DRAFT ONLY

February 2000

To: PSC MBA Candidates

From: Dr. Edward Harding
harding@oz.plymouth.edu

Re: BU509 IT in Organizations

The course Information Technology in Organizations is being offered at ROCHESTER this Spring consistent with the previously distributed MBA schedule. The course will be offered over the Internet using the emerging Distance Learning (D/L) model. There are several implications to the taking of a D/L course, and this memo outlines the critical ones for students contemplating enrolling in this one.

PC access: Adequate access to a PC is essential. Some students have PCs at home or work with sufficiently fast modems or network connections to use the Internet effectively. All PSC MBA students have user privileges on the Plymouth campus.

The standard of adequacy for student hardware and software is often best judged by the users themselves. If the system can adequately handle browsing the Internet at a reasonable speed for several hours at a time, then the system is sufficient. This course does not utilize sound cards or user video-cams. Some limited material may eventually be available on CD-ROM, but currently a CD drive is not essential.

Required software proficiency: Software proficiency is a moving target, but entering students must have a working knowledge of browsing the Internet, sending and receiving email (with attachments) and the Windows environment. These skills are required to take the course - the course is not designed to teach these skills.

Attendance: This course will run chronologically parallel to a twelve week course, meeting once a week. Students need to be physically present at the first meeting at ROCHESTER and may be required to be synchronously present on the network for the other meeting dates (for about an hour each session). Please refer to the schedule for specific dates.

The process of registering and billing for this course is the same as for other PSC MBA courses. Questions regarding these administrative issues should be addressed to the Office of Graduate Studies in Business at PSC.

Inquiries about course requirements content may be emailed to me at the address noted above. Also, students intending to register for the course should send me email with the subject "BU509". This initial email will not constitute official registering for the course, but it will allow me to prepare user accounts so that our first meeting can be productive.