What is the difference between I.S. and I.T.?
An executive VP in a very large Silicon-Valley based company recently reported to SJSU faculty that in his company "business analysts" are hot jobs, but it is difficult to find people. “The ones hired for the positions are usually smart young people who could see the big picture and be able to help the company in reengineering tasks. Furthermore, they are the ones who have mobility - i.e., move from department to department (and up). While IT technical folks tend to stay in the same job.”
Program Type | Training Programs | University-level Education |
Name of the discipline | I.T. | I.S. |
Education | Skill-based | Concept-based: Analytical and critical thinking |
Value of grads to employer | Skill-based | Concept-based; Analytical adaptability (lab-acquired skills are supplemental) |
Time to productivity | Immediate productivity | Long-term productivity (but does not exclude immediate) |
Flexibility | Brittle; requires retraining | Long-term adaptability to changing circumstances |
Examples of delivering institutions | ITT Technical Institute; Heald; certification programs (Cisco, Oracle, SAP) | CSU and most/all universities |
Value of faculty | Uniform delivery of standardized content | Richness of contributions from diverse academically and professionally qualified faculty working in environment of academic freedom |
Role of research | Done by others | Research (including applied) enhances vision of faculty and students |
Role of Strategy and Vision | None | Important for adaptability of graduate roles over time; Basis for decision making |
Orientation towards change | Reactive | Proactive; Potential to guide; Potential to generate creative solutions |
Management potential of grads | Not a focus | Expected |
© Richard Burkhard, 2006