Information technology is now ubiquitous in higher education institutions worldwide. More than 85% of American universities use e-learning systems to supplement traditional classroom activities while some have started offering Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs), which are completely online. An obvious benefit of these online tools is their…

Automatics and Robotics subjects are always greatly improved when classroom teaching is supported by adequate laboratory courses and experiments following the "learning by doing" paradigm, which provides students a deep understanding of theoretical lessons. However, expensive equipment and limited time prevent teachers having sufficient…

The 13th iteration of the International Conference on Educational Data Mining (EDM 2020) was originally arranged to take place in Ifrane, Morocco. Due to the SARS-CoV-2 (coronavirus) epidemic, EDM 2020, as well as most other academic conferences in 2020, had to be changed to a purely online format. To facilitate efficient transmission of…

Unlike most program assessment systems, Program Assessment using Specified Solutions (PASS), evaluates student C programs by assessing the way a problem was solved by performing a comparison of the submitted program with a solution plan. This article describes PASS, its use of instructor specified solution plans, assessment and feedback systems,…

To maximize efficiency and minimize cost, purchasing departments are using computers to issue purchase orders, expedite orders, and control inventory. In order to familiarize prospective users, explanations of some of the terminology, equipment, and other pertinent facts associated with automation are supplied. Six pages, in outline form, explain…

China will suffer into the future from a shortage of computer professionals. With 75% of her population engaged in agriculture, she has only about 100,000 computer professionals, which is less than can be found within a healthy radius of Stanford University. There are 97 "key universities," but only 10 or 15 stand at the top as the…

Energy conservation methods taken at four colleges and one elementary school. (MLF)

Trends in computing and office automation and their applications, including planning, institutional research, and general administrative support in higher education, are discussed. Changing aspects of information processing and an increasingly larger user community are considered. The computing literacy cycle may involve programming, analysis, use…

This course is the second of seven in the Information Systems curriculum. The purpose of the course is to build on the skills acquired in the prerequisite course, Computer Business Applications I, through the manipulation of word processing, spreadsheet, database management, and graphics software. An overview of the course sets forth the condition…

This course is the fifth of seven in the Information Systems curriculum. The purpose of the course is to build on skills acquired in the earlier courses. It reviews the importance of information to management and the organization and information systems concepts within an office. These components are provided for each task area: behavioral…

Harvard's energy conservation plan is presented in detail with the hope that it will suggest practical, cost-effective energy-saving ideas to other institutions, and to dispel frequently-expressed fears concerning the feasibility and acceptance problems of this type of program. The total energy plan incorporates numerous specific elements that…

Characteristics of student financial aid systems are reported and a framework for evaluating student financial aid systems and classifying major data processing designs is presented. The goals of a student financial aid system are discussed, including improved service to students, increased utilization of available funds, compliance with…

This course is the seventh of seven in the Information Systems curriculum. The purpose of this capstone course is to build on skills acquired in the earlier courses. Emphasis is placed on realistic situations and challenges that exist in the automated office and for which information systems technology and skills are pertinent. These components…

There is increasing evidence that information system development and personnel development within an institution must not only be parallel in sophistication and noncontradictory in design, but also that concurrently developing programs are mutually supportive and increase the effectiveness of each far beyond the capability of either. Management…

This course is the third of seven in the Information Systems curriculum. The purpose of the course is to familiarize students with database management concepts and standard database management software. Databases and their roles, advantages, and limitations are explained. An overview of the course sets forth the condition and performance standard…