Weber State University   

Information Systems & Technologies

Results of Assessment

2002-2003 (submitted 10/02/03)

Introduction

Through the accreditation process 2002-03, the Department of Information Systems & Technologies identified six objectives which support the IS&T students, faculty and staff. Briefly stated they are:

1. Graduate job-ready students with broad business knowledge, strong technical skills, modern development practices, and professional interpersonal communication skills.
2. Maintain the currency and relevance of our programs through annual review of our curriculum and course content, communicating regularly with our business advisory council (BAC), and conducting periodic surveys of our graduates.
3. Be proactive in advising our majors early and regularly.
4. Broaden the appeal of our program by strengthening tracks within the major that focus on specific aspects of information systems.
5. Enroll and retain majors.
6. Provide an atmosphere to support a vital, active faculty.

One year ago, two focus groups were conducted to ascertain the effectiveness of the IS&T curriculum in relation to entry into the work force. One focus group consisted of graduating IS&T seniors; the second of IS&T alumni. One of the overriding concerns of the graduating seniors was that they did not feel they had sufficient technical skills to function in an IT position. Although alumni had specific suggestions for improving the curriculum, they were largely more satisfied with the preparation the IS&T curriculum provided than the graduating seniors. It is understandable that those with jobs would be more confident than those who were on the threshold of seeking employment.

To follow up on the focus groups results, two surveys were administered last year by an IS&T professor. A survey called Critical Entry-level MIS Skills asked IS&T alumni to rank the importance of Exit Characteristics of IS graduates which were identified in the IS 2002 Model Curriculum. The survey was first directed to the IS&T alumni during Spring semester. Of the 128 e-mailed, only 60 were successfully delivered. Of the 60 successfully delivered messages, 12 responded. While the response rate of the survey was very small, the 12 respondents were a fair cross-section of working professionals. The demographics and survey results are found on Tables 1-3 appended to this report.

The second survey was directed to the remaining 68 alumni during Summer 2003 using surface mail. Results of the second survey have not yet been tabulated.

In summary, respondents rated 100 desirable Exit Characteristics of IS undergraduates on a Likert scale of 1-5 (1 being Not Important and 5 being Extremely Important). There were a total of 16 Exit Characteristics with a mean importance rating of 3.0 or above. These 16 characteristics (sub-categories) were then grouped into five Major Categories:

• Interpersonal, communication, and team skills (I);
• Analytical and critical thinking (II);
• Information Systems/technology-enabled business development (III);
• Technology (IV); and,
• Business fundamentals (V).

Each of the five Major Categories increased in importance in the near future (3 years) with Interpersonal skills(I) having a significant increase in importance. The importance of Technology (IV) and Technology-enabled Business Development ((III) increased as well, but not as dramatically.

Of the Subcategories, Organizational Problem Solving (II) and Communication (I) remained in first and second. Systems infrastructure and integration (IV) and Internet systems architecture and development (IV) actually switched places of importance with Systems dropping from 3 to 8 and Internet rising from 8 to 3. With the exception of three Subcategories, all increased in importance. Systems infrastructure and integration (IV) and Creativity (II) dropped while Business process re engineering (III) remained the same.

This indicates several things to the IS&T department:

• Although team skills are used in most of our courses, effort should be made to co-ordinate team work content and assessment;
• The IS&T department was correct in changing the curriculum to include more hands on technology content, to differentiate the content of the two concentrations, and to include an e-business course;
• The Exit Characteristics survey results of Summer should be tabulated and compared to the Spring data; and,
• The Exit Characteristics survey should be repeated during the coming year.
  

Analysis of the 2002-03 Graduate Student Outcome Survey show that:

• In regard to the Graduate Student Outcome Survey 2003 for Knowledge, the IS&T Bachelors’ response (3.7) was lower than WSU (4.0) and GSBE (3.9). The Associate response (3.97) was lower than WSU but higher than the GSBE.
• In regard to the Graduate Student Outcome Survey 2003 for Life-long, both the IS&T Bachelors’ response (3.69) and the Associates’ response (3.75) were lower than WSU (3.91) and GSBE (3.9).
• In regard to the Graduate Student Outcome Survey 2003 for Connections, the IS&T Bachelors’ response (3.46) was lower than WSU (3.75) and GSBE (3.59). Once again the Associates’ response (3.64) was lower than WSU but higher than GSBE.
• In regard to the Graduate Student Outcome Survey 2003 for Thinking, the IS&T Bachelors’ response (3.52) was lower than WSU (3.74) and GSBE (3.66). The Associates’ response (3.73) was only slightly lower than WSU but higher than GSBE.
• In regard to the Graduate Student Outcome Survey 2003 for Respect, the IS&T Bachelors’ response (3.49) was lower than WSU (3.75) and GSBE (3.6). Once again the Associates’ response (3.7) was lower than WSU but higher than GSBE.
• 60% of the graduates receiving a Bachelor of IS&T aspire to graduate degrees. IS&T department does not offer a graduate degree.

Overall, the graduate responses indicate that 1) the students receiving an IS&T associate are more satisfied than the students receiving an IS&T bachelor, 2) the students receiving an IS&T associate were more satisfied than the GSBE in general, except in Life-long, while the students receiving an IS&T bachelor were less satisfied than GSBE in general, 3) neither the students receiving an IS&T associate or bachelor were as satisfied as WSU in general.

It is very likely that students receiving an IS&T associate have had earlier advising intervention thus feeling more connected to the IS&T faculty and GSBE staff. Also, the program has been focused better with the concentrations being more specialized during their course of study. This probably gives the students mid-way in the program more confidence.

With 60% of the IS&T students aspiring to a graduate degree, the question is raised: should IS&T investigate offering a masters program, an MIS? Is it feasible in regard to faculty and resources? In regard to State of Utah higher ed objectives?

While the results of the focus groups and surveys are positive, there is still much room for improvement within the IS&T department.

APPENDIX

Mission Statement / Student Learning Outcomes / Curriculum Grid / Assessment Plan / Contact Person