Today’s Clash of Cultures on College Campuses & the Role IT Needs to Play

1. Today’s Clash of Cultures on College Campuses & the Role IT Needs to Play Morris W. Beverage, Jr. May 2008

2. Sociological Transformation (Culture) vs.Technological Transformation (Culture)

3. Sociological Transformation (Culture) It’s an “Us” vs. “Them” world now. (But who are “us” and who are “them”?)

4. The Evolution of Service Paradigms The Instructional Paradigm: A college or university is an institution that exists to provide me with instruction. (Student) vs. The Learning Paradigm: A college or university is an institution that exists to provide me with a learning opportunity. (Customer) vs. The Commodity Paradigm A college or university is an institution that exists to provide me with a degree. (Consumer)

5. Ourselves About Us • Impact on Faculty: • Expectation of seamless transferability • Expectation of ‘convenience’ factor • Expectation of faculty access and responsiveness “Some students enter universities believing that the fast-food principles of convenience, on-demand, and instant response can be generalized to education.” – Aimee J. Luebben, University of Southern Indiana In Academic Leader

6. Ourselves Impact on Faculty • Student evaluations can drive the teaching process • www.RateMyProfessors.com • Faculty rated on Quality, Easiness, & Sexiness • For faculty with at least 10 student posts… Students gave sexy professors higher quality and easiness scores than their non-sexy counterparts. Felton, Mitchell & Stinson (2004). Web-based student evaluations of professors: The relations between perceived quality, easiness and sexiness. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education.

7. Ourselves Impact on Faculty • Faculty feel administrative pressure to expand the use of technology within their instructional activities • Insufficient professional development opportunities • Inadequate training on new technology • Unclear expectations Mars & Ginter (2007). Connecting organizational environments with the instructional technology practices of community college faculty. Community College Review.

8. Ourselves Administration • 2005 “Survey of College and University Presidents” (The Chronicle of Higher Education)

9. MONEY CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER FUNDRAISING GOLFING

10. Our Environment About Us • Higher Education serving the ‘economy’ • Increasing emphasis on workforce development • Spellings Commission Report (2006): “A Test of Leadership: Charting the Future of Higher Education” • "U.S. higher education needs to improve in dramatic ways," changing from "a system primarily based on reputation to one based on performance."

11. Our Environment ACADEMIA INDUSTRY STATE The Changing Relationship Etzkowitz & Leydesdorff (2001). The dynamics of innovation: From national systems and “Mode 2” to a triple helix of university-industry-government relations. Research Policy.

12. A Changing Culture Within Our Paradigm Faculty Expectations of Student

13. A Changing Culture Within Our Paradigm Faculty Their Paradigm Faculty Students' Expectations

14. Our Students Who We Serve “The Transactional Student” Transactional nature of institution/student relationship • Fee for services (tuition for a degree) • Demand for alternative delivery options • Higher Education as a ‘For-Profit’ enterprise Increasing litigation from students • Rapid increase in tort litigation • Student Bill of Rights

15. Our Students Student Consumerism Delucchi & Korgen(2002). “We’re the customer – we pay the tuition”: Student consumerism among undergraduate sociology majors. Teaching Sociology.

16. Our Students The Contractual Relationship “COURT UPHOLDS RIGHT OF A UNIVERSITY TO DENY DEGREE TO STUDENT WHO KILLED ANOTHER” • Johns Hopkins University was within its rights when it denied a diploma to a student who, after completing his course work, killed another student, a Maryland appeals court said this month. Robert Harwood Jr. shot and killed Rex Chao on the campus in April 1996. Gose (2000). Chronicle of Higher Education

17. Our Students The Contractual Relationship “COURT UPHOLDS RIGHT OF A UNIVERSITY TO DENY DEGREE TO STUDENT WHO KILLED ANOTHER” • Mr. Harwood argued that a lower court had erred in rejecting his lawsuit against the university, in which he said he was entitled to the degree because he had completed the academic requirements for it. Gose (2000). Chronicle of Higher Education

18. Our Students The Contractual Relationship “COURT UPHOLDS RIGHT OF A UNIVERSITY TO DENY DEGREE TO STUDENT WHO KILLED ANOTHER” • However, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals--the state's second-highest court--said the relationship between a student and a private institution "is largely contractual in nature," and noted that Mr. Harwood had clearly violated the university's conduct code by killing Mr. Chao. • The university's conduct code states that students "who harm or have the potential of harming others . . . will be disciplined and may forfeit their right to be members of the university community." Gose (2000). Chronicle of Higher Education

19. Our Students The Contractual Relationship “COURT UPHOLDS RIGHT OF A UNIVERSITY TO DENY DEGREE TO STUDENT WHO KILLED ANOTHER” • Mr. Harwood pleaded guilty to murder and is currently serving a 35-year prison sentence. Gose (2000). Chronicle of Higher Education

20. Our Students Cheating • Center for Academic Integrity’s National Survey of Undergraduate Students • 17,401 students at 19 schools

21. Our Students Self-Reports of Cheating

22. So what?

23. Sociological Transformation (Culture) vs.Technological Transformation (Culture)

24. Sociological Transformation (Culture) vs.Technological Transformation (Culture) Does it have to be this way?

25. Are these competing cultures? Sociological Culture Technological Culture

26. An integrated view of culture Sociological Technological

27. The Limits of Technology Socio-techno-logical systems never fail for lack of technology, they always fail for social reasons. Bruno LaTour – “Aramus; or the love of technology”

28. The Challenge Facing IT Professionals Sociological Orientation Sociological Problem Sociological Solution Convert Restate Identify Technological Solution Technological Problem Technological Orientation

29. The Challenge Sociological Orientation • Cheating on online exams • Easier to do • Harder to detect • How can we discourage it? • Control the process, but understand that it will be a continuous process – new technology brings new opportunities to cheat (like using cell phones to photograph exam questions!) Sociological Problem Sociological Solution Convert Restate Identify Technological Solution Technological Problem • Technology makes cheating easier • Tests are displayed in browsers • Students can copy/print tests; research answers on other websites • Use a lockdown browser to prevent students from accessing other sites • Disable printing, selecting, copying abilities Technological Orientation

30. The Challenge Sociological Orientation • Communicating with ALL stakeholders in an emergency • Students • Faculty & staff • Community • Relevant, effective & timely information is provided to all stakeholders at appropriate times during an emergency Sociological Problem Sociological Solution Convert Restate Identify Technological Solution Technological Problem • Array of technologies (cell phones, PC’s, radio, TV, etc.) available to stakeholders • Timeliness of communication • Availability of resources (power, people) • Develop comprehensive system to broadcast message simultaneously to all mediums with backup plan that addresses resource outages Technological Orientation

31. Take-Home Message • If you plan to impact your career, don’t take more computer classes, because… • The study of business is the study of systems, but… • The study of management is the study of people

32. CompetenciesIT Professionals should have • The ability to think strategically from both a sociological and technological perspective • Strong leadership skills, communication skills and customer service skills • Ability to create and manage strategic partnerships • Understanding change and how to take advantage of the opportunities change affords • Self-directed learning skills

33. Today’s Clash of Cultures on College Campuses & the Role IT Needs to Play Thank you!