Enlightened IT

While a previous course in wireless technology would have focused solely on the technical elements of implementing the system, Khan says the revamped approach addresses how wireless might tie into goals such as giving mobile workers easier access to mission-critical content without compromising information security. The modified course also has students conduct a cost/benefit analysis of converting to the technology, and spends considerable time on the data security challenges presented by wireless systems.

“The idea is to teach students to assess all of these factors before recommending a wireless solution,” Khan says. “Unless IT considers what is best for the business as a whole, it’s likely to come up with solutions that   will meet its own needs but don’t satisfy other needs in the organization.”

Of the many competencies MCTC wants its IT students to graduate with, communication skills now have higher priority than in years past, says Mike McGee, an academic dean at the school. How well IT students communicate with others on project teams, their ability to listen well, and their capacity to patiently and clearly explain technical concepts to non-technical peers are the hallmarks of professionalism in the field, McGee says. “Communication skills are a thread running through all of our curricula,” he notes.

A similar emphasis on building students’ business acumen and teamwork skills exists at St. Paul College, says Kendal Loewen, a computer careers instructor at the community and technical school. Students in the networking degree program are now expected to take a project management class, for example, tackling subjects like project scheduling, cost management, and developing communication plans with stakeholders.

Loewen strives to make a connection in every course she teaches between the technical skills of programming or network engineering and the real-life challenges of businesses. In a course on operating systems, for example, she stresses not only the procedural steps of backing up information but why data protection is important. “We talk about risk management in the context of if we don’t back up properly and put data at risk of being lost, here are all the potential negative effects on the bottom line of the business,” she says.

Some schools also believe that the earlier IT students start developing a service–oriented mindset, the more valuable they’ll become to organizations that hire them. The University of Minnesota’s College of Continuing Education has developed certificate training in the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) as a framework for teaching the concept of IT service management. ITIL is a collection of best-practice approaches intended to improve IT services in an organization. It covers 10 service-management processes (including the all-important service or “help desk” component) and describes how each should be managed to serve end users reliably and efficiently, says Mike Amidon, associate program director at the college. The college has ITIL-based curricula for three different knowledge or certificate levels: foundation, practitioner, and manager.