Specifically, the ITAM Department prepares students for productive and challenging careers in information technology and administrative management and for a lifetime of creative thinking and adaptive learning as productive citizens. Within our programs, emphasis is placed on developing leadership, communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving competencies. Our mission is accomplished in three ways: · Providing students with a supportive and student-centered learning environment · Promoting outstanding curriculum and programs in the areas of Information Technology, Administrative Management, and Retail Management and Technology. · Supporting faculty in their academic endeavors.
The broadest mission of the ITAM Department is consistent with the mission of the university: “. . . to prepare students for responsible citizenship, responsible stewardship of the earth, and enlightened and productive lives. Faculty, staff, students, and alumni serve as an intellectual resource to assist central Washington, the state, and the region in solving human and environmental problems. Qualified faculty and staff create a community that encourages and supports the emotional, personal, and professional growth of students from a variety of backgrounds. The university works with community colleges to establish centers throughout the state and employs technology to extend the reach of its educational programs.
1. Students will demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to be successful in their chosen career. 2. Faculty will provide outstanding curriculum, advising, and programs in the areas of Information Technology, Administrative Management, and Retail Management and Technology. 3. Department will recruit and retain qualified faculty. 4. Department will strengthen partnerships with industry, professional groups, and alumni. 5. Department will maintain and support technologies to meet industry and student needs. The above five goals were adopted by the department in November 2007, as one step toward aligning our curriculum for ABET accreditation.
All courses taught within the ITAM Department include teaching objectives, learner outcomes, and assessments consistent with the department, college, and university programmatic goals and objectives. Traditional methods of instructional assessment are utilized by the department, including Student Evaluation of Instruction (SEOI), a self-reflective paper, and advising/office hours. SEOI evaluations are mandatory for each course within the College of Education and Professional Studies. ITAM faculty are required to administer SEOIs every quarter for every class taught; including summer. A faculty member participated in a Peer Observation Training project so this method of instructional assessment could be implemented within the department and college. In our 2004-2005 program review, both the department and the reviewer commented that the ITAM Department needed to develop a more detailed assessment process. For that reason, the department has redefined our goals (November 2007) and is studying the feasiblity of securing ABET accreditation. Additionally, the academic field of Information Technology is only six years old; as this field matures, and as our faculty continue re-training in this new field, goals, outcomes, and assessment strategies will by necessity change.
In 2001, what was the Administrative Management and Business Education Department morphed into the Information Technology and Administrative Management Department. Through department consensus, the Business Education, Marketing Education, and Advertising minor were dropped from our curriculum. Because we were on the leading edge of IT as an academic program, we had few curriculum models from which we could develop our curriculum. In 2005, after researching curriculum models, the department changed drastically. We brought together what was once two separate programs - Information Technology and Administrative Management - so that all our graduates would have broad skills in Information Technology, plus the professional skills in communication, leadership, supervision, and teamwork. This new program went into effect Fall 2006. We have not yet had, at this time, any graduates of the new Information Technology and Administrative Management program. We continue to refine our course offerings, goals, and assessment strategies in response to industry needs, curriculum standards, and student needs.
1. Development of an assessment plan for both programs and students. This assessment plan will be developed during the 2007-2008 academic year. 2. A capstone course in our program as part of the assessment plan. Students could demonstrate in this capstone course their meeting of the program outcomes established by the ITAM faculty. Our IT 461 Systems Analysis and IT 462 Systems Design were intended as our capstone courses – these two courses have been in our curriculum for over 15 years. A new faculty member, Dr. Bernadas, is bringing to these courses her background in Project Management and Systems Analysis and Design. 3. Establishment of an Advisory Council. Drs. Klemin and Rawlinson began working on a proposal last year for an Advisory Council, which we will establish during the 2007-2008 academic year. Ms. Shani Watkins, BAS-ITAM Program Coordinator, is also developing an Advisory Council for the BAS-ITAM program. 4. Curriculum review with focus on the specializations and minors. Dr. Chalupa, our program review consultant, specifically mentioned reviewing advertising and fashion merchandising as possible outliers for a strong information technology program. An extensive curriculum review was conducted by the faculty during 2005-2006, with a resulting program more robust in information technology and management. The advertising minor was dropped from the department and the Retail Management and Technology specialization now incorporates more retail technology and less fashion merchandising. Additionally, Busines Education and Marketing Education were moved to another department at CWU. 5. Reviewing IT 101 Computer Applications and our other lower division application courses to reduce duplication of learning. Faculty teaching IT 101 and computer application courses now use different textbooks and articulate course objectives so that duplication does not occur. 6. A broader interdisciplinary approach to our programs, incorporating coursework from other departments in our curriculum. The ITAM specializations attempt to do this as much as possible; however, the Computer Science Department and Art Department have prerequisites to those courses that might be used in our program that prohibit our students from taking those courses. We do incorporate Acct 301 Financial Accounting, HRM 381 Human Resource Management, and HRM 424 Training and Development from the College of Business into our Administrative Management Specialization. We also accept several Computer Science courses as electives. 7. Working the Computer Science Department to develop standards for information literacy within the basic skills section of the general education program. I met with the General Education committee twice in 2006-2007 through their work on examining and refining the CWU General Education program. Additionally, Dean Bowers recommended establishing a method whereby students could challenge the IT 101 course. CWU has a Credit by Examination program whereby any student can challenge the IT 101 course. We normally have between 10-15 students per year challenge IT 101. 8. Faculty scholarship published to reflect the information technology field. Drs. Bartel and Rawlinson have recently published an article in Educause concerning the use of portable technology in the classroom. Drs. Braunstein, Lupton, and Rawlinson have presented yearly at the Marketing Educators’ Association – our topics always focus on the use of technology in business. Dr. Lupton has completed and published several studies on the attitudes and perceptions of software piracy in Europe and Asia. Dr. Rawlinson traveled to the Czech Republic in Summer 2006 to present a paper on the effect of technology in the global marketplace. ITAM research tends to focus on the use of technologies in business, which fits with what Information Technology is – the design, development, installation, and implementation of technologies in business place. 9. New department name to reflect what we teach and what careers students are pursuing. In 2005, the department proposed a new name - Information Technology Management - to support our major curriculum shift. While the department followed all processes in place and met all deadlines for this name and curriculum change, the College of Business - after the deadline period - insisted that our new name would put into jeopardy their attempt at AASCB acreditation. We were asked by the Provost to withdraw our name change and we complied. While the ITAM Department has met some of these recommendations, we will be working more specifically during the upcoming academic year to: 1. Develop and implement a program assessment plan. 2. Develop and implement an Advisory Council. Additionally, we will continue: 1. Disseminating research in Information Technology, 2. Evaluating our curriculum to serve the current needs of our employers and students, 3. Providing excellent teaching and service to our ITAM students.
Teaching 1. We drastically changed our curriculum in 2005 and are continually updating curriculum to teach our students the most relevant technology and professional skills needed in the workplace. For example, our IT 228 Introduction to Information Technology course requires students to use wireless PDAs. 2. The ITAM Department has the largest number of internships on campus. Our interns are placed in the information technology field and in retailing. 3. The majority of our courses are either web-enhanced or taught through distance education, allowing students more flexibility. 4. Professional development is available to the faculty. In the past few years we have paid for faculty to retrain in project management, web development, and enterprise database systems. 5. Using their personal time and resources, the faculty continually update their own software and hardware skills. 6. The ITAM faculty are known by students as excellent advisors. The faculty make themselves available during scheduled office hours and other times as needed by students. The faculty pride ourselves on being student-centered. 7. Some faculty incorporate field trips and service learning into their curriculum. 8. The department offers an international trip in the summers to Central Europe to students interested in studying international retailing and information technology. The international experience was sponsored by CWU in 2001, 2002, and 2003. Because the International Studies Program will no longer sponsor this trip, City University now sponsors this program. Our latest trip in 2006 included 21 CWU students. 9. We are hiring more IT focused, highly qualified, industry validated faculty 10. During Spring 2007, the department used Student Course Fees funds to revamp our Mac Lab. The funds for the revamp came entirely from students - a cost close to $32,000 dollars. The lab now supports virtual systems and multiple operating systems for our students. Without the Student Course Fees, this revamp would have been impossible. Scholarship 1. The ITAM faculty are committed to remaining current in our industry by reading, attending and presenting at conferences, researching, writing, and publishing in our specialization areas. All this is done in spite of heavy teaching loads and our strong commitment to our students. 2. Not only have we responded to the paradigm shift at the university (the stress on more and more research), but we have likewise responded to the paradigm shift in information technology. The faculty are working on new areas of research and publication in information technology. Service 1. The ITAM faculty have historically been heavily involved in service to our professional organizations, our university, and our community. This service focus has changed somewhat due to the new emphasis of the university on research. While we were once heavily involved in teacher education – particularly in the state and national professional organizations - and in teacher education research – some faculty have resigned from those positions in order to perform research in information technology.
Budget Constraints. Budget constraints have necessitated changes in the department. We have met some of these budget challenges. 1. Twelve sections of IT101 are now taught by one faculty (historically we needed 3 faculty to teach these twelve sections). This was done by developing an on-line course. 2. We ask yearly to have our administrative assistant position returned to full-time. We also use department money to pay for student helpers. 3. We use some of our summer profit from summer classes to pay for computer lab updates, even though the labs are for general student use – not for the exclusive use of our ITAM students. 4. Through department restructuring in 2004, four faculty position were moved from the ITAM Department; three positions to another department and one position was dissolved. We were able to secure a new faculty line, based on our high demand program - which leaves us two positions short. This lose of faculty positions has effected our ability to offer enough sections of courses to graduate our students in a timely fashion. The result has been many course substitutions to accommodate students, which reduces the effectiveness of our curriculum and our students. Curriculum. Because of the fast-paced information technology field, challenges exist with curriculum development and implementation, including: 1. Providing professional development opportunities for faculty 2. Teaching constantly to changing industry standards and certifications 3. Increasing enrollment demands, with no supporting monies 4. Covering classes for faculty reassigned and retraining leaves. Department Image. Because our program grew from the “secretarial training” program, challenges surrounding our image exist: 1. While our students and industries that hire our interns and students are not confused about where information technology fits in the curriculum (versus, for example, computer science or information systems), many faculty and administration still do not understand what we teach. This lack of understanding translates into a lack of support through faculty salaries, faculty professional development, and outdated technology resources. 2. This general misunderstanding by the administration of what we teach has greatly affected the salaries of faculty in this department. For example, the ITAM Department is still classified by the administration with the CIP Code Secretarial Services, rather than the correct Information Technology CIP Code. Uncontrollable Challenges. Some of our challenges are not controllable, but must be dealt with. 1. Changing leadership in the ITAM Department, CEPS, and CWU. Changing leadership has meant a new focus on research, changing mission and goal statements, and a general reeducation of administration on the role of information technology. 2. The College of Business continues to scrutinize our course offerings under the guise of their attempts to become AACSB acreditated and on several occasions have thwarted our attempts to provide relevant, current IT offerings to our students.
As CWU endeavors “to prepare students for responsible citizenship, responsible stewardship of the earth, and enlightened and productive lives” (http://www.cwu.edu/~pres/mission.html), so too does the ITAM Department. The ITAM Department offers courses to all CWU students that build critical and creative thinking, problem-solving, adaptive learning, and communication skills – skills needed to help our students lead responsible, enlightened, and productive lives. Irregardless of the field in which an individual works, information technology related skills are at the core of the business. For individuals to be productive, enlightened, and responsible citizens, they must possess information technology skills, and in particular a solid knowledge in their unique area of expertise. Information Technology, as an academic discipline, focuses on meeting the needs of users within an organizational and societal context through the selection, creation, application, integration, and administration of computing technologies. The world is dependent upon technology and information—technology and information are essential to our very existence. Without information technology skilled employees, CWU itself would not function. The ITAM faculty have been at the forefront in teaching technology skills to students, using technology in the classroom, and preparing individuals to use technology in their current and future professions.
The overriding criteria regarding a curriculum decision is: “Where are we in relationship to emerging technology and preparing our students to be successful in this ever-changing area?” Faculty compile materials from a wide variety of sources including professional organizations; other peer university programs; industry standards; and data collected from students, interns and supervisors, employers, and industry experts. The department faculty work collectively to update curriculum. Several faculty members with similar areas of expertise, such as networking or retail management and technology, are primarily responsible for keeping up to date and proposing curriculum revisions in their expertise area. However, the faculty as a whole review proposed revisions as each specialty area overlaps, to some degree, all other specialty areas.
Three professional organizations in information technology provide model curriculum and industry standards to which the department has cross walked its program and course content—SITE, ISTE, and OSRA. In addition, the National Workforce Center for Emerging Technology Skill Standards are used in the development of the curriculum. Similar programs at other institutions—BYU, University of Wisconsin - Whitewater, and Georgia Southern University—are used as references for curriculum and program revision. Additionally, the department is currently working on a GAP analysis with the student learner outcomes and courses modeled through ACM and ABET. Because our curriculum (and academic field) is so new, we have not established a network of graduates with which to survey; nor do have enough data on graduate work. Interns and their supervisors are surveyed each year and results show that our students have good technical background and excellent professional skills - work ethic, communication, team work. The ITAM faculty are continually attending conferences, workshops, and meetings where curriculum is discussed. These ideas are brought back to the department.
In addition to a yearly retreat, the faculty meet regularly throughout the year—formally at bi-monthly department meetings and informally daily. During these meetings, faculty members discuss current issues and trends and how they may or may not impact the curriculum. It is through many of these discussions that proposed curriculum changes are made. Our current research into ABET accreditation is necessitating a major review of our curriculum and assessment strategies, which might lead to another overhaul of our curriculum; something not unexpected in this young, rapidly changing academic area.
As noted earlier in this document, the ITAM Department is currently developing our assessment plan. Had we remained in the areas of Business Education and Marketing Education, a new assessment plan would not have been necessary as our curriculum and assessment would be tied to OSPI standards.
Faculty regularly review the programs and curriculum using a variety of resources including professional organizations’ model curriculums, literature reviews, discussions with employers, advisory groups, participation in professional organizations, and keeping current with the field. The field of information technology is ever changing and faculty members are constantly assessing their own knowledge and skills. As a result, faculty members incorporate various avenues for retraining. To keep current with technology, resources are updated as often as can be with limited dollars.
IT 101 is a general education basic skill course that supports the third goal of our General Education Program Goals: Students will achieve fluency in reading, writing, oral communication and information technology. The department serves nearly 500 students per quarter in our IT 101 sections. Students are assessed in application programs they are expected to use throughout their education and their careers - Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Access. Assessments include graded homework, objective exams, and skill-based exams. Approximately 80% of students pass IT 101 their first attempt. Those who do not pass the course the first time are usually victims of their own procrastination, or their belief that the course is an easy "A" when it is not.
IT 101 is not considered a course in the ITAM major.
Masters in Business Education. This program was put on reserve in 2001-2002. Masters in Marketing Education. This program was put on reserve in 2001-2002.
We currently have no Graduate Program.
We currently have no Graduate Program.
Depending upon the course, the level of technology varies from basic word processing software to highly complex networking software and hardware. Projection units, video monitors, DVD players, video cameras, digital cameras, computers, networking capabilities, interactive video, and telephone conferencing are widely used to some degree within one or more of our classes. Not only are these technologies used by faculty, but students use the technology when making classroom presentations. Many faculty make use of Blackboard to add a web component to their teaching. Several on-line courses have been developed for summer sessions, including IT 201 Introduction to Business, ME 486 E-Commerce, and IT 351 Networking. The BAS-ITAM uses distance education (interactive video) for all its course offerings between the CWU Centers.
Blackboard Support: IT 201 Introduction to Business; IT 260 Integrated IT Applications, ADMG 271 Business Math Applications; ADMG 310 Professional Development; ADNG 372 Leadership and Supervision; ADMG 385 Business Communication and Report Writing; IT 301 IT Security, Privacy, and Ethics; IT 359 Advanced Spreadsheet Applications; IT 468 Projects in Database; ME 340 Principles of Selling; ME 470 Critical Issues in Retailing; IT 469 SQL; ME 330 Principles of Retailing; ME 467 Retail Management; ME 486 E-Commerce; ME/FCSA 489 Retail Buying; ME/FCSA International Merchandising. Internet Support other than Blackboard: IT 248 Web Fundamentals; IT 422 Web Site Construction; IT 470 Database and the Web; IT 428 Web Applications; IT 426 Application of Web Languages; IT 201 Introduction to Business; IT 351 Computer Networks; ME 486 E-Commerce.
Anecdotal evidence and SEOI comments indicate that our Ellensburg students do not like DE (interactive video) courses; our BAS-ITAM students at the CWU Centers like the flexibility of DE.
· Develop a set of timely, dependable, and accessible academic programs at each center. The Business and Marketing Education program and the Personal Computer minor were offered at SeaTac and Lynnwood Centers, but have been discontinued. Service courses – mainly ADMG 385 Business Communication and Report Writing, are offered at the SeaTac and Lynnwood Centers. · Develop a set of timely, dependable, and accessible student services at each center. The department has a web page that provides faculty, course, and scheduling information for students. Additionally, students have easy access in Center offices to information concerning majors and minors, course offerings by quarter, and course scheduling for the current and the subsequent academic quarter.
Faculty are available daily to provide advising support to all students. Each major in our department is assigned an advisor familiar with their degree program; students are encouraged to meet with their advisor formally at least once a quarter. Informal advising occurs daily in the classroom, the offices, and the hallways. Additionally, students in majors other than ITAM often seek advice from our faculty. New faculty are not given advisory duties during their first quarter; for the rest of their first year, new faculty are assigned 5-10 advisees and perform their advising functions in conjunction with the department chair.
Syllabi are collected and student learner outcomes, assessments, and textbooks are compared to CWU courses. If these items are compatible, the department chair makes the decision on transfer credits. In general, lower-divison courses are not accepted for transfer to upper-divison courses.
The department maintains a web page to provide pertinent information to current and prospective students. Faculty regularly participate in recruiting and majors fairs. Faculty also teach UNIV101 courses – entry courses for freshmen – establishing early rapport with our students. The BAS-ITAM program, in its second year of existence, is marketing through community college contacts, brochures, print ads, billboards, information sessions led by our BAS-ITAM Coordinator, and bulk mailings. Enrollments have grown to 38 students in the program.
Many students who need Math or English remediation receive that service before they enter our major. We have four pre-admission courses that students mush earn at least a C- with an overall 2.3 GPA in those courses for admittance to our program. Students must earn a C- or better in all our major courses as a graduation requirement. Student CAPS reports are reviewed quarterly to determine if any particular student is struggling in the major. Students who are struggling are advised to seek help through Disability Support Services, the Tutoring Center, and the Advising Center. Ultimately, if a student is unable to perform to standard in the major, the department discusses the student in a closed meeting. If so advised by the department faculty, the department chair releases the student from the ITAM major and discusses other programs/options with the student.
The ITAM Department supports the Information Technology Management club (ITM) and one of our faculty members is the advisor for the club.
While neither the department nor career services maintain statistics on student employment, we have compiled a list of some of the jobs that our majors have obtained since graduating from CWU. Andrea Green - Amazon.com in inventory/supply chain planning Sean Nettleton - Project Management, Nordstrom Kyle Kankanton – Project Management, VECO Alaska Colin Walker – City of Bellevue Rebecca Mathews – Maurices Tom Rockwood – seeking master’s degree Ty Payne – ME teacher in Everett Lisa Prokopovich – real estate Dane Estes – DDB International advertising agency April Mateson – DDB International advertising agency Eric Peterson – ME teacher in Slovakia, currently at Oak Harbor April Mauer – Wongdoody advertsing agency Tana Jones – Abercrombie & Fitch Valarie Borden – Bon-Macy’s Ryan Meline – Sherwin Williams Amy Light – Caldwell Bankers Additionally, many of our graduates have stayed at CWU: Jesse Days – Web Developer Crystal Weddington – Curriculum Advisor Kim Black – Computer Support Analyst Lynn Linnell – Computer Support Services Supervisor Chris Selby – Scheduling Center Supervisor Terri Covey – Web Support Specialist Jennifer Fountain – Director, Center for Excellence in Leadership Marilyn Thompson – Program Manager, Connection Card Debbie Boddy – Administrative Assistant Jamie Alder – Administrative Assistant Shannon Pannattoni – Secondary Educator, Adjunct Kathey Hatfield – Secondary Educator, Adjunct Kendra Sterkel – Secretary Senior Brad Melton – Director of Development for Student Relations Jill Orcutt – Associate Director of Admissions/Operations and PeopleSoft Lead Eight students have participated in SOURCE over the recent few years, giving presentations in the areas of technology (web development) and IT ethics.
All ITAM majors are required to complete a 9-12 credit internship. These internships not only help the student with their academic learning, but provide jobs, references, and networking opportunities. ITAM faculty use these internships to also network with employers. Students in ADMG 310, Professional Development, complete a service learning project. Students are encouraged to register with Career Placement and to make use of their resources. Students are also encouraged to attend Career Fairs on campus and Career Fairs in the Seattle metro area.
Based on our November 2007 assessment plan, we will be implementing a Student Advisory Council to meet quarterly with the purposes of providing curriculum, assessment, and student feedback to the department. We anticipate good, constructive feedback from this group that will be analyzed and implemented by the faculty, when appropriate.
The ITAM Department is one of eight departments within the College of Education and Professional Studies (CEPS). The department has seven tenured and/or tenure-track faculty; three full-time, non-tenure track faculty; two full time exempt faculty; and one three-quarter time administrative assistant. We hire approximately five adjuncts each quarter to supplement the faculty; additionally, we hire three student employees to supplement the administrative assistant. As mentioned earlier in the report, the ITAM Department is down two full time tenure-track positions. With this loss of faculty, we will continue to struggle with adequate curriculum coverage for our students (requiring us to substitute too many courses in our program), and may struggle to meet ABET accreditation standards in our pilot visit. At least one new tenure-track faculty position is needed to teach security and quality assurance.
The field of information technology is ever changing and faculty members are constantly assessing their own knowledge and skills. As a result, faculty members incorporate various avenues for retraining. To keep current with technology, resources are updated as often as can be with limited dollars. The faculty within the ITAM Department exhibit a high degree of commitment to teaching, research and scholarly activities, and professional service activities. The faculty are highly involved in their teaching and related activities that enhance their classroom teaching. Several faculty members involve their students in research projects—at local, state, national, and international levels. Faculty regularly publish in academic and trade journals. All department members provide community and professional service to various organizations by serving as members and officers, making presentations, providing in-service training, and performing consulting. Two faculty members received one-year retraining leaves to address two problem areas in our curriculum - Project Management and Web technologies. The faculty member who retrained in Web technologies moved from the ITAM Department to the Education department before she could provide teaching service to the department. Other faculty members, through coursework and/or workshops, have retrained in wireless communication, networking, e-commerce, and databases. Course that have been enhanced or developed through these activities include IT 374 Project Management, IT 361 Wireless Communication, IT 468 Projects in Database, IT 469 SQL, IT 470 Database and the Web, and ME 486 E-Commerce.
The ITAM Department has adopted the CEPS policies for promotion, retention, and tenure.
The teaching and service demands on the faculty is high, leaving little time for research. Because we have lost two faculty lines in the department, the majority of faculty teach 36 credits per year. When I do reduce teaching time to 32-33 credits, I often have to sacrifice a course section or two, leading to course substitutions for the students. This, I believe, reduces the quality of the curriculum for our students. Several faculty in our department have maintained healthy research agendas in information technology and retail technology; other faculty members engage in little or no research. New terminally-degreed faculty usually arrive with some already established research programs. Sustaining high levels of research cannot be accomplished without an appropriate reduction in teaching and service, supported monetarily by the administration.
Traditional methods of instructional assessment are utilized by the department, including Student Evaluation of Instruction (SEOI), a self-reflective paper, and advising/office hours. SEOI evaluations are mandatory for each course within the College of Education and Professional Studies. ITAM faculty are required to administer SEOIs every quarter for every class taught; including summer. Through the SEOI process, we have learned that our students do not like DE (interactive video) courses, but appreciate when faculty use Blackboard and/or a web site to enhance their curriculum. With only a couple of exceptions, the faculty use Blackboard and/or a web site to enhance teaching.
The faculty in ITAM continually revise course offerings and programs to best meet the needs of CWU students. Over the past five years, the ITAM faculty have designed new degrees, new programs, and new curricula. These changes have come about by careful research through professional organizations, advisory groups, student feedback, and industry interviews. The majority of upper-division courses are taught by tenured or tenure-track faculty, with adjuncts and non-tenure-track faculty teaching the majority of our lower-division courses.
Data provided by Instructional Research and other appropriate offices.
While our students and faculty do not make heavy use of library resources, we do recognize the importance of excellent library resources for a regional, liberal arts university. This is especially true with the new research emphasis on campus. It is imperative that the library have the funds necessary to acquire periodicals, indices, and other research needs, including full-text databases. The library staff works closely with our department to provide new resources for both our BS and BAS programs.
The current collection appears adequate for research needs, particularly when factoring in library loan programs and our heavy use of Internet research.
Because of the nature of information technology – in terms of both curriculum and skills needed for the workplace – students do not rely heavily on library resources. The students’ timely need for most resources comes from the Internet. Several of our courses, ADMG 385 Business Communication and Report Writing, IT 468 Projects in Database, ADMG 485 Managerial Communication, for example, require research papers. While we encourage students to use the library, many students use the Internet to obtain timely information. Faculty most often use CATRAX to obtain research articles for literature reviews.
The department chair is the designated liason with the library. Approximately 6 times a year books and periodicals are reviewed and marked for purchase. The library sends us a list of acquisitions that are passed out to the faculty.
Other than individual faculty maintaining journals in their own office, the department does not maintain a department library.
The department currently has seven tenured and/or tenure-track faculty, three full time non-tenure track instructors, two full time exempt faculty; five part-time adjuncts, one three-quarter-time civil service employee, and three part-time student employees. The department chair is elected every four years by the department faculty and approved by the CEPS Dean. All faculty members report directly to the department chair. The department chair is responsible for the oversight of all majors and programs and faculty, adjuncts, and civil service members of the department. The department chair serves as the administrative head for personnel issues. A personnel committee, consistent with the CBA, elects a personnel committee each year. The personnel committee is our only standing committee; any other duties/issues are handled by the department as a whole.
ITAM Faculty are active in many committees across campus, including the Curriculum Committee, Faculty Senate, and Academic Affairs.
While the faculty are actively engaged in university and faculty senate committees, it seems communication problems still exist between administration and faculty - particularly when faculty perceive that administration is making unilateral decisions. More and more work is being pushed down from administration to departments without adequate resource support and often without faculty input.
1. ABET Accreditation - monies for site visits and faculty release time are needed. 2. Professional Development in grant writing is needed to help with grant acquisition. 3. Release time for retraining and certification are desperately needed by faculty in an academic area where substantive changes occur every six months. 4. Additional tenure-track faculty lines are needed for both curriculum development and ABET accreditation. 5. A full-time technician is needed in support of our both our computer labs and our offices. 6. Salaries equivalent to the CIP code of IT are necessary for us to recruit and retain quality faculty. Recognition as a leader in Information Technology in the state. Resources needed include: · Accreditation in IT · Stronger alignment with industry leaders · Bring grant monies into the department · Students with industry certifications · Retraining and certification release time and support for faculty · Move from IT literacy to IT leadership · Program Director in IT to research standards, certifications, diversity issues, a Bachelor of Applied Science in Information Technology program, a Project Management Program, a Computer Security program, and/or minors in collaboration with majors across campus · A full-time information technology technician for the department · Control of classroom infrastructure, including upgrading of hardware and software. · Dedicated computer labs for IT majors · Financial support and/or release time for research and grant writing · Full time Academic Department Manager 2. Recognition as a leader in Retail Management and Technology. Resources needed include: · A second full-time faculty member to develop and implement new courses more heavily weighted in technology · Financial support and/or release time for research and grant writing · Full time Academic Department Manager 3. Salaries equivalent to faculty at our peer institutions teaching in Information Technology.
None at this time.
Our BAS-ITAM program is offered via Interactive TV to three sites - Des Moines, Lynnwood, and Everett Station. The number of DE equipped classroms is lacking, making us schedule more and more courses on Friday afternoons and Saturdays so that classrooms are available. Because some religious groups have Saturday as their day of worship, we are excluding some diverse groups from participating in the program. The BS-ITAM is housed in Shaw/Smyser and is adequate at this time for our needs. Every few years rumors abound that we might be moved out of the building to make more room for the College of Business. Because six computer labs are housed in this building, remaining in Shaw/Smyser is a priority for us - to better serve our students in the computer labs.
Computer labs seem to be upgraded every three years or so. The department has one dedicated lab for our use; monies to upgrade that lab are a department responsibility. We allocate approximately $35,000 every three years to upgrade this lab.
Instructional technology is adequate in Shaw/Smyser. ITS has supported our department when we have requested updates to software.
Planning requests for physical resources takes place at regular staff meetings where all faculty and staff have input. The department as a whole discusses in faculty meetings the need for any additional resources - technology, space, hardware, software, etc. Last year, ITS approved the move of our dedicated lab from one that seated 23 students to one that seats 28 students.
We are currently working on a code of ethics for our students. Several faculty belong to professional organizations that subscribe to a code of ethics, e.g., ACM, PMI, etc. These codes of ethics are being studied to determine if the department needs a separate code, and if so, what the code should say.
Not applicable at this time.