SCHEV Competencies

Computer and Technological Literacy Competency

Definition of Competency
The mission of Old Dominion University requires that "[e]very Old Dominion undergraduate student follow a general education program that is designed to develop the intellectual skills of critical thinking and problem solving and to encompass the breadth of understanding needed for personal growth and achievement and for responsible citizenship."

In addition, Objective 1.3 of the Old Dominion University Strategic Plan: 2000-05, states that the University will "[c]continue to offer a high-quality general education curriculum to all undergraduate degree-seeking students and assess the general education curriculum for quality and effectiveness . . . by monitor[ing] the general education requirements implemented in 1998 to review their effectiveness."

The goals of Old Dominion University's General Education program, which was implemented in fall 1998, include computer competence and developing an understanding of the impact of technology on society.  The means to achieve these goals and objectives is defined as the Computer Skills Requirement (see General Education Goals and Objectives and the Computer Skills Requirement, University Catalog, 2000-2002, pp. 44-45).
 
The General Education Computer Skills Requirement may be fulfilled either by the completion of specific lower-division courses developed and approved for this purpose, completion of courses in the major that were approved for this purpose, transfer course work, or through demonstrating proficiency by examination.  As part of the General Education Program, all undergraduate students are required to demonstrate that they can use computer tools, resources, processes, and systems effectively and responsibly. They are expected to be able to ethically access and evaluate information, in any medium, and use that information to solve problems, communicate clearly, make informed decisions, and construct new knowledge, products, or systems.

Standards for Competency
The Computer Skills Requirement is intended to have students acquire the five competencies described below through the completion of approved course work or examination. These competencies were identified during the implementation of the General Education Program in 1998 and refined by the University Computer Literacy Standards Committee in 2001.  The competencies and their associated expectations are:

1. Systems Hardware: Describe the major components of a computer and how they function as a system.
2. System Software: Explain the purpose of operating systems and use typical system functions.
3. Application Software: Demonstrate skill in using computer applications to solve communication problems.
4. Telecommunications: Demonstrate skill in using computers as electronic communication tools to research, retrieve, and share information.
5. Computers and Society: Describe and assess the impact of computer and information technologies on society and the work place.

Overall competency is demonstrated by a grade of "pass" on each of the five competency sections of the Computer and Technological Literacy Examination (CTLE), a newly designed common examination of computer and technological competency. The examination will be administered to all students enrolled in three lower-division courses currently approved to fulfill the General Education Program's Computer Skills Requirement.  These courses are: CS 101D, Computers:  An Introduction; IT 100D, Fundamentals of Computers and Information Systems; and OTS 251D, Computer Literacy: Communication and Information.

A detailed description of the five competencies can be found in the downloadable matrix.

Description of Methodology Used to Gather Evidence of Competency
The proposed measure is the percentage of students enrolled during the academic year in  one of the three courses identified above who achieve a grade of "pass" on each section of the CLTE.  Pilot data for the measure will be gathered at the end of the spring 2002 semester for students enrolled in CS 101D.  Data from the proposed measure will be reported annually.

The three courses identified above that are approved to fulfill the General Education Program Computer Skills Requirement address the five competencies as described in the Appendix.  These courses were reviewed, the inclusion of the competencies verified, and approved by Old Dominion University's Faculty Senate Undergraduate Studies Committee and the Provost in 1998 as part of the implementation process for the current General Education Program.

During spring 2001, the University Computer Literacy Standards Committee reviewed and validated these courses to determine if the competencies were being addressed. The Committee concluded that the three courses did address the required competencies.

As part of the plan to implement the Computer and Technological Literacy Competency Assessment mandated by SCHEV, the Computer Literacy Standards Committee will periodically (not less than once every two years) review and validate that the courses approved to fulfill the General Education Program's Computer Skills Requirement to determine if they include the required competencies and that CLTE effectively tests them. The Committee will also be charged with reviewing the competencies and the assessment purpose and methodology to determine if they should be revised.

The pass rate on the CLTE will be reported annually to SCHEV. The data reported would be the percentage of all students enrolled in the three university-approved courses that have achieved a grade of "pass" on each section of the CLTE.

Score	Percent
High	18.58%
Satisfactory	63.65%
Total Passing	82.23%
Unacceptable	17.77%
Total	100.00%

Summary (75 words -- Provide brief analysis of results)
As demonstrated by the 83.23% pass rate on the pilot testing of CLTE for academic year 2001, Old Dominion University's technology curriculum is effective in preparing graduates in computing and technology skills.  Detailed analyses will be conducted on the scores of students performing below satisfactory to identify patterns of difficulty. This information will be fed back into curriculum improvement to ensure these rates will consistently increase over the years to come.