coursework | support services | graduation and career
Does the campus offer general or profession-specific training programs that will ensure you are fluent in current information technologies when you graduate?
A Wellesley student is involved with technology throughout her academic career. Faculty incorporates technology into assignments in a meaningful way. High-end laboratories provide access to special software and staff assistance in use of these tools. Many software applications are available for faculty and students to install on their own campus computers through concurrent use licensing agreements. An extensive array of documentation is readily available for these software applications, illustrating their use for coursework and general desktop productivity.
Additionally, Wellesley College offers several information technology training options for students. Both the Computing First Aid program and the Knapp Media and Technology Center offer one-on-one help for answering questions and training on the latest technologies. Knapp also offers sessions to help students develop rich multimedia presentations for classes and conferences. Each summer, Information Services offers an instructional technology internship program that gives ten students the opportunity to work with staff and with faculty to create instructional technology projects.
Several introductory Computer Science classes are offered for credit whose topics range from basic computing skills and HTML to an introduction to programming. Wellesley also provides access to ElementK software training for all students on a wide range of technology and software titles.
Preparing students to be successful in today's world includes more than establishing a mastery of hardware and software. "Information literacy" requires an understanding of the information resources available on the Internet as well as responsible use of computing resources and an ability to identify appropriate sources of information. Wellesley students are grounded in these skills through an extensive program of bibliographic instruction offered by the Library [197 classes and 259 appointment-based consultations reaching 3047 students in 2006-2007] In addition to fostering research skills, Information Services staff is active in educating students to understand the rights and responsibilities of good citizenship in the electronic era.
Finally, Information Services is one of the largest employers of students at Wellesley. We employ over 250 students, each of whom receives training in various information technologies. Jobs include residential computing consultants, Helpdesk special assistants, consultants in the Knapp Media and Technology Center and computing labs, and Library student assistants. Our faculty/staff helpdesk is staffed principally by students who must participate in an extensive program of training to support answering questions relating to software, equipment problems, networking issues, mail management, HTML problems, or giving tips, advice and directions to users. Other tasks undertaken by student employees include equipment and software installation, writing documentation for the Wellesley Computing web site, troubleshooting application problems, designing web pages and testing new programs before they are released to the campus. Many graduates are able to use this training to advance their career goals and employability.
