Responding to the Employability Challenge: Final Projects for IT-based Organizational Training

Abstract

Catering for student employability is now recognized as an area of accountability for institutions of higher education. Responding to this challenge requires a clearer understanding of the meaning of employability, the attributes that enhance graduate employability and methods which can be adopted by HE institutions to promote it. In this paper we will examine the issue in the context of the IST department of a technological college preparing students for careers in Organizational Training. The graduates are expected to be able to analyze, design, develop, evaluate, implement and manage instructional systems and other learning environments. The paper will focus on the contribution of the curriculum structure and final projects to graduates' employability. Two research questions will be discussed: 1. To what extent do the final projects present authentic organizational training environments? 2. To what extent are the final projects products of integrated curriculum knowledge and skills? We will present evidence for the effectiveness of the enacted curriculum based on a detailed analysis of a sample of final projects and their relation to the curriculum, and the results of a recent survey of employment and views of department graduates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]