ACS LogoAustralian Computer Society

"Qualified for Success"

A Communiqué from the National Council of the Australian Computer Society on IT Higher Education in Australia

Contents

Introduction

 The ACS, as Australia's pre-eminent IT professional body has been involved in educational standards for thirty years. IT has the potential to make a significant contribution to national innovation and competitiveness. It can also improve the education system itself. However the community, through government, must invest in IT education to reap the dividends. This document provides a summary of the ACS's position on financing and policy for IT Higher Education in Australia. The ACS made a detailed submission to the recent Review of Higher Education Financing and Policy (1).

Recommendations for Improving Education

  1. IT professionals require vocational preparation as part of undergraduate tertiary courses. Both formal post graduate programs and shorter industry refresher programs are required for graduates. Public investment in higher education must be expanded to provide this globally competitive, skilled work-force.
  2. Australia needs a co-operative IT strategy for the university system by the AVCC, DEETYA, the profession and industry. Funding is required for the development of common hardware, software and content delivery for universities.
  3. The approach to capital funding for Australian universities needs to be weighted to encouraging collaborative investment in IT&T. This is to support the delivery of educational services both domestically and internationally and encourage research and development of teaching practice using IT.
  4. The laboratory, equipment, software and technical infrastructure needs of IT have not been recognised because the discipline has been mis-classified. Government and Higher Education institutions should reclassify the IT discipline to reflect funding levels that are at least equivalent to those applicable to the laboratory-based physical sciences and electronic engineering (6).
  5. Key IT industry bodies together with the profession can provide independent accreditation for courses with a significant IT component. The ACS already accredits the main university based IT courses. In addition, the ACS has a fully developed core body of knowledge and proven framework for assessing curriculum and the suitability of universities to deliver IT&T programs.
  6. Academic salaries be aligned to relevant industry benchmarks. Advances in telecommunications will require new skills of academic staff and they will require incentives to acquire those skills.
  7. Capital funding must be structured to encourage universities to invest in IT for course delivery. Priority should be given to research grants that involve collaborative use and reuse of technology and existing practice in technology based education delivery.
  8. The student "entitlement" should enable all students to purchase appropriate computing equipment and software. The purchase of a basic level of computing equipment should be a prerequisite for every course. Co-operative purchasing arrangements, by the universities or Commonwealth Government could lower computer and telecommunications costs for students.
  9. Universities should invest the savings from students providing their own computers in supporting infrastructure (particularly electronic networking).
  10. The entitlement to post secondary study for all Australians must be structured to allow 'cashing in' for both full-time undergraduate or post graduate study and post graduation professional development.

    11. IT's Effects on Education

    Information technology and telecommunications will profoundly alter social interaction, work and education over the next 20 years. Tertiary institutions will be critical agents in the production of the skills required to operate in the knowledge society. The role of universities in explicit vocational preparation at the professional level must be affirmed.

    Universities should maximise their links with the IT&T industry, the profession and professional bodies to ensure that all graduates are adequately prepared for the IT futures, and that IT&T graduates in particular develop the requisite knowledge and skills.Co-operative R&D activity in IT between universities and the IT&T industry will make a significant contribution to national innovation and competitiveness. Incentives to pursue this must be found.

    A number of interrelated social and economic changes are occurring simultaneously (more heterogeneous student body, mass higher education, competition and reducing government funding). Together, these are transforming the nature of higher education.

    Information Technology is capable of enabling transformations of how work is conducted, including the educational enterprise. The impact of IT&T will affect the operations of universities as well and a greater level of strategic action is required to embrace the change.

    IT&T holds the potential to increase the relevance of the predominant teaching paradigm to future generations as well as provide benefits to the universities and the Australian economy.

    Greater cross institutional co-operative effort is required to maximise IT&T investment, purchasing power, support the local industry and provide a sufficient market for content development.

    The role of the ACS in Higher Education

    The Australian Computer Society is an association for information technology professionals, with 14,000 members and a thirty year history. It is the public voice of the IT profession, the guardian of professional ethics and standards in the IT industry, with a commitment to the wider community to ensure the beneficial use of IT.

    Since 1993, the ACS has conducted its own Certification Program, an industry-based masters degree level course of study consisting of four one-semester modules (2). This program is delivered to IT professionals in Australia, New Zealand and other Asia-Pacific countries.

    The Society jointly with PAGE and the AIIA, to provides IT management training, on-line via the Internet and the world wide web. These courses commenced in February 1998 and are tailored to meet the specific needs of the Australian IT industry (3).

    The ACS has developed a Practising Computer Professional (PCP) scheme (4) to ensure all members have the opportunity and the incentive to update their skills and knowledge as IT professionals. Attendance at different seminars, conferences and other like activities, over a variety of IT topics, enable members to "qualify" as a PCP.

    The ACS has a fully developed accreditation system (5) for IT courses being taught in Australian universities. In this way both the profession and industry have input to the courses being taught.

    References

    Adopted by the National Council of the Australian Computer Society, in Melbourne, 6pm, 28 March 1998.

    Further details are available in the Australian Computer Society's submission to the review of Higher Education Financing and Policy.

    Communiqué prepared by Tom Worthington MACS, Immediate Past President of the Australian Computer Society. E-mail: tom.worthington@tomw.net.au.