FACULTY AND STAFF REQUIREMENTS

ITEM 110-1501-R0101 ATTACHMENT

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

1.�� PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

With this document, Montana Tech of The University of Montana proposes to offer an off-campus Business and Information Technology (BIT) degree program in Helena.� This program would support an existing articulation agreement between Montana Tech of The University of Montana and the Helena College of Technology (HCT) (See Appendix One).� Montana Tech of The University of Montana would offer upper-division courses in Helena during nontraditional class times (evening, noon hour, late afternoon, weekend, etc.) which would enable students to obtain the Management and Information Technology (MIT) option of the BIT degree.� Montana Tech is also considering offering courses in a �compressed� format (i.e., seven to eight weeks, rather than the traditional fifteen weeks).� Students would be able to obtain a BIT degree from Montana Tech of The University of Montana by completing Tech�s upper-division courses as well as the required lower-division courses at either HCT or through transfer credit.

Montana Tech of The University of Montana has had a long and successful presence in the Helena area.� For over ten years prior to 1998, Montana Tech had offered at least one business course (Principles of Marketing, Principles of Management, etc.) per year during the evening or lunch hour in Helena.� These courses were well subscribed with an average course size of 23 students.� Tech has identified nontraditional age, low income, place-bound, full-time employed individuals as the primary student niche.� These individuals, for one or more reasons (cost prohibitive tuition, class times, etc.), are not continuing their education in the Helena area.� Montana Tech of The University of Montana is not trying to attract traditional age college students with this program.� Students enrolled in this program will realize that completion of the degree will take an extended period of time.

The time is right for this program to be implemented in the Helena area.� In a recent �report card�, the state of Montana received a �D minus� regarding participation in higher education by adults.� The Helena program is an attempt by Montana Tech of The University of Montana to assimilate adults into the higher education system by offering courses that the adults need and want at a time when they can attend.

2.�� NEEDS ASSESSMENT

In July of 2000, the UM Executive Committee granted permission to Montana Tech to perform a needs assessment.� A needs assessment has been conducted to determine the feasibility of offering a Montana Tech BIT evening program in the Helena area.� Montana Tech personnel worked closely with University of Montana and Helena College of Technology personnel to design the needs assessment study.� The questionnaire and study were developed using a needs assessment performed by The University of Montana in the Helena area in 1994 as a guide.� The complete needs assessment can be found in Appendix Two.� Over one hundred completed questionnaires have been received by Montana Tech in regards to the Helena program.

The results of the needs assessment clearly demonstrate that there is a need in the Helena area for a state-supported Business and Information Technology degree with upper-division coursework.� Ninety-nine percent of the respondents answered �yes� when asked, �Do you believe there is a need in the Helena area for a state-supported business degree from a four-year institution?�� Another clear indication of the demonstrated need is the success of outside programs such as Embry Riddle University and Lesley College that bring instructors to Helena to teach their coursework.� Also, internet programs offered by the University of Phoenix and others are currently being offered in the Helena area.

During the needs assessment process, Montana Tech representatives met with personnel directors and human resource personnel of identified stakeholder groups, such as the Federal Reserve Bank, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, National Guard and various state agencies, to discuss the needs and wants of the identified target group.� Once again, these representatives clearly articulated a need for a state-supported degree in the Helena area.

Representatives from Montana Tech worked closely with HCT personnel in the development of this program.� The program was discussed with Carroll College personnel; however, to date Carroll College has decided not to participate.

3.�� RELATION TO ROLE AND SCOPE

The BIT degree fits well within the role and scope of Montana Tech of The University of Montana.� The BIT program is currently the second largest program on the Montana Tech campus with a head count of over 230 students.

4.�� PARTICIPANTS AND ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE

The proposed program will have no effect on the administrative structure of Montana Tech.� Once the program is fully subscribed, a Montana Tech representative may be located in the Helena area to oversee the program and operate as a resource for the program.

5.�� REGIONAL PROGRAM UNIQUENESS

There are no programs offered in Montana, the Pacific Northwest, or states bordering Montana that are exactly like Montana Tech of The University of Montana�s BIT degree.� Tech�s BIT degree is truly unique in offering a Business and Information Technology combination within the degree program.� There are options within Business Administration programs that couple information technology with business, but Montana Tech of The University of Montana is the only school in the Northwest that couples the two areas into a degree program.� Tech personnel developed the BIT degree to be unique and to also align within the Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology�s role and scope statement.� This was accomplished very successfully as is evidenced by the large student body within the BIT program on the Tech campus.

6.�� ACCREDITATION

This program will not be subject to specialized accreditation.� However, the program will be monitored closely because the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges (NWASC) examines off-site programs as part of its accreditation process.� This program was developed in accord with NWASC�s Section 2.6 of the Accreditation Handbook.� Special attention was given to ensure that Montana Tech of The University of Montana�s faculty would assume responsibility and exercise oversight over the program.� The Helena program will receive the same type of dedication and quality that the rest of the Montana Tech offerings receive and that have made Tech one of the most highly respected institutions in the nation.

Options for specialized accreditation are currently being reviewed and a decision about how to proceed will be made in the near future.� These options include, but are not limited to, such accrediting bodies as the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP).

7.�� PROPOSED CURRICULUM

Montana Tech of The University of Montana would offer either two or three courses per semester in support of the BIT program in Helena.� As previously mentioned, these courses would be offered primarily in the evening, during a three-hour time period. A tentative schedule of the coursework is as follows:

Semester One

����������� BUS 3666����� OPERATIONS AND PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT

����������� BUS 3206����� ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEMS

����������� BUS 3XX6���� UPPER-DIVISION ELECTIVE

Semester Two

����������� BUS 3316����� PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING

����������� HSS 3XX6���� COMMUNICATION ELECTIVE

����������� BUS 3XX6���� MANAGEMENT ELECTIVE

Semester Three

����������� BUS 3616����� MANAGEMENT

����������� BUS 3XX6 ��� MANAGEMENT ELECTIVE

����������� HSS 3XX6���� COMMUNICATION ELECTIVE

Semester Four

����������� CS 4516������� DATA COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS & NETWORKS

����������� BUS 4XX6 ��� UPPER-DIVISION ELECTIVE

����������� MATH XXX6� MATH REQUIREMENT

Semester Five

����������� ENGL 3896�� BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL WRITING

����������� CS 4616 ������ SYSTEMS DESIGN PROCESS

����������� BUS 4XX6���� MANAGEMENT ELECTIVE

Semester Six

����������� BUS 4566����� FINANCIAL MARKETS AND INSTITUTIONS

����������� BUS 3XX6���� MANAGEMENT ELECTIVE

����������� BUS 3416 ���� BUSINESS LAW

Semester Seven

����������� CS XXX6 ����� COMPUTER SCIENCE ELECTIVE

����������� BUS XXX6��� BUSINESS ELECTIVE�� 

1.�� PARTICIPATING FACULTY

Faculty from Montana Tech of The University of Montana, Helena College of Technology, and as-needed adjunct faculty will deliver the courses in Helena.� It is anticipated that Carroll College faculty may also play an integral role in the delivery of Helena courses as well.� The Montana Tech faculty that will/may be involvedwith the program include:

a.      Douglas Abbott, MBA, Associate Professor of Business

b.      Robert DeDominic, MBA, Associate Professor of Business

c.      Joseph Kasperick, MA, Professor Emeritus of Business

d.      Timothy Kober, CPA, MBA, Associate Professor of Business

e.      Gary Mannix, MS, Associate Professor of Computer Science

f.        James Michelotti, MS, Associate Professor of Computer Science

g.      Chad Okrusch, MS, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Computer Science

h.      John Rutland, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Business

i.        Denise Solko, CPA, MBA, Associate� Professor of Business

In addition to the aforementioned faculty, representatives from the Liberal Studies and Professional and Technical Communication departments will be utilized to teach elective courses.

2.�� NEW FACULTY PROJECTIONS

No new faculty are required to conduct the Helena program.� The courses required are presently being taught and will be staffed with faculty from Montana Tech, HCT, and/or adjunct professors.

3.�� REQUIRED SUPPORT PERSONNEL

There will be no additional needs or costs for support personnel.

CAPITAL OUTLAY, OPERATING EXPENDITURES, AND PHYSICAL FACILITIES

1.�� OPERATING EXPENSES

Faculty from Montana Tech, HCT, or from the Helena community will be paid $3,000 per three-credit course.� This program will be self-sufficient in that all operating expenses will be paid using revenues generated from the program.

2.�� LIBRARY RESOURCES

Students enrolled in this program will use library facilities at the HCT as well as the Helena Public library.� Resources at the Montana Tech library will be available through on-line and interlibrary loan mechanisms.

3.�� REQUIRED SPECIAL EQUIPMENT

Certain upper-division courses are best taught in a computer lab classroom setting.� HCT personnel have agreed to work with Tech personnel to schedule HCT computer labs when needed for instructional purposes.� Computer facilities at HCT, as well as auxiliary facilities in the Ray Bjork complex, have been committed to this program.� In return, student computer fees collected by Montana Tech for courses taught at HCT will be forwarded to HCT to help support the computer infrastructure.

4.�� NEW FACILITIES AND SPACE

Current facilities at HCT are adequate for the BIT program and include computer labs and classrooms.� In addition to the HCT facilities, classroom and computer lab space has been volunteered at National Guard facilities in Helena as well.

EVALUATION OF PROPOSED PROGRAM

1.�� REVIEWS

This program was developed by the Business Department and has been reviewed and approved by the Montana Tech Curriculum Review Committee and by the Montana Tech faculty as a whole.

2.�� CONSULTANTS

No outside consultants have been employed in the evaluation or preparation of this program.

FISCAL IMPACT AND BUDGET INFORMATION