An Exploratory Study of Values and Gaps of Literacy in iCaucus Undergraduate Curricula

Living in a rapidly evolving digital environment, various forms of literacy are crucial for students to navigate the transforming world. This study investigates the presence of literacy‐related courses within undergraduate programs at iSchools. Using topic modeling, we analyzed 1,507 undergraduate course descriptions from 26 iCaucus schools in the North American region, identifying a total of 22 topics. Two noteworthy findings emerged: 1) only 28 literacy‐related courses were identified across 12 institutions, and 2) these courses were scattered across eight different topics rather than forming a cohesive, standalone topic. These results reveal that literacy, in its various forms, is not currently a central focus in the design of undergraduate curricula within iCaucus schools. As a next step, we plan to expand our sample to include courses from iSchools across all membership levels and geo‐regions and to further investigate how literacy‐related content is integrated into broader curricular structures.