York University Announces Three Innovative New Programs in Information Technology In Response to Growing Demand for Graduates Able to Integrate and Understand ITEC in Today's World

TORONTO, April 29, 1999 -- While Canada's information technology (ITEC) industry continues to grow and create thousands of new jobs, industry leaders agree that Canadian universities are producing only about half the graduates they -- and the wide range of ITEC disciplines -- need. Unless universities take immediate measures to increase their output of graduates in these high-demand fields, the gap between the number of high technology positions and the number of qualified Canadian applicants will widen.

To meet this challenge, York University has launched three innovative new Information Technology (ITEC) degree programs that go beyond the traditional computer science curriculum to deliver a broadly based education related to the application of information technology in contemporary organizations and society. York is already accepting applications for the new programs; the first ITEC students, expected to number between 100 and 200, will begin their studies in the Fall of 1999.

"Responding to the needs of the local, provincial and national communities we serve is an important part of our mission at York University," said York University President Dr. Lorna Marsden, who will officially launch the programs with the participating Deans, faculty members, guidance counsellors and industry representatives on Monday, May 3, 10 a.m. at the York University Faculty Club, Ross Building South, 4700 Keele Street. Media are invited to attend.

"The ITEC programs demonstrate our ability to translate this commitment into meaningful action. After listening to students and leaders in the field, faculty and staff developed a vision and a curriculum in which computing is studied from the point of view of the users of technology, rather than from the traditional programming and systems engineering perspectives characterizing computer science programs," said Marsden.

Offered through three York faculties -- the Faculty of Arts, Atkinson College, and Glendon College -- the new ITEC programs will provide students interested in computer technology-related studies with a variety of options that reflect the wide and growing scope of high technology careers in the private and public sectors.

The programs include core courses in information technology, computer science and mathematics, along with courses in the humanities and social sciences analyzing the nature and impact of the new information technology and the broader social and ethical context relating to technological development -- as well as courses in business and other professional disciplines. Though linked by a similar core curriculum designed to facilitate student mobility and access to ITEC courses throughout the University, the programs differ in both emphasis and purpose.

The Faculty of Arts program is formulated to provide students with the background and skills required to critically analyze the institutional and social implications of computer technology. "The Arts ITEC Program offers a creative combining of computer science and the liberal arts," said Faculty of Arts Dean George Fallis. (Three and four-year programs are offered, as are specialized Honours degree options with concentrations in mathematics and an Honours option in conjunction with any other Honours Program in the Faculty of Arts.)

The Atkinson College ITEC program offers students an Honours Bachelor of Administrative Studies (B.A.S.) degree and a Bachelor of Arts degree with professionally-oriented options. The B.A.S. ITEC allows students to combine the ITEC core curriculum with studies in accounting, business research, general management, human resources or marketing. The B.A. ITEC allows students to supplement the core ITEC curriculum with a choice of options in Information Technology and Social Issues, Health Informatics, and Technical and Professional Writing.

"Many students who choose to study at Atkinson have prior work and educational experience. Well-defined, work-related, professional goals are the norm," said Atkinson College Dean Ron Bordessa. "At Atkinson, students can earn their ITEC degrees on a part-time or full-time basis. Because of the flexibility of late afternoon, evening, weekend, correspondence and Internet courses we offer, we are able to provide students with work and family commitments access to a university education 24 hours a day."

The Glendon College ITEC Program offers a three-year B.A., and four-year combined Honours and Specialized Honours degrees in Information Technology. Students may also choose a double major degree with Information Technology and other Honours programs offered at Glendon. Glendon's ITEC Program also incorporates a range of courses from the humanities and social sciences selected to meet the program's goal of graduating students who are bilingual, technically skilled, good communicators, and critical thinkers. Students are able to pursue their ITEC studies in either English or French.

Dyane Adam, Principal of Glendon College, welcomed the creation of the ITEC program. "Information Technology will prepare students for a satisfying career based on combining technical skills with the broader bilingual liberal arts foundation for which Glendon College is famous," she said.

The Faculty of Arts, York's largest, offers a full range of degree programs in disciplines throughout the humanities and social sciences. Atkinson is York's second-largest faculty, and is Canada's largest university faculty dedicated primarily to part-time and adult students. Glendon is York University's bilingual liberal arts faculty, and is the only institution in southern Ontario where university programs are offered in both French and English.

The new programs were developed in response to the Ontario government's Access to Opportunities Program (ATOP), established to encourage growth in computer-science related programs and high-demand engineering fields, including electronic, software and communications engineering.

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For more information, please call:

Sine MacKinnon
Senior Advisor, Media Relations
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22087
YU/043/99