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The RPG class was III. I tried convincing them to change it to IV but, they said, employers wanted III (probably true, sigh). The other "reason" I fear is because the instructor didn't know IV.
Anyway, they, as Mark pointed out, dropped it because they couldn't get enough enrollment. Most of us don't think of it, but colleges are businesses. Unless the course is mandatory for a core offering, such as engineering, or has enough students to "pay" for the instructor, facilities, etc., it's a money loser and is dropped. I guess an exception might be made for an endowment. Wanna set one up, Aaron? That was certainly be a way of getting involved.
And the people who make the business decisions regarding systems (as well as other things), are *not* programmers. It is necessary to convince and prove to these people that the iSeries is not a legacy system, that it can do damn near anything, etc. As Mark pointed out, it's a Catch-22: The colleges won't start the courses until there's a demand; the businessmen say, "There are no people available to make this thing go."
* Jerry C. Adams *IBM System i5/iSeries Programmer/Analyst B&W Wholesale Distributors, Inc.* * voice 615.995.7024 fax 615.995.1201 email jerry@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:jerry@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Nick_Radich@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
Actually I thought that all of the Colleges, etc..., had dropped it. It was a surprise to hear about the one in Mankato still going. From what I have heard, even most of the schools on the northern and western side of Wisconson had dropped it as well.Nick Nick Radich Sr. Programmer/Analyst EPC Molding, Inc. Direct (320) 679-6683 Toll free (800) 388-2155 ext. 6683 Fax (320) 679-4516 nick_radich@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx"albartell" <albartell@xxxxxxxxx> Sent by: midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx01/24/07 02:27 PM Please respond to Midrange Systems Technical Discussion <midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx> To "'Midrange Systems Technical Discussion'" <midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx> cc Subject RE: giving an iSeries system to each collegeCALL TO ACTION...If you want to see System i education offered in yourarea, GET INVOLVED It would be nice to be able to assess the situation a little more and gaininsight to where we could even apply our skills and donate our time. I wassurprised at Nick's statement of Mankato MN being the last tech college in MN that offers iSeries/RPG specific curriculum - is that really the case Nick? It would be cool to have a page on ibm.com devoted to the successstories so the wheel doesn't need to be recreated. I am guessing the one in Kansas has some formidable support and man hours put into it, what about thestaff that is already stretched too thin? How can they best leverageupcoming programs? How can they best get in touch with area businesses thatare running i5's to find people to donate their time? Aaron Bartell http://mowyourlawn.com -----Original Message----- From: midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Mark S. Waterbury Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2007 1:49 PM To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion Subject: Re: giving an iSeries system to each college The success of any program like the IBM System i Academic Initiative (formerly iSeries Scholars Program, nee PIE), is predicated on several things that MUST HAPPEN (not necessarily in this order):1. availability of necessary infrastructure (e.g. access to an i5/OS system either locally or remotely) and any i5-related software students need to use(especially on their PCs, for IDEs, etc.) 2. availability of full-time i5/OS administrators or programmers from industry who are willing and able to serve as "adjunct faculty" to teachpart-time courses in a local community college or university, and/or to act as a part-time administrators for any i5 systems on campus -OR- availabilityof full-time faculty with the necessary knowledge to do the same. 3. availability of textbooks, preferably with "instructor's guide" andlesson plans, suggested homework exercises, sample quizzes and exams, etc., so that anyone trying to teach the course for the first time can get "up andrunning" quickly. (This was a major inhibitor over the past 5 years at several schools I was involved with.) Many college professors will not even attempt to teach a new course without this kind of support. (Oh, by the way, Microsoft does an EXCELLENT JOB in providing all of these kinds of materials to colleges, for their recommended courses, at very low cost.) 4. students willing to enroll in such courses. Without enough students,most colleges will be forced to CANCEL those courses, as they cannot affordto run them "at a loss" (or at least "break even" with regard to payingadjunct faculty, etc.) Many students are not willing to take any courses ina curriculum for "some platform they never heard of" -- especially if they have little or no faith that there will be any jobs available upon the completion of such coursework. This is a big "CATCH-22" ... I know of several community colleges that listed several AS/400 related courses in their catalog, but NO ONE EVER SIGNED-UP for those courses. There needs to be some kind of advertising-marketing in the local community to attractstudent interest, such as having potential employers (companies that use i5)come on campus and give a lecture to the students in the "introduction to computers" courses to explain that there are jobs in the local market for people with i5 skills. This requires some cooperation and assistance from the i5 community -- most colleges generally cannot or will not be able dothis adequately by themselves (there are of course some rare exceptions whodo a very good job of this "promotional" work.) CALL TO ACTIONIf you want to see System i education offered in your area, GET INVOLVED ... Volunteer to serve on a local college's CIS Advisory Board (or whatever they call it), so you can have input into their curriculum, etc. -- volunteer tohelp to "spread the word" ... Employers who use System i in the local community could pay for their employees to sign-up for and take courses (evening or week-ends) at the local colleges, in these courses ... Forexample, how many RPG programmers would like to learn Java for iSeries? etc.It is not easy -- it requres a commitment of your time, effort, etc.; it cantake a year or more to "get the ball rolling" -- perhaps you may even need to volunteer to teach one or two courses the first time around.If we don't take any action, we will continue to get the same results we areseeing now -- very few colleges are currently offering ANY courses related to IBM System i, p or z. (Think globally, act locally.) Sincerely, Mark S. Waterbury --This is the Midrange Systems Technical Discussion (MIDRANGE-L) mailing list To post a message email: MIDRANGE-L@xxxxxxxxxxxx To subscribe, unsubscribe,or change list options, visit: http://lists.midrange.com/mailman/listinfo/midrange-l or email: MIDRANGE-L-request@xxxxxxxxxxxx Before posting, please take a moment to review the archives at http://archive.midrange.com/midrange-l.
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