panel discussionaugust 2, 2004

1. Panel Discussion August 2, 2004

3. Agenda Overview Developing Skill Standards Developing Curriculum / Competency Standards Developing Accreditation Criteria for IT Standards: Now What? Wrap-up Questions: Looking into the Future Closing Remarks & Adjourn to Breakout Sessions

4. Developing Skill Standards Terryll Bailey The Allison Group

5. Qualification Gap Between What industry needs for work-ready employees We�ve all heard about the qualification gap between��. Our job as educators is to close that gap.We�ve all heard about the qualification gap between��. Our job as educators is to close that gap.

6. Underlying Reasons for the Qualification Gap New jobs--and whole new industries--are emerging Workers are changing jobs more often Work is more information and knowledge-based Labor markets are more international Skill demands are escalating Foundation skills Technical skills Need for workforce training and retraining Need for continuous learning Foundation skills: problem solving critical thinking communication skills team participation Transition: This has created a qualifications crisis in the United States and one response to this crisis has been the emergence of the voluntary skill standards movement. Foundation skills: problem solving critical thinking communication skills team participation Transition: This has created a qualifications crisis in the United States and one response to this crisis has been the emergence of the voluntary skill standards movement.

7. Building a Skill Standards System Collaborative partnerships #1 - industry and education Successful pilots Links to other initiatives, systems, programs Such as certifications Leverage resources and networks Supportive policies

8. What is a Skill Standard? Skill Standards include criteria for what people must know and be able to do to be successful

9. Components of a Skill Standard Domain of work The work are we describing Performance indicators How we know when work is done competently Knowledge and skills Academic Employability Occupational / Technical

10. Goals of a Skill Standards Project Create voluntary skill standards in high-demand career clusters Disseminate the results to Educators Business people Students Workers Government agencies

11. Guiding Principles Skill standards should represent broad career clusters Experienced professionals are the experts Best know how to identify functions, key activities, performance indicators, skills, knowledge and abilities required to be successful Standards must be flexible and portable and should be updated regularly

12. Building Skill Standards: Process

13. Core Competencies Across All Clusters Core functions and tasks Core knowledge and skills

14. Integrating Skill Standards

15. Curriculum Development What curriculum looks like when based on skill standards Competency based Focus on performance outcomes Use performance measurements Infuse foundation (SCANS) skills Incorporate work based experiences

16. Certifications Quality certifications use standards in their development processes Certifications cover specific technical knowledge and skills Certifications generally do not cover academic or employability knowledge and skills

17. NWCET & NSSB Skill Standards NWCET is IT; NSSB is IT and Telecom 85% the same Primary content difference is how networking and technical support are treated Formatted differently Hope for consolidation in the next update

18. Standards Are Not Enough Local industry must be consulted to determine the knowledge and skills specifically needed Standards must be accompanied by a process to support effective faculty use

19. Developing Curriculum / Competency Standards Sara Mazak Ohio Department of Education

29. Conduct Regional/Local Standards Review Form Secondary and Postsecondary Pathway Teams Review state document with: Business / Industry / Labor Partners All Secondary Partners All Post-Secondary Partners Build schedule

30. Create Pathway and Articulation Documents Secondary and Postsecondary Faculty teams work together to document the seamless pathway: Crosswalk and map courses and competencies Address gaps and overlaps; identify collaboration points Create high school and college pathway documents Identify college credits; Define articulation agreements

31. Developing Accreditation Criteria for IT Eydie Lawson Rochester Institute of Technology

32. Overview Accreditation development Why accreditation? Current status of accreditation

33. Accreditation National organization SIGITE Curriculum and accreditation committees University participation 42 universities Representatives from 4-year IT programs Multiple input forums Industrial advisory boards Professional organizations Conference feedback ABET national colloquium Define IT curriculum Industry, govt, education CRA IT Dean�s Group (Computing Research Assoc)

34. Who�s Who

35. Accreditation IT document builds on the General Criteria for Computing CAC General Criteria IT - Han Reichgelt, Eydie Lawson CS - Art Price, Stuart Zweben IS - Gayle Yaverbaum, George Kasper Model curriculum Based on CC2001 model Defines goals, outcomes, knowledge areas Priority and level of knowledge Input sources Same as accreditation Delphi study: 15 academic institutions

36. Who�s Who

37. Why Accreditation? Insures graduates have met the educational requirements to enter the profession Process for improvement Promotes �best practices� in education Involves faculty and staff in evaluation and planning Periodic re-evaluation Establishes eligibility for Federal funding Encourage new and innovative approaches to computing education and its assessment Identify accredited programs to the public

38. Status of IT Accreditation IT draft criteria submitted and approved by CAC Expect IT criteria 1-2 years before finalized ABET Board approved �general computing criteria� for first reading IT programs are included in pilot of general criteria 2004-2005

39. Who�s Who

40. Standards: �Now What?� Gordon F. Snyder Jr National Center for Telecommunications Technologies

44. A Solution: A Strategic Alliance Using Skill Standards

47. TECHwize Assessment Overview

61. Wrap-up Questions:Looking Into the Future How can and should standards evolve to keep up with the ever-changing nature of IT? How can these various resources be used to foster systemic change � education, training, skill development, etc? How can everyone in this room work together to encourage collaboration across all of the various standards projects?

62. Other Questions? John Lowdon jlowdon@bcc.ctc.edu Terryll Bailey tbailey@theallisongroup.com Eydie Lawson eal@it.rit.edu Sara Mazak Sara.Mazak@ode.state.oh.us Gordon Snyder gsnyder@stcc.edu

63. Thank you! �Protectionism will do little to create jobs and if foreigners retaliate, we will surely lose jobs.� "If I seem unusually clear to you, you�ve probably misunderstood what I said." - Alan Greenspan