"Tuning Up Your IT Program: Using Partnership and Instructional Checkpoints"

Louise Yarnall
Senior Research Social Scientist
SRI International
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The focus of this interactive session will be to engage IT college program leaders in conducting a "program check" into the health of their industry partnerships and instructional offerings. Are you at a crossroads in your IT program? Do you want to reach out to new industry partners or increase your opportunities for recruitment, new programs, and student employment? Do you want to transform some of your program to online and simulation tools? Will feature workshop approach.

Session will feature (1) a brief introduction to the key crossroads in partnership development and course delivery facing workforce educators, according to a current ATE targeted research study. Then, (2) participants to share their actual program concerns at this time. Then, (3) small working groups will be organized, and each will use research-based discussion tools to choose apart of each participant's program to "tune up." Finally, (4) various tune-up strategies will be discussed. Participants will benefit from seeing a range of IT program problems and solutions, and maybe even developing a way to move their programs to the next level. Session will involve ATE researchers and ATE IT program leader to facilitate discussions.

Mainly discussion. We will hand out "tune up" tools from research to support solution-oriented discussions.