Merging IT training with academia

ABSTRACT

The University of Missouri - Columbia (MU) has a student population of approximately 23,000. Since undergraduates arrive at MU with varying degrees of computer literacy and experience, the Committee on Undergraduate Education (CUE) and Information and Access Technology Services (IAT Services) partnered to develop a new computer proficiency (CP) requirement for undergraduate students. Computer proficiency will become part of the General Education Program's graduation requirement from MU.This paper explores the planning and implementation of meshing IT training department goals with academic department educational goals to implement a campus-wide computer proficiency requirement for an estimated 5000 incoming freshman. There were many conflicting ideas of what the requirement should be due to different faculty perspectives. During the planning stages, many delivery methods were explored to transfer the learning to the student along with the associated costs to deliver each training method.The new computer requirement will become mandatory in Fall 2003. The requirement parallels the International Computer Drivers License (ICDL) certification which certifies that one is able to use a personal computer and apply common computer applications at a basic level of competence. The ICDL curriculum perfectly fits what students need to excel in their academic endeavors as well as survive in the workforce upon graduation. The goals of this effort are:IT Department:

• Continue to align the IT training department with MU's academic mission
• Reduce the number of help desk calls regarding basic computing issues and ultimately decrease help desk operating costs

.Faculty:

• Save faculty the time of teaching students basic IT skills
• Accelerate incorporation of technology into academic coursework

.Student:

• Obtain computer literacy in computer theory, operating systems, hardware, software, and computer terminology
• Demonstrate skill proficiency
• Enjoy an enhanced academic experience

.Prospective Employers:

• Provide a standard for MU graduates
• Expect that MU graduates have the computing skills they need to excel in the workplace once they leave their academic environment

.Students will be taking multiple simulation-based exams to meet the CP requirement. A testing facility will operate in existing IAT Services training labs and student computing sites to accommodate the large number of students.

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  K. Computing Milieux
  K.3 COMPUTERS AND EDUCATION
      K.3.m Miscellaneous

General Terms:
Management, Performance

Keywords:
academia, proficiency requirements, students, training and development, web-based training