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ROBINSON COLLEGE OF BUSINESS
INTEGRATION OF COMPUTING INTO THE CURRICULUM AND ITS COORDINATION:
OBJECTIVES AND POLICIES

A statement of objectives concerning the role of computing in the College's curriculum is contained in the first section of this document. This is followed by policies:

Specifying prerequisite computing skill knowledge so that students can acquire it prior to enrolling in each course which requires computing.

Providing a mechanism for agreeing on which software package will be supported by the College for a given application and seeing that computing assignments and courses are consistent with the software packages supported.

Having instructors provide an approximate schedule of computing assignments and due dates to the administrators of computing facilities at the beginning of the quarter to help achieve efficient scheduling of limited capacity.

Developing guidelines for the ways in which personnel in computing laboratories are expected to assist students, relative to what is expected of the classroom instructor.

While this document is intended to apply to computing in general, there are some aspects of it that appear to be specific to microcomputing. Thus, the terms "computing" and "microcomputing" are used as appropriate throughout this document.

Objectives

The Graduate and Undergraduate Program Councils propose that the following statement be included in the relevant sections of the College's undergraduate and graduate catalogs:

Because computers and information systems are integrated into the management of organizations of all types and sizes, students in the Robinson College of Business need to achieve a satisfactory level of information systems literacy as part of their education. Information system literacy refers to the ability to use computer hardware and software for the purpose of managing and analyzing information. Toward this goal of information systems literacy, the College attempts to integrate computing into the curriculum, where appropriate, as a fundamental tool for learning and analysis.

Many courses in the College's curriculum have a specified non-credit computing prerequisite. These prerequisites pertain to the skills associated with the ability to use microcomputers and standard software (such as spreadsheet and data base management software packages). Students who do not have a firm foundation in a course's computing prerequisites are expected to acquire this prerequisite knowledge through one of the alternatives provided by the College or other unit of the University. Alternatives may include, for example, computer-assisted instruction packages provided in the College's or University Computer Center's computer laboratories, tutorial sessions provided by computer laboratory personnel, and non-credit continuing education courses offered on a periodic basis for which a student can register for a modest fee. A current listing of the acceptable alternatives for acquiring the prerequisite knowledge is maintained by the College's Office of Academic Assistance and each academic unit of the College. It is the responsibility of the student to have the specific prerequisite knowledge on entering the course through whatever means the student deems most appropriate.

Non-credit Microcomputing Prerequisite Policies

Prerequisite Skill Statements

The Graduate and Undergraduate Program Councils will develop microcomputing prerequisites in the form of statements of required skills. One or more of these microcomputing prerequisites will be the only acceptable microcomputing prerequisites for any courses in the College's curriculum which have microcomputing assignments. These prerequisite skill statements will be referred to by number or letter in specifying the microcomputing prerequisite for each applicable course in the graduate and undergraduate catalogs.

These prerequisite skill statements will be presented to the RCB faculty for approval and subsequent inclusion in the College's graduate and undergraduate catalogs. These statements must be formally re-approved by the faculty at least once every other year subsequent to initial approval.

Determination of Computing Prerequisites
for Core and Non-Core Course

The microcomputing prerequisite(s) (if any) for each course in the College's curriculum will be determined in the same manner as are other prerequisites. For core courses, the Graduate and Undergraduate Program Councils will propose the computing prerequisites for the approval of faculty. For non-core courses, each academic unit will be responsible for recommending the appropriate computing prerequisites to the Councils for their review and ultimate approval of the faculty prior to insertion in the College's catalogs.

Alternatives for Meeting Computing Prerequisites

The Graduate and Undergraduate Program Councils will be responsible for determining the alternatives which meet each prerequisite skill statement, without formal RCB faculty approval. The Graduate and Undergraduate Program Councils will be responsible for maintaining the currency of this listing and seeing that it is made accessible to students. To the greatest extent possible, the listing of alternatives will be stated in the College's graduate and undergraduate catalogs. This listing will also be distributed to all RCB faculty at least once per year for their review and information and the solicitation of comments on the appropriateness of each alternative.

Exception to Inclusion of All Computing Prerequisites in Catalog

Any microcomputing assignments made in a course should be consistent with the microcomputing prerequisite(s) for that course as approved by the faculty and published in the applicable catalog. However, where the time delays involved in acquiring faculty approval and catalog publication would create significant problems, an academic unit may request that the appropriate curricular program council approve computing prerequisites for limited offerings (normally not more than two quarters) of the course until formal approval can be achieved. It is the responsibility of the instructor and academic unit to see that all students registering for the course are aware of these unpublished prerequisites.

Expectations Concerning Student Knowledge
and Use of Classroom Time

The purpose of non-credit microcomputing prerequisites for all applicable courses is to avoid overlaps or omissions in the College's curriculum. Accordingly, as in the case of for-credit course prerequisites, it is expected that all instructors will uphold the stated non-credit computing prerequisites for each course. Similarly, courses which have stated microcomputing prerequisites should not allocate regular classroom time to teaching the prerequisite material to the students. The syllabus for each course should clearly state that students are expected to have this knowledge so that classroom time in the course does not have to be used to teach these prerequisite skills.

Provision for Student Advisement

Some students may be unaware of whether they currently possess the knowledge included in a specific microcomputing prerequisite. The Graduate and Undergraduate Program Councils will be responsible for overseeing the development of appropriate advisement methods and materials to achieve this objective.

Microcomputing Assignments in Courses: Policies

The use of microcomputing assignments in a course poses academic and administrative issues similar to course assignments which require the use of materials maintained on reserve in the library. Materials which will be needed by many students in a course are normally placed on library reserve by the instructor prior to the beginning of the quarter so that a limited number of copies can accommodate the demand. Similarly, in the case of microcomputing assignments, the College's (and to some extent the University computer center's) microcomputer laboratories are the "library." Assignments must be consistent with available software and hardware. In turn, there must be a reasonable process for determining, subject to the College's budgetary resource constraints, what hardware and software will be purchased, just as the library determines which materials it will purchase subject to its budget constraint.

Similar to the process of establishing library reserves, assignments that students are expected to complete in the College's microcomputer laboratories must be known in advance. But, unlike library reserves, there are additional academic and administrative considerations. It must be determined that the assignments are consistent with available hardware and software and that they will not create untenable peak demand problems. Also, there must be a clear expectation as to the knowledge that students will posses when they come to the microcomputer laboratories to complete coursework assignments.

All of these issues will be addressed by the development of appropriate policies and procedures statements by the Graduate and Undergraduate Program Councils subject to review and approval by the Executive Committee and/or the Faculty Affairs Committee, as appropriate. General guidelines for the development of these policies and procedures documents follow.

Criteria for Course Assignments

Microcomputing assignments in all RCB courses must be consistent with the published microcomputing prerequisites for the course and must require only software which is supported by either the College's or the University's microcomputer laboratories. The only permissible exception to this latter requirement is for courses in which the instructor can assure that all students have alternative access to the necessary hardware and/or software for completing the course assignments.

Determination of Software to be Supported by the College

The Graduate and Undergraduate Program Councils, subject to the review and approval of the Executive Committee and the Faculty Affairs Committee, are responsible for establishing policies and procedures for determining what software will be supported in the College's microcomputer laboratories, subject to budget constraints.

Responsibilities of the College's Microcomputer
Laboratories in Assisting Students

The Graduate and Undergraduate Program Councils will be responsible for developing and periodically reviewing (with the review and approval of the Executive Committee and Faculty Affairs Committee) policies and procedures pertaining to the expectations for microcomputing instruction in the course itself, versus the types of tutorial help for which the College's microcomputer laboratory personnel are responsible.

Microcomputing Assignments in Core Courses:
The Functions of Core Course Coordination

The Graduate and Undergraduate Program Councils are responsible for developing and periodically reviewing the responsibilities of the academic units for core course coordination with respect to microcomputing assignments in core courses (subject to the review and approval of the Executive Committee). These policies and procedures should specify the responsibilities of the academic unit with respect to:

Seeing that assignments are consistent across all sections of the core course.

Providing the necessary information to the College's microcomputer laboratory personnel sufficiently in advance of the assignments.

Assuring that the assignments are reasonable in length and level of difficulty relative to stated computing prerequisites.

Assuring that the assignments require only software and hardware supported by the College's microcomputer laboratories.

Disseminating information to instructors of all sections of the core course concerning the extent of the responsibilities of the College's microcomputer laboratory personnel in assisting students.

Specification of Course Assignments to be
Completed in the College's Computing Laboratories

In order to assist RCB microlab personnel in efficiently scheduling manpower and limited hardware and software, all significant computing assignments for all courses (core courses and non-core courses) will be provided to the RCB microlab under policies and procedures to be developed by the Graduate and Undergraduate Program Councils (and reviewed and approved by the Executive Committee and Faculty Affairs Committee). These policies and procedures will specify, among other things, the form of the submission and the deadline dates.

(Approved at RCB Faculty Meeting of May 25, 1988)