Information Technology Expectations

The faculty of the Computer Science Department welcome you to the UC Blue Ash Information Technology (IT) Program.

The following recommendations and expectations are presented to you, as a beginning student, to help you be as successful as you desire, and to make your time in classes at UCBA as productive and rewarding as possible.

Student Expectations

As an IT student, you may expect:

guidance from your instructors based upon a large amount of experience and technical knowledge, both from an industry and from an academic perspective.
your instructors to be available to answer questions, both in class and outside of normal classroom hours. This would typically include in-person questions as well as questions asked electronically (e.g. via email).
your instructors to provide documentation as to what work is expected and when it is due, in the form of distributed or on-line based documents.
the material presented to help you to understand how computers work and how to manipulate their functions in a way that is not tied to specific hardware, software or vendor.
your grades to be directly related to the amount of effort and dedication that you put forth.

Faculty Expectations

Since you have chosen the Information Technology pathway, the UCBA Computer Science faculty will expect each student:

to have a genuine interest in the subject matter related to this field of study. We will assume that you have a strong desire to learn material related to this field, enjoy learning this material, and are willing to work hard to learn and understand this material.
in this field to adopt an inquisitive and exploratory attitude as well as corresponding work habits.
to focus on the process of learning, and not to focus solely on grades. Good grades will come to any student who works hard to learn and understand the material.
to approach each course as a long-term learning process. This means that knowledge obtained in one course may be needed in a course taken in the future. When a period of time elapses between course periods (e.g. Christmas or summer break), the student should actively research and review topics from previous courses which may have become unclear. This means everything you learn in one programming assignment, lab exercise, lecture or course is likely to be useful in a future assignment or course, as well as in your career.
to arrive on time to class, and depart only when the class (or lab work) is complete.
to organize all of their notes and classroom materials such that the material is easily referenced when needed (e.g. to study or to use during a exam).
to pay attention to the instructor during the entire class period, and NOT to play with cell phones, games, email, internet surfing, other class assignments, etc.
to take detailed notes during class lectures and to compare notes with other students to make sure of completeness.
to complete all of the assigned reading, whether in required class texts, other related texts and/or related material online or on the internet. In addition to reading, you will also be expected to understand the material read, and ask questions when you don't fully understand. This can easily be accomplished by taking notes during the reading and asking questions as appropriate (e.g. before/during/after class).
to understand that any and all assignments, whether reading, homework problems, programs, or assignments of any type must be completed before class on the date they are due. The student may expect SEVERE penalties for late or incomplete assignments.
to spend the appropriate amount of time outside of the classroom, studying and/or working on any assignments. This amount of time will depend upon the specific class, and should be at least 2, probably more, for each hour of in class time (e.g. a 3 credit hour class would require at least 6 hours work outside of class per week).
to spend the necessary amount of time in the school's laboratory facilities when that is the only place that hardware or software is available.
to understand the difference between collaboration (which is encouraged) and copying/cheating which is prohibited, and will be dealt with severely (refer to Student Code of Conduct).
to be less dependent upon the teacher as courses progress, understanding and solving their own questions and problems (and using problem solving abilities learned along the way).

Real World Expectations

We believe the journey you have begun will take you from the classroom into the business world as an employee in the Information Technology arena. As we conclude our recommendations, those of us who have spent time in the business community would like to offer some rules which hold true in the business world. We suggest that you consider these as you proceed through the Computer Support Technology program.

Your employer will pay you to come to work during the hours they specify, they will not pay you to show up when you want, and come and go as you please.

Your employer will pay you for doing all of your work, they will not pay you to do half of your work.

Your employer will pay you to complete tasks fully when they specify, they will not pay you to complete tasks when you wish.

Your employer will expect the tasks they assign you to be complete and correct, they will not pay you for tasks which are incorrect or incomplete.

Your employer will expect you to take the initiative to figure out how to complete your job or current assignment, they will not continually show you how to do your job.

Your employer will not show you where to click.

Your employer will care about successful project results, they will not care how hard (or how much time) you worked on an incomplete or incorrect project.

Your employer will not listen to you whine about how he or she is not fair.

Your employer will not care what else you're working on, or when it's due, when they assign additional work.

Your co-workers will not continually do your job when you don't show up for work.

A network, a system, or a program that is not complete or correct is worthless, even if it is 90% complete or correct.

Having presented these, each of the above will relate directly to your work and your success in this program.

Good Luck!

Student Agreement

I, the undersigned, have read and understand all of the expectations of the IT program stated above. I also understand that deviation away from these expectations could have a direct negative effect on my success in the completion of this program or classes therein.




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