| It is difficult to think of very many aspects of life today that are not affected by computer technology. We take for granted such things as water in out homes for bathing and drinking and electricity for heat and light without thinking about how these systems are controlled by computers. The workplace is another key arena inundated by computer technology. The latter half of the decade of the 1990s saw the proliferation of the World Wide Web with its international connections, instant access to information on myriad topics, email, and increasingly e-commerce, the process of managing clients and doing business on the Web (Hofstetter, 1998).; An important implication of all this growth in the information technology industry and its permeation into American society is the heightened need for highly qualified and technically competent workers. The information technology industry has come to depend on higher education, especially the community college system and its faculty, for “just-in-time” instruction and professional development for information technology professionals (Freeman & Aspray, 1999).; This study explored the experiences of information technology faculty at community colleges in the Midwest. The primary tool utilized for data collection was an in-depth interview. Personal interviews were conducted with 18 full-time information technology faculty at seven public, community colleges.; The voices of information technology faculty presented in this study illustrate, through the rich descriptions of their experiences, how they operate within a common role as faculty within a technologically-driven environment that is often quite different than their faculty peers. The vast majority of participants reported that they find their full-time faculty positions very rewarding, constantly changing, sometimes frustrating, but never boring. The IT faculty interviewed exude a sense of professional identity that reflects their belief that they play a major role in fulfilling the comprehensive mission of a community college.; Based on recurring themes, six common areas of concern emerged through the interviews. Congruent with the findings of Grubb (1999), Stark (1998), and Cohen and Brawer (1996) technology, time and workload pressures, faculty shortages, teaching materials, and academic quality of students were found to be common concerns of all college faculty. However, this study details an additional phenomenon, depart chair responsibilities, not heretofore rated as one of the top concerns. Another different perception occurred in the area of technology. Information technology faculty did not perceive the machinery of technology as the source of stress, but rather the continual, revolutionary nature of a curricular are that, literally, changes every day. For instance, the phrase 24/7 has replaced the idea of a traditional faculty workload with the expectation that IT faculty know and understand what is new, why it is new, and how it is new at a moment's notice. Although information technology faculty use many resources to help them address their concerns, the major focus is on reading and self-teaching. In addition, although institutions provide professional development monies, these funds are often inadequate for costly industry classes. Based in the perceptions of the faculty in this study, more research is needed to ensure that information technology faculty through community colleges can continue to empower a diverse student body to use the microcosm of information technology to unlock the macrocosm of a technological world. |
