I.T. Competence: An Investigation of Berks County Industry Expectations and Penn State Berks Senior Business Students’ Capabilities
Open Access
- Author:
- Hufford, Evan Andrew
- Area of Honors:
- Business
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Lolita Anna Paff, Thesis Supervisor
Dr. Sandy Feinstein, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- I.T. Competence
I.T. Expectations - Abstract:
- The goal of the thesis was to investigate the perceived information technology (I.T.) competence of Penn State Berks business students as well as the expectations of Berks County businesses. To do so, a paper survey was created for distribution to students in the graduating class that inquired about I.T. competence in 10 major areas as well as in multiple sub-categories. For the businesses, an online survey was created to allow local businesses to respond with their I.T. competence expectations in the same areas as were included on the student survey. Once complete, average competence, number of high knowledge responses, and number of low knowledge responses were compiled for a side-by-side look at both groups. The results showed that student competence met or exceeded business expectations for a majority of the categories surveyed: Word Processing, Presentation Tools, Databases, Project Management, Web/Digital Media, Social Media, Video Conference/Screen Share, and Cloud Storage/Sharing. Two specific categories in which student competence did not meet industry expectations were Spreadsheets and ERP/BI Systems. Possible explanations for student competence excesses and shortfalls were also explored. Stemming from the results was a number of recommendations for Penn State Berks business students which include areas where self-directed learning would be beneficial. Also noted was the overarching trend in the responses of employers that quantitative I.T. skills are more highly expected than qualitative I.T. skills. Recommendations to the business program highlighted shortcomings in Spreadsheet and ERP skills as well as the challenges that inter- and intra-disciplinary variability within business poses to the creation of a business curriculum that serves multiple concentration areas.