ICAPP Evolving

Georgia College & State University’s ICAPP program is evolving from a six-month intensive training program to be part of a regular degree offered from the School of Business.

The ICAPP program was designed to provide students with training in three major areas: networking, graphic design and programming. Originally, the program offered one instructor for each area of study. After two years of the program’s existence at this university, only one of the original instructors is left.

One of the instructors that left taught the network administration track of the program. Theresa Fortner, a student within ICAPP, was unaware of the loss of instructors within the program.

“I quit my job of 14 1/2 years to come here to learn how to be a network administrator, not knowing it wasn’t being offered,” Fortner said.

Stephen Horwath, who is interested in programming, feels it is not meeting its goals because of the shortage of staff.

“Right now the program is on a downturn because we have lost two professors that were essential to the program.”

The ICAPP courses are offered twice a year, each in a six-month session, one beginning in July and the other in January. About 120 students have graduated from the program during the two years that it has been offered.

Lori Strawder, the Information Systems and Communications secretary, states that within the two years, this year’s program has the lowest number of students enrolled.

“We have six students in the program, which is probably the lowest number ever,” Strawder said.

The six students participating in this program will be the last group to complete the six-month training, and they feel they are being left out in the cold. Kathleen Lakey, an ICAPP student, states that because they are the last group to finish the program, they are not benefiting from all of the courses.

“Yes, it’s a good program, but because we’re the last ones going through, we are getting the short end of the stick,” Lakey said.

The program did, however, try to compensate for the lack of instructors with faculty and staff located in the School of Business.

“Our instructors are all filling in; they run down here from their other classes, give us an assignment and then leave,” Lakey said.

Dennis Hadden, one of the six students completing the program, states that without designated instructors, the program is almost impossible to complete. They work from tutorials on computers every day.

“The course is good; it offers a lot of material, but it is unrealistic to do without supervision,” Hadden said. “There is so much to cover.” Dr. Harry Glover, chair of Information Systems and Communications, is the liaison for ICAPP, and was a part of the initial planning.

“The program began as an economic development initiative. An internet service provider (ISP) then known as ISP Alliance (now ZCORUM) planned to locate a high-tech internet services company in Gordon Georgia.” Glover said. “The company expressed concern to the Board of Regents that the available labor pool of high-tech employees was not available in the area, this was first communicated through North Georgia College & State University.”

“We met with ISPA, and together we developed a curriculum designed to train students in three specific areas, web designers, web developers, and network administration,” Glover said.

The students that enroll in the program receive finical benefits.

“A $10,000 loan was made available to each student who was selected the loan is to be forgiven at a rate of 20% per year for each year the student works in the information technology area and in Georgia,” Glover said.

“At the end of June, the Chief Executive Officer of ZCORUM met with Dean Jones and I to discuss the future of the ICAPP program,” said Glover. ” This essentially means that the program we have in place no longer is valid. But it does not close the door on the possibility of us modifying the program. In addition, the CEO stated that the group starting the program in July would be the last group that would be offered jobs under the current program.”

Glover states that the program has been effective for students though out the two years it has been in effect.

“The program has been very beneficial to the students. They have been well trained in the specific areas. In addition, they have earned college credit during the time they have spent here,” Glover said. “Many of the students already had degrees and wanted a change of career. Others wanted to speed-up their major, go to work and finish their degrees on a part-time basis. Most of the people in the latter case are currently finishing-up their degree.”

Despite all of the benefits that students receive from the program, they still fell that they are receiving the short had of the stick.

“This class feels like we were thrown to waste,” Horwath said. “They are not worried at all about the students in the program.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 7 2001. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry