Building an International resource Center – A Capstone Course Experience

1. Building an International resource Center – A Capstone Course Experience Gail Kellersberger Shohreh Hashemi University of Houston-Downtown ISECONNovember 3, 2006

2. University of Houston-Downtown www.uhd.edu • University of Houston-Downtown, one of four distinct universities in the UH System, is a public open-admission university with nearly 12,000 students. • UHD has increased 27 percent in student population over the past five years. • Opened in 1974, today UHD offers over 40 undergraduate and graduate degrees. • UHD is nationally recognized for its student diversity, wireless campus, outstanding academic opportunities and productive community partnerships. • At UHD, the emphasis is on excellence in teaching and student success.

3. www.uhd.edu/academic/colleges/business/ College of Business • The new Shea Street Building which is scheduled to open in fall 2007 will house the UHD College of Business. • The College of Business has a national reputation for excellence and is accredited by The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International ). • There are two departments in the College of Business: • Finance, Accounting, and Computer Information Systems (FACIS) • Management, Marketing, and Business Administration (MMBA)

4. FACIS & CIS • The FACIS department offers a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with major programs in Accounting, Finance, Computer Information Systems, and International Business. • The Computer Information Systems (CIS) program, which is patterned after the AITP national model curriculum, received national recognition when it was named the outstanding undergraduate program in the United States by the Data Processing Management Association (DPMA) and the DPMA Education Foundation in 1992.

5. BBA Degree in CIS Student must complete 126 hours of college work with 21 hours of CIS required courses including: • Computer Algorithms & Problem Solving using C++ (CIS 2301), • Programming languages (CIS 3xxx), • Systems Analysis and Design (CIS 3301), • Computer Hardware, Systems Software and Architecture (CIS 3303) • Computer Networking and Data Communications (CIS 3305) • Database Management System (CIS 3306) • Systems Development Project (CIS 4312)

6. CIS 4312 - Systems Development Project Course • The prerequisites are a grade of C or better in CIS 3301, 3305, 3306, senior standing and successful completion of Junior Writing Proficiency Exam. • The course is usually taken during the last semester of the students’ undergraduate CIS studies. • The course provides CIS students the opportunity to utilize previously learned CIS topics including the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) methodologies and techniques by developing or enhancing computer-based business application systems for local businesses and the UHD community. • Students design, develop, and implement “real-life” systems.

7. Project Conception International Resource Center • The IRC was conceived to meet a need at UHD to provide a one-stop source for matters international. • It also responded to a need to internationalize the university, seen as an integral portion of Southern Accreditation of Colleges and Schools (SACS) guidelines. • Leadership of the English Language Institute had a broad resource base and access to expert materials. • Leadership of the ELI also had experience in working with CIS Project students. • CIS leadership responded to the idea of the IRC and could visualize, from past experience teaching senior projects courses and with working with ELI leadership, just how such a project could work.

8. Vision • The IRC needed to bring users back again and again. Therefore, it needed to be highly attractive, extremely user friendly, useful in terms of the resources it offered, and interesting. • Colorful art • Interesting Sounds • Easy navigation • Organized resources • Personal as well as professional • The IRC needed separate internal and external functioning. • Certain activities could not be open to the public due to lack of control. • Archives were needed to summarize internal activities for external consumption. • Internally, the IRC needed to be interactive in as many ways as possible. • Use of WebCT for video streamed lectures. • Use of WebCT for chat room responses to lectures. • Use of WebCT bulletin boards for ongoing response.

9. Problems • Manpower • Technical Expertise • Financing • Upkeep • Artistic/Edit Control • Time • Permissions

10. Solution • Working with senior project students and interns would provide expertise, manpower, and cost-free labor • Keeping the project managed by the creators would maintain artistic/edit control and allow for upkeep • Using a curricular activity increased university interest, thus permissions, and provided a support for the time investment

11. Cons • Finding the appropriate students • Meshing schedules • Avoiding procrastination/overwhelm cycles • Getting timely university approvals • Communication between disciplines • Getting student products in timely stages

12. Pros • Minimal investment • Minimal production fees • Minimal run/delivery fees • Minimal maintenance fees • Minimal learning curve • Control of design • Control of development • schedule

13. Development Overview • The two professors leading the project discussed desires and possibilities. • The initial plan was formulated and used to gain buy-in from the Deans of the university. • Art and music were selected. • Research for resources commenced by professors and Professional Writing student. • CIS students began developing the top layers of the site while resolving issues related to the site’s dynamic international calendar.

14. IRC Website Components • Around the Globe, a large repository of resources: links, organizations, calendar events, businesses • UHD Resources for International Education, collects all university international programs, offices, information and endeavors in one area • Houston Community Resources, a repository of contact information on people and organizations dealing with international issues • Featured Topic, hosts an archive of the various video lectures with accompanying summarized commentary that comes from a monthly WebCT page • Broaden Your Horizons, suggests a new book, art work, movie and piece of music each month, all on international themes • Cross-Cultural Collisions, offers a cross-cultural friction point each month with explanation and suggestions for the handling of similar situations.

15. International Resource Center Around the Globe UHD Resources for International Education Featured Topic Houston Community Resources Broaden Your Horizons • Cross – CulturalCollisions

16. http://irc.uhd.edu/

27. Building an International resource Center – A Capstone Course Experience Gail Kellersberger Shohreh Hashemi University of Houston-Downtown ISECONNovember 3, 2006