Other Engagement Opportunities
The School of Information offers several opportunities for organizations to work with students outside of client-based courses, ranging from semester-long to single-day community organizing projects
Visit the official UMSI website for the most up-to-date information on client based courses
Information on the site you are currently visiting is no longer being updated as of Summer 2021
Alternative Spring Break and Alternative Fall Break
What are Alternative Spring Break and Alternative Fall Break?
During Alternative Spring Break and Alternative Fall Break, students from the Master of Science in Information, Master of Health Informatics, and Bachelor of Science in Information programs work on a variety of information challenges proposed by organizations in various locations, including Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Detroit. ASB students spend a week (35-40 hours) in March, while AFB students spend 15-20 hours in September working on site with participating organizations.
Deliverables
The final deliverables for Alternative Spring and Fall Break are determined mutually between participating organizations and students.
Client Eligibility
Who can participate?
Potential clients should meet the following criteria:
Be a public organization (non-profit, government, education, or cultural)
Located in the metro areas of Detroit, Chicago, or Washington, D.C.
Willing to spend time with students, providing them with a well-rounded experience, education them on the purpose of the organization, and introducing them to relevant colleagues
Project Examples
What kinds of projects are appropriate for the program?
Potential projects should meet the following criteria:
Be at the professional (rather than, e.g., intern) level
What are some examples of successful projects?
Reviewing and analyzing data sets for an educational institution to help program managers improve programming and influence outcomes.
Migrating a small online retailer's online shop from a custom solution to Shopify, which includes cleaning, reformatting, and importing inventory data, and theming the new store.
Assess a library's collection of Children's Book Award winners and generating a list of missing books, organized by award.
Building a new, scalable and mobile-friendly website that will serve as the central hub for current and prospective members of a nonprofit.
Developing a set of print and digital materials promoting the city of Detroit for a nonprofit providing general economic development services, to be used by economic development professionals working to bring businesses to the city.
Timeline
Alternative Spring Break occurs in the Winter semester, during Spring recess (1 week in mid-March)
June–February
Client submits project idea
Client Engagement Team (CET) reviews project idea and requests full project proposal
CET works with client to scope and refine proposal
February
Faculty choose proposals to present to students
Students choose their project
March
Students finish project and provide deliverable(s) to client
Alternative Fall Break occurs in the Fall Semester, during Fall Study break (2 days in mid-October)
June – August
Client submits project idea
Client Engagement Team (CET) reviews project idea and requests full project proposal
CET works with client to scope and refine proposal
September
Faculty choose proposals to present to students
Students choose their project
October
Students finish project and provide deliverable(s) to client
Former Clients
Who's participated in the past?
What do they have to say?
"Because we're a community-based nonprofit organization, we often don't have the bandwidth to take on projects that fall outside of immediate operations. The UMSI students helped modernize our website, a project that was on hold for months due to staffing limitations. As a result, we now have a good base from which we'll continue honing and finishing the overall website update!"
Morlie Patel, Chinese Mutual Aid Association and University of Michigan & ASB Alumna
"Our president requested an analysis of our committee volunteer data and, thanks to the UMSI student, we have something much more robust to give her than we had originally contemplated: an excellent in-depth analysis that we needed but simply did not have the staff bandwidth to undertake on the eve of our major conference. The student's work will become a benchmark against which we will measure our progress toward equity, diversity, and inclusion."
Mary Petrowski, Association of College and Research Libraries