Putting the ‘it’ back in IT education

For the longest time, computer science was one of the best-seller offerings in the country’s colleges and universities until the demand for nurses abroad skyrocketed to a point that student enrollments tilted in favor of health science. Local pioneers in computer education, however, believe the demand for IT courses is on an upswing again, mirroring the global IT industry’s continuing recovery.

Last school year, enrollments in 911 higher education institutions offering IT-related programs reached 250,589 based on data from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). So far, no conclusive number is available for the current academic year as enrollments are still ongoing in some schools. Officials of two of the country’s most established computer education institutions, AMA Computer University and Systems Technology Institute (STI), are quite certain the final number of enrollees will be higher this year.

During the first week of June, STI already had 15,000 enrollees in its IT programs. This is expected to double once all last-minute enrollments are in.

"We are seeing an increase in enrollment for IT courses compared to last year. The market is quite fickle so it may or may not double, although it seems IT is coming back. IT has been overshadowed by nursing in terms of growth," says Peter Fernandez, chief operating officer of STI.

"Last year, nursing courses were really tremendous in terms of student preference. But in terms of absolute numbers, IT is still the preferred program. Nursing is still higher in terms of growth than IT, but it’s not as big as it used to be two years ago," Fernandez adds.

On the average, the number of STI students taking computer courses is between 45,000 and 55,000.

At AMA, some 60,000 students are enrolled in four-year and two-year computer courses, says Patrick Azanza, senior vice president for academic affairs. They represent 60 percent of the student population of AMA, which also offers nursing.

"Nursing is still selling well as it has its own market, but IT has its own following. Our most popular programs continue to be B.S. Computer Science and B.S. Information Technology," Azanza says.

Curriculum reengineering

Parents must pay anywhere from P10,000 to P20,000 or more to send their children to an IT school for one semester. STI, on the high side, charges from P12,000 to P15,000, which is about 20 to 30 percent of the tuition of exclusive schools, says Fernandez. AMA, which is on a trimester, charges P20,000 for its four-year programs and about P15,000 for the two-year courses.

Acknowledging that AMA’s tuition rates are at par with some top private universities, Azanza adds, however, that AMA Foundation subsidizes half of the tuition of its students from families with an annual income below P600,000. "We cater to the A-C markets, but some 15 percent of our students are dependents of OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) so we give subsidies to those who need support," says Azanza.

The payoff of all this expense is the learning that each student gets. This is when schools brandish their own curricula that are getting more career-oriented. Computer schools have been constantly trying to improve their curricula in the hope of addressing the IT industry’s perennial complaint that many graduates of IT programs are not immediately employable.

AMA begins this school year with a freshly reengineered curriculum that Azanza believes adds depth to its IT course offerings. A product of a yearlong study, the new AMA ladderized curriculum focuses on the application of key technologies in various industries and the inclusion of so-called industry tracks so students can choose a field of specialization.

"We included new fields in our curriculum based on what the industry needs. For example, there’s a trend in health sciences and manufacturing to use artificial intelligence and robotics so we have it now. For the industry tracks, we have, for example, a financial track that carries more subjects that teach the managerial side of IT and security as it applies to banks," explains Azanza.

To some extent, STI also delivers its courseware with the industry in mind, although Fernandez asserts that to produce graduates who are 100 percent tailor-fit to every industry is not realistic.

STI, he says, confers with representatives of human resource organizations and various industry groups for guidance in designing its programs while complying with the rules and standards set by CHED and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). For them to deliver what the industry needs and follow what the government prescribes would require more open dialogue among all parties concerned.

"If you look at Western countries, they expect only the basic skills and knowledge from their BS in Computer Science graduates because it’s hard to tailor-fit every graduate for different fields," Fernandez adds.

But he admits that STI has also become "opportunistic in its approach for new courses" that are in demand. "We have courses in animation (launched two years ago), in medical transcription through our tie-ups with local transcription companies, in customer contact care in two versions – the long one for one year and the short one for 370 hours. These courses are ideal for whom we call ‘career shifters’ or those who finished other degrees, but want to get into these new IT fields," says Fernandez.

AMA also has similar industry partnerships that give its students and faculty access to facilities and training from IT outsourcing companies like call centers, specifically Convergys and Infonxx. Azanza and Fernandez acknowledge that aside from immersing the students in the real world, the on-the-job training helps students get their feet in the employer’s door.

"A big number of our students are hired by the companies where they had their on-the-job training. A distinct advantage of STI graduates according to our partner companies is that they are more motivated than those from big universities who are generally from the upper class," notes Fernandez.

He adds that STI continues to have a job placement assistance program for its students who are encouraged to attend as many relevant seminars and extra curricular activities to complement their diploma. "As fresh graduates, the extra things they do in school are what they can show to employers who are always looking for experience."

Online delivery

Using the Internet as the delivery channel in teaching IT courses is not common in the country yet. STI has second thoughts about making some of its lessons available on the Web because of the low PC and Internet penetration rate in the country. However, it is already one year into its feasibility study that is looking at other ways to enable distance learning.

"The problem with an Internet-based mode of teaching is it contrasts with our culture. We prefer face-to-face communication. The second issue is the infrastructure so we are actually looking at television and satellite technologies for distance learning. Maybe in a few months we will know if we can do it," says Fernandez.

AMA also has no full online IT course, but it has e-learning programs that feature notable people who give lectures on different topics and e-learning classes where students meet with their professors only virtually. They only meet in a physical classroom once a week.

Azanza says AMA is already fully capable and ready to offer a complete online course, but has to wait for CHED’s guidelines. However, the AMA International University in the Middle East will pilot this month its first online MBA program, which students based in the country can take.

"The AMA International University is a degree granting university. Our students here are quite challenged to shift from their traditional MBA classes to the online MBA available in our Middle East branch because it will allow them to finish faster and they can do it while working, too," adds Azanza.

While it’s a plus to have an e-learning component, the real priority of computer schools right now is how to stay relevant to the industry, which demands quality in the quantity of IT graduates.

"Demand for IT courses continues to be very good but we definitely saw the need to define our role to stay relevant as far as addressing the manpower needs of various industries. We’ve done this by reengineering our curriculum so our students can specialize in specific fields and, hopefully, AMA keeps its market leadership," Azanza says.

Fernandez, for his part, says that while the underlying principles of computer science don’t rapidly change the way computer applications do, market forces dictate that they adapt and make room for these new applications or technologies to better prepare their graduates. After all, he adds, "Education is still to be treated as a business at the end of the day."