Wayne State University's Board of Governors approved today the establishment of a Graduate Certificate program in Records and Information Management (RIM) in the Library and Information Science Program, effective in the 2008 fall semester. It will be the first graduate program in the United States to specifically focus on records and information management, separate and apart from archives.

"The RIM Graduate Certificate program will address a critical need that emerged following passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002," said Sandra Yee, dean of Wayne State University's Library System. "The act, which was enacted in the wake of corporate and accounting scandals at Enron, Tyco and WorldCom, to name a few, mandated effective and efficient information management as an organizational priority and a legal obligation. We believe that our new Graduate Certificate program will equip students with the necessary information and tools to tackle these issues," said Yee.

A survey conducted in April 2007 by a leading professional organization in the RIM field, ARMA International, revealed that nearly half of the organizations surveyed are not training their employees in how to properly manage corporate records and information. The survey also indicated that the majority of practicing RIM professionals hold a bachelor's degree and are seeking advanced educational opportunities to enhance their careers.

The proposed 15-hour Graduate Certificate is designed to address the RIM-specific competencies, the most pressing educational needs of RIM professionals that are not being addressed in any other degree program. The goal is to ensure that students from various RIM organizational levels and with diverse skills and knowledge will have the opportunity to select courses focused on the competency areas they need.

Wayne State's Library and Information Science Program currently offers Graduate Certificates in two areas, Archival Administration and Information Management. The RIM Certificate complements these Certificates in that it addresses management of business information in its active state and in the electronic world.

The RIM graduate program will be offered exclusively online providing professional education to students wishing to successfully manage records and information within public and private sector organizations. Students may earn the Certificate while concurrently enrolled in the Master Library and Information Science or they may enroll in the Certificate Program only.

The field of records and information management is defined as the systematic control of records throughout their life cycle. A "RIM Professional" is an umbrella term that includes a wide range of positions such as records managers, corporate librarians, imaging specialists and IT managers.

Wayne State University is a premier institution of higher education offering more than 350 academic programs through 11 schools and colleges to more than 33,000 students.