• Organizations must be willing to spend time with the students, providing them with a well-rounded experience, educating them on the purpose of the organization, and introducing them to relevant colleagues.

What are ideal projects for the students?

Ideal projects are related to our core areas of study in library and information services, archives and records management, and human-computer interaction (usability analysis). We are also hoping to receive projects oriented toward the development or use of social media tools, community information management/development, information policy research and analysis, strategic analysis of technology, and information analysis and retrieval, among other information management issues. Interested organization can view past projects at http://asb.si.umich.edu/2009/ to get a sense of the projects submitted in the past. Projects should be at a level which will engage a graduate student and should not be "grunt" work or administrative work.

How much does this cost?

Participation for organizations is free! (at least in a financial sense). The students come to you fully funded. Through fund raising, the School of Information provides lodging and transportation and students cover other personal expenses.

Okay, it’s free, which is great! But, what are our “other” obligations?

We ask that you provide a professionally oriented project for the student (or a group of students) to work on during their time with you. We like for you and/or your colleagues to spend time with the student(s), sharing with them information about your organization, the greater purpose of what the project is, talking about career-related opportunities, etc. Also, introducing them to other colleagues, taking them to meetings, or hosting brief sessions on work in your field or functional skills/opportunities are an option. Beyond that, it's up to you what you want to or can provide. Some organizations provide the students with lunches, local transportation passes, etc. But those additional perks are optional. Minimally, we ask that you provide the student with work space and professional mentoring.

How do the students get here? Where do they stay?

Students drive to the city for SI ASB in transportation provided by the School of Information the weekend prior to the week of Spring Break. This can involve rental cars, charter buses, or Megabus. Students have the option to leave on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday and are in the city, ready to start work on Monday morning. The students leave the following weekend on Saturday or Sunday. The students stay in hostels in the downtown area of the city. The hostels have been hand-selected to accommodate the student’s needs for this professional experience. You can learn where the students are staying at About ASB.

Are the students evaluated? Are we evaluated?

Yes, and yes. The students complete an in-depth application to participate. Following the SI ASB experience, the students are surveyed about their experience and also participate in a post-SI ASB reflection workshop in which they discuss, reflect upon, and share about their experiences. Students are asked to give feedback on their project, the organization at which the worked, and other relevant logistical details.

Organizations are also surveyed following the experience and asked to report on their experience with their particular student(s) and the experience as a whole. Project mentors are encouraged during the week of the experience to report to the School of Information any problems with students (which rarely happens) and also speak with the student directly.

All of the feedback and evaluator information collected is confidential and is used for future planning purposes. Only at the request of a student or organization would information be shared with the respective party.

One week? Is that really long enough to get something done? What’s the incentive for us to host a student for just one week?

Every year, organizations request in the post-SI ASB survey that the experience be extended. Unfortunately, we do not have control over the University’s academic calendar and thus, spring break will remain one week long.

However, every year, in the post-SI ASB survey, organizations also always comment on how surprised they were at what the students were able to accomplish in one week. School of Information students are hard-working, innovative, and fast learners. They are able to hit the ground running and accomplish a lot in one week. Additionally, organizations are put in contact with their matched student(s) a month prior to the spring break week, so some preparation can be done in the time leading up to the experience.

Comments from past participation organization include:

• ”All SI students I've met have been amazing: they not only are smart but their ethic of work and professional approach are impeccable.”
• ”The students put a major dent into our backlog and made accessible previously unprocessed collections which significantly impacts our ability to serve researchers. Without their help these collections would not be available for research for several months if not a year.”
• ”She was exceptional, a fast learner and very smart.”
• ”I viewed my student's time here as a learning experience for her, but during some open source tech chat, I learned some things from her as well. She was focused, worked independently, but also asked good questions.”
• ”We find that each student we've hosted has brought a new wealth of information. They are always great to work with and really inject life into our work.”
• ”The student that DEA hosted performed as though she had been here for months. She had little supervision from me but produced a product that was organized and complete.”
• ”University of Michigan sets the standard for Alternative Spring Break events for its School of Information students and for host institutions! The organization and implementation of the program was top-notch, the students well-prepared and thoughtful participants in the programs and projects arranged. We look forward to participating again next year.”

What about other cities?

SI ASB added Chicago as a participating city in 2008 after a nine-year hiatus. At this time, no additional cities are being considered, but we are open to suggestions. We are limited to locations that are within driving distance due to the cost of logistics unless your organization is willing to support travel expenses.

How do we participate?

If this sounds appealing to you, contact Kelly Kowatch at kkowatch@umich.edu. After that, you'll be contacted to let you know when registration will open (which will be in late fall.) Once you've been contacted, first complete the Organization Registration form (link above) to register your organization; then complete the Project Submission form to submit one or more project descriptions. Students will be matched to your organization in January and you will be notified of the match about a week later. You'll be provided with their resume, information about why they chose you and you'll be put in touch with them about a month in advance so that you can brief them on the project.

Contact

Questions can be sent to Kelly Kowatch at kkowatch@umich.edu

Kelly A. Kowatch, Assistant Director
University of Michigan School of Information
Career Development Office
kkowatch@umich.edu
404C West Hall
(734)936-8735