I. PURPOSE/DESCRIPTION
In this section, give a snapshot picture/current description of how the
program looks.
A. Overview/Mission/Goals/Objectives
1. Mission: The Department of Information Systems and Technologies
prepares job-ready graduates by:
a. Providing outstanding instruction in current information technologies;
b. Integrating practical business and technical knowledge;
c. Promoting strong communication skills and team work.
2. Objectives which support:
a. IS&T department students, faculty and staff
Graduate job-ready students with broad business knowledge, strong
technical skills, modern development practices, and professional
interpersonal communication skills.
Maintain the currency and relevance of our programs through annual
review of our curriculum and course content, communicate regularly with
our business advisory council (BAC), and conduct periodic surveys of our
graduates.
Be proactive in advising our majors early and regularly.
Broaden the appeal of our program to both students and employers by
strengthening tracks within the major that focus on particular aspects of
information systems.
Enroll and retain majors from high schools and community colleges, and
seek to use innovative applications of technology to do so.
Provide an atmosphere to support a vital, active faculty by obtaining
additional resources to support continuing program currency with
professional education for faculty, course release time, travel to
conferences and courses, and access to emerging technologies.
b. John B. Goddard School of Business and Economics students, faculty and
staff
Provide service courses which introduce information technology
management concepts, provide immediately useful productivity tools and a
longer-term appreciation for information technology in the organization to
all GSBE majors and to students of the Masters of Professional Accountancy
(MPAcc) and Masters of Business Administration.
Maintain relevancy of service courses by annual review and evaluation of
content delivery and effectiveness.
Leverage the MPAcc and MBA graduate programs and professional
development workshops and seminars to offer more information technology
related certificate/s.
Actively provide, sponsor or support efforts to improve computer
literacy of faculty and staff.
c. Weber State University & campus community
Offer general education course/s, such as, IS&T SS1100 Wired Society.
Seek to participate in programs of non-business disciplines.
Provide, sponsor or support efforts to improve computer literacy of all
University faculty and staff.
Support improvement of University technology infrastructure.
Participate in development of technology initiatives.
B. IS&T Degrees and Courses (Appendix I.)
Identify all degree programs offered through the department, including
majors, stand-alone minors, emphasis areas (BIS and others), and other
endorsements/certifications.
1. Degrees and Certificates:
Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science in IS&T
Bachelor of Integrated Studies
Associate of Arts or Associate of Science in IS&T
Minor in IS&T for Business Majors
Minor in IS&T for Non-business Majors
Information Systems & Technologies Certificate (masters level)
Software Development Certificate (will be discontinued Summer 2003)
2. Courses:
a. IS&T program and curriculum:
see in Appendix I.
b. GSBE cross-functional courses offered to support majors in the Goddard
School of Business and Economics:
IS&T TE2000, Software Skills for Business (which also satisfies the WSU
Computer Literacy requirement);
IS&T 3110, Information Technologies for Business;
IS&T 3710, Global Issues in Information Technology
c. Graduate level courses included in the MBA and MPAcc masters programs:
IS&T 6610, Information and Communication Technologies for Business;
IS&T 6620, Databases and Information Systems;
IS&T 6630, Networking and Information Systems.
d. Courses provided to the Health Administration Services and the
Geomatics program by interdisciplinary agreements:
IS&T 2000 Software Skills for Business
IS&T 2100 Introduction to Information Technology
IS&T SI2110 Software Development I
IS&T 2510 Database Design and Implementation
IS&T 2520 Data Communications
Identify any general education courses offered by the department,
including HU, CA, SS, LS, PS, DV, SI, etc.
e. General Education:
IS&T SS1100 The Wired Society
IS&T SI 2110 Software Development I
Identify department courses or programs which are offered by distance
education (online, correspondence, Davis Campus, other
institutions/locations, etc.)
f. Online (O), Davis (D) courses:
O, D IS&T 1100 The Wired Society
O IS&T 2000 Software Skills for Business
O, D IS&T 2100 Introduction to Information Technology
O IS&T SI2110 Software Development I
O IS&T 2130 Software Development II
O IS&T 2510 Database Design and Implementation
O IS&T 2520 Data Communications
O IS&T 3110 Information Technology for Business
O IS&T 3530 Systems Analysis & Design
O IS&T 3710 Global Issues in Information Technology
O IS&T 4710 Enterprise Software Development
O IS&T 4720 Emerging Technologies
O, D IS&T 6630 Networking & Information Systems
Nearly all IS&T courses have been offered online, in the evening and/or
off-campus at the Davis or West Centers. Beginning Fall 2003, the IS&T
program will relocate to the Davis campus. All courses required for the
major will be offered at the Davis Center both day and evening. All
electives (concentration) courses will be offered during the evening.
Service coursesIS&T 1100, IS&T 2000, IS&T 3110 and IS&T 3710--will
continue to be offered online and on the Ogden campus, as well as the
Davis campus. Online offerings for the major courses are being
discontinued until the new curriculum changes are implemented and
assessments made comparing student learning in online offerings and
in-class offerings.
C. Student Learning Outcomes Assessment and
Planning
For 2001-02, identify the student learning outcomes which were assessed
and the methods used to assess these outcomes. Generally describe the
results. Identify the changes which were made or will be made based upon
the results.
1. In the Spring of 2001, the IS&T department selected outcomes for the
degree. A matrix of outcomes and classes/professors was created. (see
Appendix F.) Professors were asked to indicate the degree to which an
outcome was addressed in each course they taught. In some cases, the
course had been taught by more than one professor. If all agreed, a single
outcome level was noted. If the professors did not agree, each level was
noted in the order of their initials appearing above the course.
As a result of doing this exercise, it became apparent that the curriculum
overall needed to be revised and this assessment did not go any further.
2. Heretofore, assessment has largely been feedback from surveys or focus
group sessions with the IS&T Business Advisory Council, alumni and
graduating seniors. The sessions have usually been facilitated by Brian
Davis, professor of Business Administration of the GSBE. Dr. Davis assists
IS&T faculty in developing questions and topics prior to the sessions.
Curriculum and course content changes have been based on feedback from
these groups, as well as a review of the IS 2002Final Report of the
Undergraduate Information Systems Model Curriculum (Appendix F??).
This last year focus groups suggested students wanted more hands-on
experience along with the current content, especially in beginning courses
(Appendix F??). Current curriculum was reviewed in that light and also
compared with a national model curriculum.
It was determined that the IS&T program should consist of:
a. basic courses which were required of all majors
management of information systems
software development,
database design,
information systems architecture (new),
network and data communications (previously an elective),
e-business technologies (previously an elective).
b. credit hours for three beginning courses--software development,
information systems architecture and database design--increased to four (4
cr hr), with the courses being scheduled as three credit courses in the
classroom and one (1 cr hr) completed online
c. total credit hours remain the same by dropping two required courses,
adding a new required course and increasing three foundation courses to
four (4) credit hours.
d. the two concentrations, System Development and Information Security, be
retained with courses in the concentrations receiving significant
revisions.
3.
ASSESSMENT
Information Systems & Technologies (IS&T)
John B. Goddard School of Business and Economics
Outcomes Data Results 2002-03 Goals
Graduates will be placed in positions befitting their education and with
competitive salaries. Annual employment survey of IS&T graduates for 2002
indicates salaries held up fairly well despite a weak job market.
Department was generally pleased with the result, though a stronger result
was desired. Department will continue to monitor placement data and seek
advice of their Business Advisory Council (BAC) for placement strategies
Majors will understand traditional business fields and be able to apply
information technologies to those fields. IS&T majors placed in 27th
percentile on ETS examination which tests traditional fields of business.
Department was not pleased with the results. Department will continue to
monitor ETS data and try to determine factors causing the poor results.
Students should complete their degree plan in a timely and efficient
manner. On average, IS&T majors had completed over 170 semester hours at
the time of graduation. Department now requires all majors to be advised
annually. Graduation candidates are required to complete a graduation
evaluation prior to registration for capstone course. Department will
continue to monitor the advisement process and total hours completed by
graduates at time of graduation. Department will also investigate other
conditions contributing to excessive hours completed.
Students choosing the System Development concentration will attain depth
of understanding in at least one programming language. Feedback from BAC
indicates that employers prefer depth in programming languages rather than
breadth. Department currently has three software development courses and
requires graduates to have two programming languages. Department will
perform survey of Wasatch front businesses and review surveys performed by
other entities to confirm BAC feedback.
Students choosing the Information Security concentration will attain depth
of understanding of information security issues and technical skills to
ensure that security. Feedback from BAC indicates that information
security will become a differentiating quality for successful businesses
and demand for information security will increase for some time.
Department developed Information Security concentration. Curriculum was
approved with courses begining in 2001-02 academic year. Department will
assess effectiveness of program through survey of businesses employing
IS&T graduates with this concentration.
From 1994 to 2000, provide examples of the changes which have been made to
improve teaching and learning based on outcomes assessment results.
Increased number of classes which include team projects and increased
number of team projects in classes
Added ethics and international components to more courses: 2100, 2110,
3110, 3710
Included web-enhancements in traditional courses to provide better
access to faculty and students outside of class, i.e., WSUOnline Gradebook,
Portfolio, Discussions, Chat, etc.
Increased our offerings at Davis campus and online
Added hardware/software course to give students immediately applicable
skills
D. Academic Advising
For 2001-2002, identify how student advising is accomplished within the
department. describe the methods used to assess the effectiveness of
advising and generally describe the results. Identify the changes which
were made or will be made to student advising based upon the results.
Several advising resources exist: university, school and department.
Students who have not declared a major are referred to the University
Academic Advising Center.
Students who have not declared a business major but intend to do so
and/or have not finished the GSBE foundation courses are referred to the
GSBE Academic Advisor for an orientation to the business and economics
programs.
Students who have declared an IS&T major and have completed the GSBE
foundations courses are referred to the IS&T department.
1. The WSU Academic Advising Center provides a liaison for the GSBE. The
liaison proactively provides information pertinent to general education
and university policy academic advising. She also gives training and other
advisement services upon request of the department or faculty.
2. Advising at the GSBE Academic Advising Center is provided in group or
individual meetings. Initial advisement for freshmen, sophomores or
juniors consists of:
requirements for admission to the GSBE
description of the majors
process for major declaration
general education planning
prerequisites and content of courses required of all business majors,
including business foundations and core
information available and usage of the GSBE advising web site.
3. Within the last year, the IS&T department requirement to be advised
annually was enforced by not allowing IS&T majors to register for IS&T
classes until they received departmental advising. This was accomplished
by programming the student record system (STAARS) to restrict
registration. The Administrative Computing department did the programming.
Non-IS&T majors were not prevented from registering for IS&T courses.
Strategies were implemented to ameliorate the expected student resentment,
the added time required of faculty for increased advising, and the
difficult situation of a student being ready to use his/her appointed
registration time, yet not having had advising or being unable to schedule
an appointment with faculty. To address these issues an on-line advising
tool was created by the department and programmed, again, by the IT
Administrative Computing department. The program allowed the system to
display some information automatically, the first date attended, for
instance. It also changed the advised status as soon as the student
completed the online form and submitted it electronically. This enabled
the student to register online immediately.
A summary of the students online advising session was generated by the
system and emailed automatically to faculty in the IS&T department for
review. If faculty saw a potential problem, they followed up with the
student by email. A donation of pocket zip drives and disks from Iomega
was offered as a small reward and the small rewards were emailed back to
students who completed the online advising. Students who were advised on
campus received the small reward immediately and the secretary had to
change the advising flag in the student record system to allow the student
to register..
Traditionally, all IS&T faculty have provided academic advising for the
IS&T majors and prospective majors. Office hours scheduled each semeseter
encourage students to drop in. Faculty are also available other hours by
appointment. A suggested assignment of students to faculty is divided
alphabetically, except graduating seniors, minors and certificate seeking
students who are required to meet with the epartment chairperson. Although
a faculty member is suggested as a students advisor, students are allowed
to schedule an appointment with the advisor of their choice. This allows
the student to interact with a faculty member who has a specific expertise
or a personality to which a student relates particularly well. Requiring
graduation sign-off by one person, the department chair, assures
consistency in meeting the degree requirements.
An advising reference manual was prepared for each faculty which included
department specific information, as well as materials provided by the
Advising Center. To date, approximately 110 students have been advised,
although some of that number sought appointments with faculty as well.
Also, some were prospective students who may or may not have declared an
IS&T major.
See Appendix G for examples of online advising tool, flyers promoting the
advising, summary of advising sessions and the outcomes matrix.
4. The GSBE also has a Career Advisor who acts as liaison between the
School and Career Services. The career advisor:
makes presentations to classes and orientation groups,
assists with a student organization to offer employment related events,
coordinates with Career Services in offering an annual Career Fair,
assists students in setting up a senior file for job searching,
maintains working relationship with firms who hire GSBE graduates, and
sends email notices of openings for internships and jobs.
From 1994-2000, provide examples of the changes which have been made to
improve student advising based on advising assessment results.
Students were avoiding advising, many believing they had completed
graduation requirements, when they did not. General education requirements
were especially confusing. A policy was instituted to require a graduation
evaluation performed by the department chairperson to be admitted into
Senior Projects.
E. Personnel
1. Faculty
Identify the total number of full-time, part-time and adjunct faculty.
The department has six full-time faculty members:
one tenured professor,
two tenure-track Associate professors,
one visiting Assistant Professor,
two instructors,
no part-time faculty,
approximately twelve adjunct.
Although the number of adjuncts vary for each semester, approximately a
dozen adjunct are mentored by full-time faculty members. The department
seeks adjuncts with a masters degree, but also considers the experience
and teaching ability as requirements for being hired. Seven of the adjunct
have graduate degrees, and one will complete the GSBE MBA program next
semester.
Describe how faculty are mentored and provided with professional
development opportunities (including full-time, part-time and adjunct
faculty).
Currently, a Master Teacher model is being developed to formalize the
current practice of adjunct faculty being mentored by full-time faculty.
In the model, a contract assigning specific responsibilities will exist
between the Master Teacher who is a full-time faculty member and the
assigned adjuncts. In Fall 2003 semester, the Master Teacher model will be
used in two courses: IS&T 1100 and IS&T 2000.
Also, two tenure-track associate professors each assume oversight
responsibility for one of the two concentrations and courses directly
associated with the concentration. They also have oversight of the adjunct
faculty teaching those courses. The department chair has oversight
responsibility for the remainder of the courses and any Master Teacher
situation.
Full-time faculty are informally mentored.by other department and GSBE
faculty. They are encouraged to attend conferences and receive
discipline-related education. A allocation of $1000 from the base budget
is available for each faculty member for faculty vitality. Faculty members
are also encouraged to seek University funds for specific objectives:
RS&PG and Hemingway grants.
Other teaching improvement and advising workshops are provided by campus
groups: the Teaching and Learning Forum (TLF), the Teaching and Learning
Technology Roundtable (TLTR); CATS, a department within the IT division
which also provides technology support for all faculty; Academic Advising;
etc.
Adjunct faculty are invited to the workshops. In fact, the TLF has been
given several charges, one is to provide resource to assist adjunct. No
training money exists for adjunct faculty.
Describe how faculty are evaluated (including full-time, part-time and
adjunct faculty).
All faculty, full-time and adjunct, are evaluated by students on every
class, every semester with the exception of online courses which have
focused on the mechanics of the delivery rather than the course content
and faculty. An evaluation instrument is in the process of being approved
by the Faculty Senate.
Course evaluation averages of the department and the GSBE are posted each
semester on the department network drive which is available to all
full-time department faculty.
All tenured and tenure-track faculty are reviewed annually. In the fall
term, the department chairs gather activity summaries from the faculty.
The department chair reviews the activity summaries and prepare a review
which provides both evaluative and developmental feedback to the faculty.
The Dean reviews both the activity summaries and the reviews of the
department chairs. The Deans review provides an oversight mechanism for
the review process. In addition, the Deans review brings a school-wide
perspective to the review process. Teaching plays a prominent role in the
review process. Performance in the areas of scholarship and service are
reviewed each year.
Prior to 1998, the tenure process was separate from the promotion process.
The separation of the two review processes created the possibility of a
faculty member receiving a positive review in one process and a negative
review in the other, even in the same year. In 1998, the tenure process
and the promotion process were consolidated. Under the revise system, it
is impossible to be recommended for promotion to associate professor
without being recommended for tenure at the same time.
For faculty outside the tenure and promotion process, the annual review by
the department chair and Dean conclude the review process. For those
faculty in the tenure and promotion process, reviews by the chair and Dean
supplement reviews by a school-wide committee, and, if necessary, a
university-wide committee and the Provost. In the ?? of conflicting
reviews, the provosts review is the binding review, unless appealed.
From 1994-2000, provide examples which illustrate the impact of the
faculty evaluation process.
Full-time faculty meet with the department chair annually to set goals
which focus on the three areas of tenure review: teaching, scholarship and
service. Tenure track faculty are progressing in their tenure review.
The department received complaints about an adjunct instructor not
returning emails for online in a timely manner. The department and
WSUOnline standard is that emails should be responded to within two
working days. The instructor was counseled and agreed to abide by the
standard. The next semester when complaints were being made, the adjunct
was relieved of his class and another experienced adjunct took over the
class.
2. Staff
Identify the total number of full-time and part-time staff (both
professional and classified).
At the present, the department is in the unenviable position of having
only one part-time hourly secretary. Normally, the department has one 3/4
time salaried secretary and one part-time student assistant. The problems
associated with having only a part-time secretary are reduced somewhat by
the competence and dedication of the secretary currently employed by the
department.
Describe how staff are mentored or provided with professional development
opportunities (including full-time and part-time staff).
Some funds have been used to provide technical training, and is limited
for staff who are not salaried. The secretary takes the initiative to
attend campus workshops or request personal training by other GSBE
secretaries and University staff members, e.g. the course Scheduling
Assistant. Other GSBE secretaries are helpful in answering questions and
providing some training.
Describe how staff are evaluated (including full-time and part-time
staff).
Evaluation of salaried staff occurs annually, with specific goals agreed
upon.
Evaluation of the hourly part-time secretary is ongoing.
From 1994 to 2000, provide examples which illustrate the impact of the
staff evaluation process.
Staff meet their goals and remain, working more productively.
F. Library resources
Describe how the library is used to support teaching and learning.
The University is fortunate to have library liaisons assigned to each
college. The liaison is able to purchase and coordinate library resources
for each college. The GSBE liaison also provides a course, LIBSCI 2704
Information Resources in the Business Disciplines, which satisfies the
campus Information Literacy requirement.
The WSU library is centrally located on the Ogden campus within easy
walking distance of the Wattis Business Building, dormitories and all
University parking lots. The building provides 100,000+ square feet of
usable space, is well-maintained, comfortably heated and cooled, and meets
minimum ADA requirements.
The library holdings include 359, 892 books and bound periodicals, 2,056
journals, 1,202,031 microforms, and 125 personal computers. In the
business area, the library holdings include 28,334 books and 218 ongoing
journal subscriptions. See appendix for Library holdings
In addition to the physical facility, the library provides electronic
information sources and electronic reserve service. Access is
authenticated by unique numbers on the official WSU ID card which only
legitimate students, faculty and staff may have.
G. Facilities, Equipment, and Other Resources
Identify any specialized facilities and equipment or institutional support
resources (computers, software university networks, labs, etc) used by the
department.
All IS&T faculty use computer technology in their classroom presentations.
A grant from the Deans office four years ago was used to equip three
35-seat classrooms with an electronic instructor station with a computer,
ceiling mounted projector and overhead camera (Elmo). Professors are able
to access networked software, the Internet and personal files stored on
the campus network. The overhead cameras allow for presentation of written
material without the awkwardness of traditional overhead projectors.
A year ago, all but three of the remaining 35-seat classrooms were
equipped with ceiling mounted projectors with laptop/notebook connectivity
to the projector and the network.
Four of the six faculty received laptops bought with matching funds from
the dean and the department. The other two faculty members need laptops.
Beyond the School electronic classrooms, the University provides open
student computer labs with a standard core of applications (word
processing, spreadsheets, email, Internet access, databases and
statistics) and a process for requesting other licensed software.
Computing Support Services from the IT Division and Academic Support
Services from the Student Affairs Division provide technical support and
lab assistance, including lab assistants, network connectivity, software
licensing and distribution, and configuration of workstations. The labs
are usually reconfigured during each semester break. There is a limited
budget for widely-used campus software. All else must be purchased by
departments.
The IS&T department also has two dedicated labs: a software development
lab with 16 workstations and a server; a hardware lab with 24 workstations
connected to the campus network and Internet; and 12 older computers which
can be physically torn apart and reassembled. Although both labs have
network connectivity, security controls are in place to prevent accidental
or intentional hacking on the campus network. Having the dedicated labs
gives greater control in keeping servers, personal computers and software
configured as needed for ongoing classes. The special security and
configuration control for IS&T courses is not possible in an open, public
lab. The software development lab is occasionally reserved by campus
entities for training purposes.
Several faculty members also maintain older computers in their offices or
the department labs used for testing and experimentation. Problems which
occurr on the test machines do not affect faculty desk tops, allowing the
faculty to continue with day-to-day computing needs.
The IS&T department has recently purchased a software licensing program at
a nominal expense ($800) which allows software to be loaded on
departmental lab servers and workstations, and on IS&T students and
faculty personal computers. Usage is restricted to academic purposes, not
day-to-day administrative and staff operations.
Technical support is provided by one salaried employee who is responsible
for classrooms and labs, and the entire GSBE faculty. The WSU IT
divisions Coputing Support and Network department provide technical
support back-up and network information for the GSBE technical support
employee. The University also has a computer help desk and technical
support for faculty, staff and students which operates 24/7.
For instructional equipment and materials, provide a replacement schedule.
In an appendix, provide an example of how these items are inventoried.
There is no permanent base budget for replacement of computers and
upgrading software, although the department tries to replace two standard
computers or one high-end computer each year for faculty. Almost all
computer and software purchases have been purchased with one-time money.
H. Budget
Identify the sources and relative proportion of funding which support the
department (E&G/legislative, private donation,\s, student fees, etc).
The department budget comes, almost entirely, from state allocated E&G
funds. 97% is spent on salaries and benefits. 3% is spent on current
expense, travel and capital equipment.
Two dedicated labs are supported by student fees and grants. Course fees
were increased during the last academic year and fees and grants each
supply half of the budget.
Identify the approximate percentage of department funds which support
faculty research, scholarship or creative activities.
Of the expendable money, 50% is spent on instructional purposes, 40% on
research and scholastic activities and 10% on service responsibilities.
I. Other
Identify any other information that relates to the department which is NOT
covered in A through H above.
II. SIGNIFICANT CHANGES
In this section describe/highlight the changes which have occurred over
the last 10 years.
A. Student enrollment patterns for 1997-2002
Demographics 1997-1998 1998-1999 1999-2000 2000-2001 2001-2002
Student Credit Hours 3, 197 3,981 4,253 4,746 4,862
Student FTE 107 133 142 158 162
% change 25% 7% 12% 2%
Majors 247 286 258 254 227
% change 16% (10%) (2%) (11%)
Graduates 71 63 66 64 60
% change 11% -5% -3% -6%
Certificates 18 22 22 10 8
% change 22% 0% (55%) (20%)
Associate degrees 1 3 1 2 5
% change 200% -67% 100% 150%
Bachelor degrees 52 38 43 52 47
-27% 13% 21% -10%
B. Significant changes since 1994
Describe any significant changes made since 1994 to the processes for
outcomes assessment, student advising and faculty evaluation.
1. Assessment
In 1998, the student projects in the IS&T capstone class, Senior Projects,
were evaluated by corporate administrators. The course format was changed
to better emphasize and support the development of business plans.
2. Advising
a. Group advising was instituted. Two classes, one upper and one lower
division, were selected for group advising. In the lower division class,
the GSBE Academic Advisor was invited to discuss requirements of the GSBE.
In the upper division class, the Career Advisor was invited to discuss
setting up the senior file and job and internship opportunities. In both
classes the department chairperson explained the IS&T major requirements
and answered any questions about the degree. The department chair, also,
pointed out things that students often overlooked for graduation, e.g.,
general education requirements. Group advising sessions were also held on
Saturdays with faculty available to answer questions about courses or the
major.
b. Individual advising was also improved. Faculty-as-advisors were
assigned to students by their last names. Flags were set on specific
classes requiring students to be advised before they could register for
that particular class.
c. A handout was developed which showed the sequence of courses, including
prerequisites, to be taken in order to graduate in four years.
3. Faculty positions:
a. 1998-1999 = 4
b. 1999-2000 = 4
c. 2000-2001 = 4
d. 2001-2002 = 5
e. 2002-2003 = 5
f. 2003-2004 = 6
4. Curriculum
There have been three significant curriculum changes in the last ten
years. One extensive curriculum change resulted from the mandate to move
from quarters to semesters. The other changes were made in response to
feedback from employers and alumni.
Specifically, in 1999, the IS&T Business Advisory Council counseled the
department to stress information security--this prior to 9/11. The network
concentration was redesigned and renamed to include information security,
including the addition of two classes: CJ 3130 Investigation of Computer
Crime and IS&T 4600 Computer Forensics. Formerly, the network
concentration courses were chosen from a group of electives. After the
redesign, the network concentration courses and prerequisites were more
structured.
The most recent program change was approved Fall 2002, to be implemented
Fall 2003. See I..C.2. and Appendix I. for hand outs detailing our program
requirements for the current catalog year, 2002-03, and the curriculum
approved for 2003-04.
III. STRENGTHS AND CHALLENGES
In this section analyze the good and bad aspects of each area listed
below. Support your conclusions with evidence.
A. Student Learning Outcomes Assessment and
Planning
1. Strengths: Clearly, the department has the opportunity to update the
curriculum so learning progresses in an orderly progression as mentioned
in the 1994 Northwest Report. Assessment is best when variety of
instruments are used. The department must implement assessments to
collaborate the feedback from the focus groups.
Challenge: As always, finding time to keep technology courses current and
relevant while attending to other teaching, scholarship and service
responsibilities is difficult.
2. Strength: In actuality, the curriculum change approved for Fall 2003
seems easier for students to follow and should improve students
preparation for IT jobs. They may find changing to the 2003-04 catalog
year to be very beneficial.
Challenges: Students are uneasy about changes, in general. While the
faculty expect the curriculum changes to provide more substance for the
students, the real impact will not be known until students have gone
through the curriculum and the department is able to assess graduates
knowledge level and comfort level in their employment.
B. Student Advisement
Strengths:
The department has been through one successful year of mandatory
advising and worked out some deficiencies, such as simplifying the
process.
Faculty are becoming more familiar with the catalog year differences and
issues.
IS&T faculty-as-advisors has definite advantages to the students.
Students receive advice in their major field much earlier in their
academic pursuit and more quickly begin a working relationship with
faculty members.
The last catalog year allowing quarters will be retired this summer!
Challenges:
The department intends to require annual advising which means that IS&T
majors will not be able to register until having been advised each Spring
before Fall registration. This requires more time from faculty. Each time
registration is restricted the potential exists for students to become
frustrated, even angry, and contemplate switching majors.
A new student record system and a new course management system are being
deployed. IS&T faculty should participate in the conversion process, at
least as interested users. Certainly, the department needs to ensure that
the current online advising process is implemented in the new system.
The advising manual will continue to be updated and faculty will receive
more training on graduation requirements and advisement procedures.
Students have largely expressed appreciation for the mandatory advising,
but a formal assessment of the impact of mandatory advising must be
implemented.
Offering a small reward for being advised was warmly received; now it is
most likely expected. A different reward must be found.
C. Faculty and Staff Evaluation
Strengths:
The mechanism exists to perform course evaluations and to post the
averages in a secure place for all full-time faculty members to access.
Experienced full-time faculty are willing to assume responsibility to
evaluate teaching, including course evaluations, for instructors they are
mentoring or acting as Master Teacher.
Adjuncts currently teaching are very enthusiastic and responsive to
suggestions from the full-time faculty.
Challenges:
Mentors and Master Teachers must, indeed, perform semester reviews on
the course evaluations for adjunct faculty.
A process for recruiting, evaluating potential, hiring, educating and
oversight of adjuncts must be formalized.
Providing resources to educate and train faculty on teaching and the
education process are needed.
D. Library
Strengths:
Library resources are quite extensive, and the GSBE library liaison is
very bright capable and willing to assist faculty and students.
Challenges:
Library resources do not appear to be used effectively. The resources need
to be promoted to students and faculty. An orientation on library
resources and the new LibSci 2704 course, Information Resources in the
Business Disciplines, presenting knowledge of resources available to GSBE
faculty, staff and students, including IS&T majors would be helpful.
E. Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources
Strengths:
The IS&T department receives student fees which are added to one time
money for maintaining two dedicated labs.
Moving to the new Davis Campus in the Fall of 2003 affords the IS&T
department to configure two dedicated labs to be more suitable for the
courses needs.
Challenges:
There is no central funding for faculty computers. Funding has been
sporadic and uncertain. Money is always tight and more so now because of
the economy and legislative choices.
Moving to the Davis campus will require more resources than the average
year.
Computing systems (network, online servers, etc) still go down. Until
there is redundancy in the system, teaching using network technology is at
risk.
F. Budget
Strengths:
The budget has been fairly stable despite the current economic and
political environment which not only threatens facilities and equipment,
but even faculty positions.
Weaknesses:
The budget has been stable.
G. Associate of Applied Science Degree Programs
NA
H. Other
Strengths:
There is a great collegiality between professors in the IS&T department,
and between the IS&T professors and the different GSBE departments.
Challenges:
The greatest challenge for the IS&T department is to find and retain
full-time doctorally qualified faculty. Finding and retaining qualified
faculty require time and money. Faculty are able to find employment with
far higher compensation in industry and, even, in other schools. Larger
schools have larger departments which reduces course load and number of
course preparations. Nonetheless, the department works hard to have
faculty of very high caliber and with dedication to educating the IS&T
majors.
At this time, the IS&T department has need for 1-2 more PhD qualified,
tenure-track faculty members.
Strengths:
The physical relocation to the Davis campus will not seriously impact
Weber County students. And The move to the Davis campus should make the
program more accessible to Davis and North Salt Lake county students
without seriously impacting most of the Weber County students. One feeder
college with one of the highest rate of transfers is located in Salt Lake
County. It is expected that many students graduating with their to-year
associate degree will be interested in the IS&T program.
Challenges:
Recruiting needs to be targeted and addressed consistently.
IV. NEXT STEPS/ACTION ITEMS
A. Complete the course redevelopments implicit in the recently approved
curriculum.
B. Establish tools and/or processes to assess the effectiveness of the new
program.
C. Develop a long-term plan for recruitment.
D. Formalize process for hiring, supporting and retaining adjunct faculty.
E. Formalize Master Teacher management model. |
