SEPTEMBER 10, 1998-vol30n3: Goodman urges computer skills requirement

VOLUME 30, NUMBER 3 THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1998

Goodman urges computer skills requirement

By CHRISTINE VIDAL
Reporter Editor

The vice provost for undergraduate education Sept. 2 urged the Faculty Senate Executive Committee's Educational Programs and Policy Committee to consider implementing a computer-skills requirement for undergraduates, as well as possibly expanding the curriculum of the former Undergraduate College to affect more students.

"We are going to go to universal student computer access in the fall of '99," noted Nicolas Goodman. "We have two skills requirements all undergraduate students at UB are required to master: English composition and mathematical skills. It is important to think about computer literacy in that context."

New requirement possible

There are a number of ways the requirement could be approached, Goodman told the FSEC. Students could face a new, third requirement or those skills could be rolled into the university's English- and math-skills requirements. Whatever approach is adopted, he continued, it is "very important and very urgent because when students come (to UB) in the fall of 1999, we'll want them to have the skills to take advantage of technology."

Goodman also asked the EPPC to consider "extending the Undergraduate College curriculum to the entire student body. I've discussed this with Kerry Grant (dean of the College of Arts and Sciences) and he agrees."

It is the formation of the College of Arts and Sciences, in addition to changes in budgetary restrictions, that would make such a change possible, Goodman said.

There already are a wealth of ways for students to acquire computer skills, noted Joseph Tufariello, senior vice provost for educational technology.

STAR could meet student needs

Tufariello said he is considering putting a new program into place called Student Technology Assistants in Residence-or STAR-to help meet students' computer-skills needs.

A computer-skills requirement might be integrated into the already existing library-skills requirement, noted Judith Adams-Volpe.

The library-skills requirement already brings students up to speed on technologies such as e-mail and using the Internet.

"You might have in place already much of what you need," she said.

Faculty members' computer skills will need to be assessed as much as those of students, noted Dennis Malone, Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering.

An evaluation of the level of students' technological skills would be useful to faculty, noted Jack Meacham, professor of psychology.

"I would find it helpful as an instructor to be able to say on a syllabus, for example, you need to be up to level five to take this course," he said.

Tufariello noted that the faculty-development issue "is an important one. I'm very interested and very concerned about that."

He added that he intends to put together an information-technology lab with a small staff and graduate assistants who would be available to help faculty members with hardware and software problems, putting up Web pages and other computer-related issues.

The issues discussed by the FSEC went beyond that of universal computer access, as Malone queried how the proposed expansion of the Undergraduate College curriculum would mesh with the SUNY provost's interest in a SUNY-wide general-education exam.

Commented Goodman: "The SUNY provost would like an assessment instrument, an objective test created by a company, the Educational Testing Service (ETS)....This instrument, once developed, would be administered to all juniors in the SUNY system to evaluate their mastery of the concepts and skills that constitute general education.

"I frankly am unhappy with this. The fundamental responsibility of the faculty is the curriculum and to have the curriculum dictated...by the (SUNY) administration goes against everything I believe in how a university should function."

What is particularly troubling, he continued, is the effect a SUNY-wide, general-education exam potentially could have on institutional budgets.

Tests could influence budget

"A small, but significant part of the budget could depend on the results of the test. If we didn't teach some portion, it could have negative budgetary consequences," Goodman said.

"I don't think there's much support for this on the campuses. There is some political support," he continued. "If this materializes and we are faced with this, say, next spring...we'll have to figure out whether this is something we need to be concerned about. One can imagine a text that examines basic skills....If this involves cultural and historical content, this could be problematic for us and we'd have to respond to that and think about whether we want to modify our curriculum.

"But I don't want to strike the flag before the first shot is fired," Goodman said. The Undergraduate College curriculum, "by and large, has been successful" and to abandon it before the university sees what might be required by SUNY would be "foolish," he said.