The pressure to provide more Information technology training and education for university graduates is leading to a number of proposals for bringing IT into a wide range of ANU courses, proposals at various degrees of development. The Department of Computer Science certainly would not wish to own all these proposals, but can offer some background and a perspective on the subject area that comes from 25 years of participating in the development of Computer Science and Information Technology as university disciplines. In particular, the unique factors of the area, including the intense shortage of academic and technical staff, and the relative cheapness of computing equipment compared to the cost of supporting it, make the economics of developing and providing IT-related courses very different from the resource pressures on other disciplines.
I have made these notes with a focus on opportunities to provide IT for ANU students, with a first-glance comment on the costs of each option as well as some indicators of success. I apologise only a little for the managerial tone implied by this; the basic reason for these developments being considered is to attract students and provide skills needed by society, which currently measures graduates' worth as potential employees. Other people are better qualified to judge the effect of these changes on the value of a university education and the higher values of academe which I support also, but I am unqualified to comment upon in this context.
With very small modifications or none apart from renaming, publicise existing program with an IT badge.
Examples:
The costs of this option are low: rewritten or additional publicity material, administrative cost of renaming degrees and programs.
Success is measurable by increased or shifted enrolments, over 2-3 years.
There is good marketing strength because of the simplicity of this option.
Add more BInfTech combined degrees where demand is likely
[Written proposals are being drafted for 2001 introduction]
Initial costs are small, in developing acceptable combined degree proposals, revising and extending publicity materials; ongoing costs are in an increased complexity of administration of degrees for sub-deans, faculties, and SASS.
Success would be seen in increased student enrolments in these combinations, but large numbers appear unlikely because of (1) observed enrolments in the nearly equivalent BSc/LlB (less than 8 students per year) and (2) the mathematical prerequisites (NSW 2 unit Maths or ACT Major (?)) which I expect would be uncommon among BA and LlB students (can this be checked?)
Marketing strength is less than a fully named degree, but good.
Examples:
Costs are in academic staff time to develop degree and program proposals, ongoing administrative cost of additional degrees; rewritten publicity materials; ongoing cost of offering additional specialised units.
Success measured in student enrolments and attracting external funding for the development and provision of courses.
Increase the number of non-programming based IT units from DCS and/or other sources to provide coherent minors and major sequences for optional parts in all other degrees.
The costs of this option include academic developing the new units, modifying existing units and relationships within existing degrees that incorporate them, and recruiting staff to teach the new units; continuing liaison with ACS and accreditation processes; developing publicity across the university's offerings.
Success measured in satisfaction of existing students and graduates (with longer term increase in enrolments), and increased enrolments in degrees that allow and encourage the sequences.
Incorporate more elements of discipline-specific information technology in the content of courses across all disciplines, by providing further help and encouragement to academic staff in the disciplines, seed money funding for IT support equipment, and increased ongoing funding for IT support staff.
Note that this means that IT is brought into the content of units, not only in the delivery and support of teaching and learning of the discipline's existing content as has been the goal of ongoing ANU efforts which are given a focus by Chris Trevitt at CEDAM). Examples include Geographic Information Systems in Geography, database technology and Web access for image collections in Art History.
The costs of this option are more diffuse than the previous options, but may be high: a coordinator; providing training courses; academic staff time for training, own skills developments and discipline area change; staff time for unit development, restructuring academic content at discipline or unit level to incorporate IT components; loss of some familiar academic content or approaches to the discipline in favour of less well established IT-related content and approach.
This is a longer term approach based on individual heroics and enthusiasms and would be harder to succeed with. Success would be identified by reporting and counting the number of units that lay claim to incorporating a substantial component of IT for the discipline, and by student satisfaction.
The risks include students' not recognising these elements as sufficiently "information technology" or sufficient in quantity for their desire for IT in the degree, and contrariwise, that students with antipathy to IT may be put off academic study; and the risk of losing the academic qualities that provide these degrees' raison d'être in the university, and attract students to them.
Success measurable in student satisfaction with the value (and image) of their degree, and in the longer term, employer recognition of value of the degrees; in the longer term, increased student enrolment to disciplines that incorporate IT.
ANU should offer specialised programs which come from its particular strengths and relationships. There is a lot of demand for "conversion" Graduate Diplomas for general Information Systems, but this is an area that is well covered by University of Canberra and of little interest to existing staff. The existing ANU Graduate Diploma in Science (computer science) is effectively a masters prelim program, very little used.
These courses can expect to become financially self-supporting. Costs are the seed money and staff time for initial development. The risks are the financial risk to get established and the risks of being unable to recruit IT staff in these high demand areas.
Success will be measured in student enrolments and industry participation in teaching and supporting project work.