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By Susan Caba
America’s competitive edge in high technology is eroding, according
to the leading trade association for the information technology
industry.
“If present day trends continue, America’s ability to produce industry-defining
innovations will dissipate and its role on the global economic stage
could be substantially reduced.”
In a report last fall, the Information Technology Association of
America (ITAA) said the country must double the number of graduates
in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math over
the next ten years, from approximately 430,000 to 860,000. Success
will require the cooperation of industry, government and academia.
“The way forward is clear,” said ITAA Vice President Marjorie Bynum
late last year. “Without disciplined, purposeful action now, the
nation’s high-tech future, and therefore its economic future, are
at risk. Competition for the future begins with competition in the
classroom.”
In the St. Louis region, colleges and universities are doing their
part—both in offering innovative IT degrees and certifications,
as well as integrating technology components into traditional programs
such as business and healthcare management. And they are recognizing
a new reality in education—technology changes and expands so quickly
that it’s not enough anymore to simply earn a degree and go to work.
On-going education throughout a career is now a fact of life.
“Technology permeates everything we do,” says Chancellor Thomas
F. George of the University of Missouri-St. Louis. “The IT programs
are integrated into other programs—it’s a major driver of what we
do, not only in the Department of Mathematics and Computing, but
also in other disciplines, like medicine and education. It’s integral
in what we do in running the school.”
The university offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees
in information systems management, incorporating high technology
for both technical and managerial careers in public and private
organizations. The school is also building a high-tech business
incubator, to open next year.
At Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Kent Neely, dean of
the College of Arts and Sciences, says technology “is not only in
our curriculum, it’s how our curriculum is delivered.”
In SIUE’s School of Pharmacy, each student is provided with a laptop
preloaded with programs needed for the curriculum, says Neely. That
is, in itself, a message to students about developing management
techniques in the healthcare industry. Nursing students are supplied
with PDAs loaded with the equivalent of many heavy books worth of
information.
SIUE
Professor Rick Haydon (at the far right) with three
students. |
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But reaching the ITAA’s goal of doubling technology graduates isn’t
as easy as just creating new degree programs. The technology landscape
isn’t as simple as it was 30 or 40 years ago, when computer science
was in its adolescence, computers ran on DOS—JAVA was still just
slang for coffee—and Bill Gates had yet to turn “geek” into synonym
for world’s richest man.
For one thing, the job market for IT professionals has been volatile.
The ITAA went from predicting a shortage of workers in the late
1990s, to acknowledging a dramatic drop in demand in 2001-2002 because
of the dot com bust, the 9/11 attacks, economic recession and outsourcing
of jobs to other countries. The size of the IT workforce didn’t
return to 2001 levels until mid-2003. In the meantime, the number
of newly declared computer science undergraduates has dropped 33
percent and the number of computer science master’s degree candidates
has dropped 25 percent since 2003.
Keeping up with the advances in technology is a challenge akin to
keeping ahead of a tsunami, says Neely. That’s true not only for
schools, but also for employers. The ITAA survey found that hiring
managers value on-the-job training and certification programs—71
percent said that continuing education is important for internal
advancement for IT professionals.
Yet another factor in the current and future IT economy is that
the vast majority of IT workers—79 percent—work for non-technology
companies. About three-fourths of IT jobs are with small companies.
The initiatives in the St. Louis region recognize these realities.
Saint Louis University established the Center for Informatics Research
and Education earlier this year, to offer graduate and undergraduate
degrees, certificates and seminars in “informatics.” (The term covers
a broad range of activities, but basically means using technology
to create, assemble, manage and analyze information. The concept
can be used, for example, to manage healthcare or to make business
decisions).
Dr. John Buerch, SLU assistant professor, says technology has generated
so many new types of information (remote sensing, satellite imaging,
genome libraries and more) that business, industry, government and
academia have to develop new ways of gathering the information,
storing it and putting it to use. Buerch, director of SLU’s Computer
Science Technology Program in the School for Professional Studies,
predicts that expertise in informatics will become vital in fields
as diverse as biology, criminal justice and geology. The school
of nursing offers a degree in healthcare informatics.
SLU, like other educational institutions, has also recognized that
IT education is an on-going process. In recognition that many students
are already in the workforce, the university split School of Professional
Studies academic schedule into five nine-week terms. Each class
is offered in a four-hour segment once a week. The accelerated schedule
allows greater flexibility, whether a student is earning a degree,
a professional certificate or just taking a single class.
SLU, Washington University and UM-St. Louis are all offering professional
certificates, as well as undergraduate and graduate degrees. The
ITAA report predicted that national competitiveness in IT will “depend
on lifelong education and training” that will allow professionals
to shift career goals.
“Education is the key to moving up in their field or making career
changes,” says Tony Gallini, director of recruitment and marketing
for SLU’s School for Professional Studies. “They are looking for
practical skills and knowledge. We are seeing more and more of our
students wanting to augment their degrees, rather than obtain graduate-level
degrees.”
The universities are also cooperating with junior colleges and community
colleges to help students make seamless transitions as they earn
associate degrees, then return to school—often after they’re already
in the workforce—to continue work on higher degrees or professional
certificates. SLU, for example, has a dual-admission program with
Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville, in which students simultaneously
earn an associates degree and credit toward a SLU degree.
Washington University’s computer science program was designated
a separate department in 1974, making it one of the first independent
departments in the country. Typically, there are 60 master’s students
and 40 doctoral candidates pursuing their degrees, as well as various
undergraduate and certificate programs offered in conjunction with
the Schools of Engineering and Business. The university began offering
continuing education in computer sciences—now more commonly called
IT—two years later.
Now called CAIT, the non-profit organization within Washington University
offers more than a dozen professional certifications and more than
150 courses each quarter.
“Very few are targeted at the novice,” says Laurie Koetting, CAIT
director. “These are courses for someone already working in IT,
who wants to take it further. The idea is for people who want to
tailor their skills to their company’s needs, so that their jobs
are not easily outsourced.”
Typically, classes focus on project development and management,
theory and communication skills, rather than strictly technological
classes (though those are offered, as well). One of the most popular
is Emotional Intelligence for IT Professionals.
“It takes a really good look at how to know yourself, how to be
a better listener, how to communicate more effectively,” says Koetting.
“It uses case studies that all center on engineering and technical
situations, and how they can be more effective in applying their
technological skills.”
Even though the idea of a “computer geek” with “emotional intelligence”
sounds vaguely like the punch-line of a joke, the so-called “soft
skills” are increasingly important for IT professionals, according
to the ITAA survey of employers.
“Personality is a major plus,” the survey found. “In the soft skills
area, interpersonal skills drew the most votes from companies of
all sizes—twice as important as project management or team building.”
CAIT’s seminars and classes are typically taught in a two-to-four
day period. Most of the professional certificates can be earned
within a year, if the classes are taken on an average of one evening
per week. The cost of earning a certificate is approximately $5,000,
many thousands less than a degree.
At UM-St. Louis, the College of Business Administration prepares
students for managerial and technical careers incorporating leading-edge
technology. The undergraduate and graduate degrees in information
systems management combine mastery of technology with mastery of
management skills. A typical Bachelor of Science degree will require
up to 24 hours of information systems courses. About 700 students
are currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree with an IS emphasis and
about 1,500 have graduated since the program was started in 1980.
The university has partnerships with the IT departments of area
companies, to ensure students have access to the latest hardware
and software. There is also a dedicated laboratory at the school
for advanced students. And the school offers a mentoring program,
which connects students with alumni now working in the field.
These are the kinds of efforts universities and colleges must pursue,
if the United States is to maintain leadership in fields, which
rely on technological innovation—and that is an ever-expanding universe,
according to the ITAA report.
“The power of computers, software and communications is enormous
today, but will be dwarfed by the computational resources available
to typical users ten years from now,” says the report. “Advances
in technologies like data mining, data storage, high-speed networks
and grid computing will launch a new information revolution and
endow those societies able to harness this power with global economic
leadership.
“If the U.S. is to remain a leader in information technology, IT
workers must remain at the vanguard of their profession…that means
education, training and professional development.”
SIUE’s Neely sums up more succinctly:
“We cannot foresee all the questions about technology, or the demand
for it,” he says. “It’s like staying ahead of a tidal wave.” |
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