The Keys to Success on the Web? Working Links, Business Savvy, and Strong Credentials

SEATTLE — The University of Washington is making available online four of its newest and most innovative programs in information technology and e-business, the certificate programs in Internet Programming, Web Administration, Web Consultant, and E-Commerce Management.

These intensive, distance learning programs have been designed to give students interested in the Internet and business the tools to build and manage web sites and to branch out into e-commerce. The programs combine online, print and video materials with live instruction, giving disciplined students a chance to learn skills at their own pace.

The programs are the result of a partnership of the UW, The World Organization of Webmasters (WOW), the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and Pearson/Prentice Hall. Each party brings their expertise to the project — students register at the UW and learn with UW instructors, use texts and CD materials produced by Prentice Hall, watch videos distributed by PBS, and are eligible to pass certification exams designed and administered by WOW.

The programs are also taught onsite at the UW. The partners plan to eventually license the courses to other organizations, and to offer them as off-the-shelf, self-taught courses.

Those who complete the programs will have learned the most up-to-date information about Web technologies and business practices. They will also be ready to test for WOW certifications as Web Developer or Web Administrator, proving to potential or existing employers that they have practiced those skills.

Industry surveys show employers are still hiring information technology workers, despite the recent slowdown in the economy. National figures from the U.S. Department of Labor show companies in the computer and data processing sector added about 11,000 jobs between February and March of 2001. Those industries also hired about 100,000 additional people compared with last year. The Information Technology Association of America also estimates that about 425,000 tech jobs will go unfilled this year for lack of qualified candidates.

The UW’s certificate programs were produced with the help of a $1.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Learning Anywhere Anytime Partnerships (LAAP), through the Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE). The courses also have the expertise of UW faculty and approval of UW’s Business School, Computer Science and Engineering Department, and Information School.

The programs:

Web Consultant

This certificate program provides a foundation for linking the creation of a Web site with project management and business needs. Starting with a definition of business needs and project management, students create a Web site for a small business to meet the goals of a company. The program consists of three separate, linked courses in Web Production (www.outreach.washington.edu/dl/courses/web625/), Site Management

(www.outreach.washington.edu/dl/courses/web630/) and Web Business Management.

E-Commerce Management

This program focuses on the business potential of e-commerce and Web marketing. Students will study the emerging digital economy, the role of e-commerce, the Internet in business strategy, and the logistics of establishing and maintaining an e-commerce business. The program offers three courses, which may be taken individually or together for a

certificate: Internet Business Strategy

(www.outreach.washington.edu/dl/courses/ecom101) , Web Marketing and Sales Issues, and Fundamentals of E-Commerce.

Internet Programming

This intensive certificate program offers an opportunity to quickly get into the field of Internet programming, with training in HTML, CGI, ASP, Perl, JavaScript and other common languages in both UNIX and NT environments. The program’s three courses are in HTML, Dynamic HTML and Scripting (www.extension.washington.edu/dl/courses/BInet100), CGI Programming, and Programming with ASP (www.extension.washington.edu/dl/courses/BInet120)

Web Administration

This program studies the principles and skills for planning the overall infrastructure of a business Web site. The program has three courses in Internet Networking Basics (www.outreach.washington.edu/dl/courses/WA605/),

Web Site Construction and Managing a Web Site and Web Team.