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Bulletin of Applied Computing and Information Technology |
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Creating Intriguing Synergies with Course Offerings: An ITP Perspective on Integrating Industry Qualifications |
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Garry Roberton Ed Corbett
Roberton, G. & Corbett, E. (2004, November),Creating Intriguing Synergies with Course Offerings: An ITP perspective on Integrating Industry Qualifications - . Bulletin of Applied Computing and Information Technology Vol. 2, Issue 3. ISSN 1176-4120. Retrieved from ABSTRACTAligning tertiary institute courses and programmes with internationally recognised industry qualifications has been the subject of various publications (Atkins 2002, Gutierrez and Tawa, 2003) and has engendered much debate among academics for several years now; e.g. Strategic Industry Qualifications Forum: NACCQ 14th Annual Conference 2001 at EIT. This initiative is not unique to the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector. The Otago Polytechnic School of Adventure offers courses in Outdoor Leadership, Scuba Diving and White Water Rafting that incorporate internationally recognized, as well as New Zealand, industry certification. The paper discusses a strategic move by Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITPs) to integrate industry qualifications, specifically the Cisco Network Academy Programme (CNAP), into their existing programmes. It examines the challenges associated with meeting the requirements of ITP qualifications, such as those based on the New Zealand National Advisory Committee for Computing Qualifications (NACCQ) model, while maintaining compliance with the requirements of the industry qualifications. These challenges include aspects related to assessment, moderation, quality assurance, and to the resource constraints inherent within the ITP environment. The authors believe that there are many benefits to ITPs accruing from the successful implementation of industry-sponsored programmes, but also acknowledge that there are drawbacks. They believe however, that benefits significantly outweigh drawbacks. They suggest that the addition of internationally recognized industry qualifications have provided an opportune mechanism for raising ITP profile with secondary schools and industry and further, they enhance graduate employability. KeywordsCisco, CCNA, industry certification, training, networking, tertiary qualifications. 1. INTRODUCTION“The (sic) industry certification provides students with a more valuable qualification, which provides them with more choice and power in the job market” (Atkins, 2002). The IT industry makes it very clear in advertising job vacancies that their preference is for industry certified applicants in addition to the traditional Diploma and Degree qualifications. Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) and CompTIA A+ feature strongly in advertisements, especially in the area of technical support, across a range of media, including daily newspapers (NZ Herald, 2004) and Internet job sites (Seek IT, 2004). This preference has been confirmed by the regional Local Advisory Committee (LAC) industry representatives and on a national basis through the NACCQ industry representatives. Some ITPs have been slow to grasp this demand and have, as a consequence, lost potential students to the Private Training Providers (PTEs). However, a number of ITPs throughout New Zealand have recognized a distinct advantage in positioning themselves to offer industry certified qualifications, including EIT (Napier), UCOL (Palmerston North), MIT (Manukau) and CPIT (Christchurch). The distinct advantage lies in their ability to incorporate these industry certified qualifications into their traditional Diploma and Degree qualifications, which are still essential for today’s IT graduates who seek employment in the industry. Industry qualifications, such as those offered under the umbrella of CNAP, provide potential employers with an internationally benchmarked qualification. This is in contrast to possible variations in standards within the tradition Diplomas and Degrees obtained from tertiary institutions, both nationally and internationally, and from the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) unit standards-based Diplomas available from the PTEs. The emphasis on the practical components of industry qualifications broadens student CVs making them more employable in an environment where ‘on-the-job’ training is in decline, but potential employees are expected to have “Industry Experience”. 2. INTEGRATING THE CISCO NETWORKING ACADEMY PROGRAMME – A CASE STUDYIn 2001 the Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec) department of Information Technology (IT) made a commitment to embrace CNAP and to integrate the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) programme into its NACCQ-based diploma qualifications. The purpose of introducing the four module CCNA programme into the IT department’s programmes was threefold:
The provision of training for industry certification by Wintec and other ITPs in conjunction with Diploma and undergraduate courses is in accordance with the ITP philosophy of producing “work ready” graduates. It also reinforces the ITP policy of fostering links with industry by offering training, either as part-time students in the full-time Diploma day-time classes or in public evening classes. In addition, it was perceived that a new initiative to attract more students into the IT department was urgently needed. The NACCQ family of diploma qualifications arose out of a joint effort between the ICT industry and the Polytechnics in 1988, long before vendor-specific qualifications were introduced into the field of ICT. As time passed a number of industry standard qualifications were developed, some of which became "flavour of the month" and were often very vendor specific. Others, including CCNA, offered a very good general education in the subject area, in addition to their vendor specific material. 3. TRAININGIn order to offer Industry training ITPs and other providers, e.g. secondary schools, must be certified by the owner of the qualification, Cisco in the case of CCNA. Cisco has a hierarchy of authorising institutions, which are commissioned to train instructors and to protect the quality of the product. Wintec opted to become certified at the Regional Academy (RA) level. RA Instructors are qualified to train student Instructors. Wintec is responsible for recruiting Local Academies (LAs) and for managing quality control of the product at the delivery points. To provide student training Wintec has also established itself as an LA, has recruited several Local High Schools as LAs and has provided LA (student) Instructor training. 4. FINANCIAL RESOURCESCommitting to offering the CCNA programme can involve a large investment in physical resources. This includes an initial outlay of approximately $30,000 for Cisco routers and switches and for purpose built data communications and networking labs (an additional cost of approximately $20,000), which must be networked and connected to the Internet independent of the ITP campus network (Gutierrez and Tawa, 2003). A further cost is associated with instructors who must successfully complete the CCNA exam and are then obliged to re-qualify every three years. As Programmes evolve and mature there is an essential need to update the constituent modules to maintain currency, involving costs in the form of tutor training and resource acquisition. The established budget for this, together with income from continuing education offerings, has offset the setup costs of the initiative making the introduction of the CCNA modules into the Diplomas very economical. 5. DEVELOPING LOCAL MODULESIncorporating the CCNA courses into the Wintec Diploma programme necessitated the development of four new module prescriptions, which were offered to NACCQ, prior to their annual conference in July 2004. These were submitted for inclusion in the 2005 release of the 10th edition of New Zealand Qualifications in Information and Communications Technology (Blue Book) publication. Writing new curricula based on the CCNA course material is not a difficult task. However, it is a time consuming one, requiring someone with a reasonable knowledge of the CCNA programme and experience in designing course curricula, to spend approximately 8 to 12 hours of development time per module. NACCQ members, who participated in the pre-conference workshop and the conference forum for reviewing the contents of the Blue Book, subsequently approved the new modules for publication. 6. QUALITY ASSURANCEThe Cisco assessment system (online chapter tests, online final test, practical labs and threaded case studies and the flexibility to require students to achieve 80% for a pass and 95% for a pass with merit for each online assessment) suits the NACCQ competency-based assessment model. The Cisco learning and assessment online environment suits the NACCQ RCAP model (Recall, Comprehension, Application and Problem Solving), which in turn is based on Bloom’s taxonomy of cognitive learning (Bloom, 1956). Although the online assessments are automatically marked and recorded on the Cisco web portal, a major advantage in terms of reducing tutor workload, they must also be recorded on the Wintec Management Information System. The NACCQ Blue Book contains quality assurance regulations governing an external moderation process (Blue Book, 2002). Since the CCNA assessments are online the nominated NACCQ moderator of the CCNA-based Blue Book modules will need to be a CCNA-qualified instructor in order to access the online assessment material. Wintec also has an internal quality assurance policy governing student evaluation of tutors, modules and programmes (SETMAP), which complements both the Blue Book process and the Cisco requirements. Compulsory student evaluation of all modules evaluated at CATC/RA level is an integral component of the assessment process and students cannot pass courses until the evaluation is complete. Cisco performs statistical comparisons of results for all offerings of each module in its CNAP on a World-wide basis. The Cisco quality assurance process also involves regular collaborative visits from the Cisco Academy Training Centre (CATC)/RA responsible for supporting the Local Academies. It is therefore apparent that there are no significant philosophical differences between the organisations. 7. TEACHINGThe Cisco training programme promotes and encourages a mixed-mode method of delivery consisting of a combination of classroom instruction and on-line learning, as well as independent learning/study and practical projects. Instructors are encouraged to explore different ways of presenting information in order to involve students in the learning process as much as possible. Cisco promulgates a number of learning strategies known as “best practices” in their Instructor training programmes, including:
8. MARKETINGWintec's market share of the available secondary school graduate pool has been seriously eroded by the governmental decision to open tertiary education to competition from private enterprises. At a time when the "knowledge economy" is being touted on a national basis, Wintec’s IT enrolments have been falling, although they appear to be recovering in 2004. The Wintec strategy is to establish ongoing relationships with students at the "feeder level", before they graduate secondary school - thus creating a more transparent pathway into IT at a tertiary establishment. Wintec has positioned itself to offer access to training resources not affordable to schools. The utilization of these resources requires visits to the Wintec campus by students and their LA tutors and adds further depth to the establishing relationship that may culminate in students choosing Wintec as their tertiary provider. Marketing involves a three-tiered strategy:
Anecdotal evidence suggests that Wintec IT graduates have paid several thousands of dollars for PTE industry qualification training when Wintec has the capability to incorporate that training into Diploma programmes, or to offer it as "Continuing Education" courses at a fraction of that cost. 9. ADMINISTRATIONThere is an administration overhead inherent in CNAP. A working allowance of one day per week for an Administrator is the minimum requirement for an RA. As the RA increases the number of LA's for which it is responsible, this allowance needs to increase, the cost of which must be offset against increased enrolments. Wintec has developed a business plan, which indicates that after three years of offering CNAP, the initiative will contribute an acceptable rate of return to the institution. 10. CONCLUSIONThe authors acknowledge that there are drawbacks to such an initiative. Relatively high set-up costs and the significant exposure inherent in reliance on an external body over which the ITPs have no control, is of concern. The strict requirement for students to pass a module before progression may delay their progress and external accountability, requiring Instructors to maintain currency, both onerous, are not unreasonable challenges. Ultimately they enhance the quality of our product. These drawbacks can all be minimised with a little lateral thinking. The benefits accruing from student perception that Wintec offers up-to-date curricula and the concurrent acquisition of both traditional Diploma and Industry qualifications are immense. The knowledge that Tutors are industry qualified in current technologies enhances that perception and also elevates the Institution’s credibility with Industry. This creates stronger mutually beneficial relationships, one industry employer having committed 12 employees to the Wintec-based CCNA programme in 2003, all of whom subsequently succeeded in the CCNA external examination. Additionally, the Wintec profile amongst secondary schools continues to grow as the initiative matures. In conclusion, the authors maintain that the benefits of Wintec embracing the opportunity to offer CNAP outweigh the perceived drawbacks. As a result, Wintec recently sent two of its academic staff members for training in the Cisco IT Essentials 1 course, which incorporates the CompTIA A+ material, with a view to offering it in 2005. Further, the Wintec Bachelor of Information Technology programme, under review in 2004, is considering incorporating CNAP into its offerings. 11. REFERENCESAtkins, B. (2002). Incorporating and Implementing Industry Certification Material in Pre-Existing Tertiary Courses. Proceedings of the 15th Annual NACCQ Conference, pp. 175-177. Bloom, B.S. (ed.) (1956). Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Classification of Educational Goals: Handbook I, Cognitive Domain. New York: Toronto: Longmans, Green. Gutierrez, J. and Tawa, K. (2003). Balancing Theoretical and Practical Goals in the Delivery of a University-Level Data Communications Program. Annals of Cases on Information Technology, 5 (Ch. 19), Idea Group Publishing NACCQ - New Zealand Qualifications in Information and Communications Technology (Blue Book). (2002). Copy Inn, Waikato Institute of Technology. New Zealand Herald (2004). Retrieved May 3, 2004, from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/classifieds/linead.cfm?pillar=1&subpillar=28&adid=2224861001 Seek IT (2004). Retrieved May 3, 2004, from http://it.seek.co.nz/if.asp?Loc=qSearch Copyright © 2004 Garry Roberton & Ed Corbett |
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Copyright © 2004 NACCQ. All rights reserved. |
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