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Dakota State University: Technology Equips Graduates with Real-World Experience
12/30/2002
Dakota State University's mission,
as authorized by South Dakota legislation, is to integrate information technology
(IT) throughout the school's curriculum. Dakota State University is regionally
recognized as the leading university for IT education in South Dakota, incorporating
technical training within business and liberal arts coursework.
In accordance with this mission, Dakota State University faculty members were looking for new ways to enhance our IT programs. But like many of today's higher education institutions, we grappled with exactly how to integrate new, "real world" enterprise systems into our established business curricula.
Examples of such systems include human resource information systems (HRIS), financials, supply chain management (SCM), and other enterprise solutions. These systems, many of them now Web-based, represent the tools that graduates ultimately will work with in their chosen professions. Students who gain experience in working with these technologies while in college will likely possess marketable skills they can apply in their post-graduation careers.
Fulfilling a Mission
Recognizing the value these technologies lend in the classroom, we began to
explore ways to integrate enterprise software theory and training into Dakota
State University's College of Business and Information Systems (BIS). Three
years ago, we began working with PeopleSoft's On Campus program, and immediately
knew it could be the catalyst to help us fulfill our technology mission.
PeopleSoft's On Campus program is a comprehensive industry-academic partnership that helps colleges and universities integrate enterprise software into their course offerings. The program awards training and academic grants of PeopleSoft 8 enterprise management software. Building on an initial project using PeopleSoft's HR and Financials 7.5 modules, PeopleSoft On Campus awarded Dakota State University a $2.8 million grant to upgrade to PeopleSoft 8.
We were the first institution to receive the new, Internet-based software. In the fall of 2001, we began implementing these Internet-enabled products, including PeopleSoft Human Capital Management, Financials, and Supply Chain Management.
Smooth Sailing
Dakota State University worked closely with PeopleSoft to ensure a smooth transition
to its new technology-enhanced curriculum. First, we committed to ongoing faculty
training on the new enterprise software. Early on, we had contracted with PeopleSoft's
educational division to train all BIS faculty in PeopleSoft fundamentals. To
date, BIS faculty have attended more than 60 weeks of PeopleSoft functional
and technical training, providing us with a unique and outstanding faculty development
resource.
To meet the challenge of continuous improvement and development, BIS faculty worked with industry-leading companies to build relevant classroom programs. Our aim is to create programs and courses with real-world technology applications, augmenting curricula with the functional and technical skill sets required in today's workplace.
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