IST Organization

Organization of the School of Information Sciences and Technology

Guiding Principles

The School of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) should be the unique focal unit for academic programs in information sciences and technology, with high visibility and stature among Penn State's academic colleges and schools
The School should have a substantial base of tenure track faculty with active research agendas, supplemented by highly qualified IST practitioners from industry and government
A large number of Penn State students must be served through IST programs
IST program articulation and collaboration should be encouraged, even expected, across Penn State's colleges and campuses
Close collaboration with industry and government is essential to a successful IST program

Recommendations
The Strategic Planning Group recommends that the School of Information Sciences and Technology be established at University Park as a free-standing academic unit of the University, with the authority to offer baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral degrees and a minor that can be taken by students in other colleges (Figure 1). The School should be led by an academic dean who reports to the University Executive Vice President and Provost. The dean's responsibilities will include academic and development leadership of the unit, encompassing strategic planning, budgeting, efforts to secure external resources for the School, and University-wide coordination of IST initiatives. The School should include, at the end of a five-year period, a minimum of 30 tenure track faculty whose tenure home is in the School. An additional 25 new IST faculty should be hired at other Penn State campuses over this same time period.

The School should play a strong role in coordinating and promoting IST programs across all Penn State colleges and campuses. In addition to its 30 core faculty, the School should have a highly selective cadre of 15 jointly appointed faculty (preferably tenured professors and associate professors) who are committed to a wider vision of information sciences and technology across the University. The faculty of the University Libraries also represent a significant resource for instructional and research activities. Co-funding of information sciences and technology faculty appointments in IST-related units of other colleges should be a high priority.

The hiring and retention of faculty in the School and in related units will represent a significant challenge to the University. In a tight labor market characterized by high salaries and intense competition, considerable creativity in regular faculty appointments may be necessary, with a significant reliance on part-time instructors. Initial investments in faculty should focus on academic leaders who will set the directions of the new School. Some of these faculty leaders may, in fact, come from existing academic units across the University.

What is needed in the new School of Information Sciences and Technology is a fresh approach to the curriculum--one that is broader than existing programs such as management information systems or computer science and engineering, and which integrates communications and teamwork skills with professional leadership. This approach entails a core curriculum that would serve as a platform for students to specialize in a wide range of information-related sciences (e.g., computer science, management science, library science, etc.). A merger of existing faculty and instructional programs to form the School was considered, given the breadth of Penn State's current IST-related activities (refer to Appendices B and C for listings). However, we believe that such a merger would not lead to the new type of curriculum and program orientation that is required. Indeed, what ultimately will make the School successful is its unique instructional core and its ability to forge curricular partnerships with existing programs throughout the University. These partnerships must reach across college, departmental, and campus boundaries in creative ways.

An IST Coordinating Council should be created in order to facilitate collaboration and coordination of IST curricular offerings throughout Penn State. It should be chaired by the dean of the School of Information Sciences and Technology (Figure 2). This Council should consist of a representative group of appropriate academic administrators who will ensure collaboration and coordination of IST curricular offerings throughout the University (Figure 3). The School and the IST Coordinating Council will allow representatives from Penn State campuses and colleges to collaborate on degree programs that are not identical (they may be tailored to area needs) but that will have certain common core elements. In particular, existing programs in computer science and engineering, management information systems, and communications should collaborate with and be highly supportive of the educational and research programs in the new School.

At University Park, the School should confer a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Sciences and Technology, a professional Master's of Information Sciences and Technology degree, and a Ph.D. degree in Information Sciences and Technology. At other Penn State campuses, colleges should confer associate and/or baccalaureate degrees as appropriate to their faculty and resource capabilities. Graduate degrees should be offered by the University Park, Harrisburg, Great Valley, and Erie campuses, where the capability for delivering high quality resident graduate education currently exists. IST minors at both the undergraduate and graduate levels should be established.

The B.S. degree in Information Sciences and Technology offered by the School should serve as the model for degrees offered at other Penn State locations. We strongly recommend that these degrees be identical or very similar in curriculum and degree requirements. Although some flexibility is desirable, so is considerable commonality. This commonality will promote a smooth transition from associate to baccalaureate degrees, and from one campus to another. In order for IST programs to serve a significant number of students, team teaching and delivery to multiple campuses should be facilitated by additional investment in intercampus telecommunications linkages. Core courses that will serve large numbers of students across the University should be available in both traditional and on-line versions. Based upon the capabilities of the Penn State telecommunications infrastructure, courses in resident instruction may be delivered at multiple campuses and other sites using current technologies such as PicTel or other, newer technologies that are emerging from breakthroughs in bandwidth capacity. The Penn State World Campus provides an outstanding opportunity to deliver numerous courses as part of the IST degree programs, as stand-alone IST course offerings, and as certificate and other IST programs that contribute to continuing workforce development.

The Pennsylvania College of Technology (Penn College), which is affiliated with Penn State, has been highly successful in producing graduates with the information technology skills in demand by industry. Aspects of Penn College's programs could be effectively delivered at multiple Penn State campuses across the Commonwealth, thereby contributing significantly to economic growth through workforce development.

The School of Information Sciences and Technology should have active research centers to explore issues at the frontiers of information sciences and technology. Existing centers and institutes conducting research in information sciences and technology, which will continue to operate within Penn State's various colleges, should be encouraged to establish collaborations or joint affiliations with the School as appropriate.

There should be a strong bond between the School, industry, and government, reflected in an active industry advisory board organized by the dean of the School. The School must build linkages with industry for shared faculty and other resources, and must have a broad base of industry and government representatives who reflect the many constituencies of the IST programs at Penn State.