Development of a business computing curriculum for polytechnics: the New Zealand experience

Abstract

The period 1964-1992 saw the growth in demand for vocational education and training in the area of Business Computing, as the number of business computers in use steadily increased. Initially, the demand was met by local courses which were developed by a small number of New Zealand Polytechnics. This lead on to the establishment, by the Authority for Advanced Vocational Awards in 1972, of a Nationally validated New Zealand Certificate in Data Processing. By 1986, there was general agreement (backed up by research) that the New Zealand Certificate in Data Processing course was no longer meeting the vocational education and training needs of industry. Pressures from a number of groups eventually saw the Authority for Advanced Vocational Awards facilitate a two day meeting at which the New Zealand Certificate in Data Processing (NZCDP) review committee was established under the auspices of the Information Technology Training Committee of the Vocational Training Council. The NZCDP Review Committee was charged with developing a curricula for a new Business Computing qualification for New Zealand Polytechnics, keeping in mind the findings of research on this matter that had been commissioned by the Information Technology Training Committee, and its predecessor, the Micro Electronic Training Committee. The success of this process has seen the development of a series of widely accepted Business Computing qualifications. Legislation was passed to facilitate the change in the management of Education during the late 1980's and this also saw a major restructuring of many Educational Institutions with consequential effects on the curriculum development environment.