Back-to-School Time
News & Views Feature Article
| Academe-Industry Partnerships Back-to-School Time News & Views Feature Article |
by Brenda Orbell Copyright © 1998 Brenda Orbell. Brenda Orbell, past secretary of PMC, is now on the faculty at James Madison University in Harrisonburg VA.
Originally published in News & Views September 1998 issue.
For permission to reprint this article, contact the Managing Editor.
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The relationship between academe and industry has often been one of distrust and misunderstanding. George Hayhoe, editor of Technical Communication, characterizes practitioners of technical communication as often dismissing what academics do as a waste of time and academics as often ignoring "the realities of technical communication practice and the needs of the practitioner community" (Hayhoe 1998, 20). Yet, both the professional and academic organizations for technical communication acknowledge that a partnership between academe and industry will play a critical role in the profession as we move into the next millennium. In 1995, efforts to build this partnership accelerated when STC devoted a special issue of Technical Communication to assessing the role of education in the profession. The editors of the issue acknowledge that technical communicators are faced with rapidly developing technologies that are changing workplace practices and environments (Rainey and Staples 1995). These changes require a lifetime of learning. Many technical communicators will turn to local academic programs for this specialized learning. Academic programs, as a result, must not only continue to prepare students to enter the workplace as technical communicators, but they must also adapt their curricula to include the learning needs of this new breed of lifelong students, many of whom already have degrees and considerable workplace experience. To keep pace with ever-changing industry demands, some have suggested that a new model of education is needed for technical communication (Hayhoe 1998; Barchilon and Kelley 1995). Hayhoe describes this model as one that "fosters, promotes, and actively pursues learning-and learning to learn." The foundation of this new model of education is a cooperative partnership between academe and industry. Five technical communication organizations -STC, IEEE Professional Communication Society, ACM Special Interest Group on Documentation, the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing, and the Council of Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication-have begun to work collaboratively to build this relationship. As part of its increased effort at building a partnership with academe, STC created the Academe-Industry Committee (AIC). The AIC has undertaken two projects that provide direct support for the academe-industry partnership: sponsoring faculty internships in industry and funding the development of research materials for use in industry and academia. Despite the increased collaboration at the national level, the AIC, at STC's 1997 annual conference, acknowledged that the real building of an academe-industry partnership must occur at the chapter level, "for it is there that the actual cooperation occurs between technical communication programs and nearby industry employers" (Teich 1998, 3). At the PMC leadership meeting this summer, the chapter leaders made a commitment to strengthen and redirect the somewhat capricious relationship the chapter has had with local academic programs. A group of PMC members recently met with the directors of the technical communication programs at Drexel University, the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, and the University of Delaware to discuss shared interest in building a stronger academe-industry partnership. This article is one of the first actions undertaken by PMC to forge a partnership based on mutual trust and understanding. In the following, PMC
The role of education in the technical communication profession As technical communication has grown and evolved as a profession, so has the role of formal education in the profession. In 1985, 83% of the members in STC held undergraduate and graduate degrees. By 1993, that number had grown to 91%, with 56% holding bachelor's degrees and 35% holding master's degrees. According to PMC's 1998 survey, a formal education is a common characteristic of our members. The survey shows that 91% have college degrees, with 53% holding bachelor's degrees and 38% advanced degrees (Muirhead 1998). Holding an undergraduate degree appears to be so much the norm that the 1997 STC survey no longer includes a non-degree category for salary data. Both the STC and PMC surveys report a significant correlation between holding an advanced degree and salary earned. At the national level, those holding an advanced degree earn from $5,000 more with a master's to $10,000 more with a doctorate. The increased earnings reported by PMC are even more substantial: from almost $10,000 more with a master's to almost $24,000 more with a doctorate. Even though it appears that most practicing professionals in technical communication have degrees, Hayhoe observes that "the vast majority" have no formal academic training in technical communication (Hayhoe 1998, 19). The PMC survey supports his claim. Muirhead reports that only one-third of the PMC membership studied technical communication or writing-related fields, including journalism and professional writing. One reason that so few practitioners have formal training in technical communication is that, until recently, the growth of academic programs lagged behind the rapid growth of the profession. In 1976, there were only sixteen academic programs in technical communication. A decade later, with 88% of the practitioners holding undergraduate and graduate degrees, only sixty programs offered any type of degree in technical communication. But as the profession gained respectability and visibility in the '90s, technical communication, as an academic field of study, came into its own. By 1993, 206 formal programs in technical communication were offered by 101 colleges and universities (Geonetta et al. 1994). In 1997, STC identified 278 academic programs that provide six different types of degrees as well as certificates and minors in technical communication (Keene et al. 1997):
STC's 1997 collection of essays, Education in Scientific and Technical Communication: Academic Programs That Work, profiles the general characteristics of each of these eight types of academic programs. Our academic partners In the greater Philadelphia area three universities offer undergraduate and graduate degrees in technical communication. Because 91% of our membership already hold undergraduate degrees, the descriptions that follow focus on advanced degrees and certificates. Drexel University The Humanities and Communications Department at Drexel University offers a number of programs in technical communication. At the undergraduate level, it offers a bachelor of science with two majors- corporate communication, and technical and science communication-and a minor in corporate communication. At the graduate level, the program offers courses leading to a master of science in technical and science communication. Courses focus on communication and rhetorical theory, document design, and writing for a variety of communication contexts, including corporate communications, science writing and editing (for journalistic as well as technical audiences), computer documentation (print and online), and multimedia and hypermedia programs (both freestanding and Internet-related). In addition to coursework, students complete and develop a professional-level portfolio of work in scientific and technical communication. The graduate courses offered this year include
Drexel also offers course work leading to a master of science in publication management. This program focuses on corporate publishing as well as traditional publishing, providing a combination of printing and publishing courses, MBA courses, and writing and editing courses. Courses offered this year include
The graduate program at Drexel emphasizes flexibility. Students enter the program from a wide variety of academic backgrounds and workplace experience in technical communication. Graduate students are encouraged to fashion a program that meets their own career needs and goals. Students can apply for the degree program or take up to four courses as a non-degree student. Courses meet one evening a week for ten to eleven weeks. For more information on the programs at Drexel University, contact Alexander Friedlander, Ph.D. The University of the Sciences in Philadelphia The University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (USP) offers a new breed of technical communication program that provides specialized training in a technical field. USP is the first U.S. institution to offer bachelor of health science and master of science degrees in biomedical writing. The biomedical writing program, offered from the Humanities Department, educates students to become biomedical writers for pharmaceutical companies, medical communication firms, newspapers, journal and book publishers, and advocacy groups. Course work emphasizes communication theory, scientific thinking, perception, and ethical behavior. Graduate students study how biomedical research is conducted, evaluated, and presented, and they learn how to transform information from basic and applied research, clinical trials, and other sources into knowledge that can be used to make decisions about science and healthcare. Graduate students complete a six-hour project seminar at the end of their studies. These projects may include designing and carrying out a research project, testing existing documentation, or producing a research paper on communication for a professional journal. Students at USP have the option of applying as a non-matriculated student eligible for enrollment in individual courses or as a matriculated student eligible for the master's degree. Graduate courses are held in the evening at three locations: the USP main campus, Montgomery County Community College, and the Bucks County Community College satellite campus at LaSalle University. Graduate courses offered this year include
For more information on the programs at USP, contact
The University of Delaware The University of Delaware is one of a growing number of universities that offers a certificate program for students already holding a bachelor of science or bachelor of arts degree. (The university also offers a bachelor of arts in English with a concentration in business and technical writing.) The certificate program, offered through the English Department, consists of eighteen credit hours designed to enhance or supplement previous academic studies. It provides formal academic training for students wanting to make career changes or develop their proficiency (and credentials) in a variety of areas in technical communication, including technical writing, public relations, corporate communications, marketing, advertising, publishing, medical writing, pharmaceutical writing, and software documentation. The curriculum is designed to teach students how to analyze and solve communication problems, present information in prose and in visuals, prepare both print and online documents, and employ both classical and modern rhetorical theory. Students are encouraged to enroll in elective courses for a more in-depth study of special topics in business and technical writing. Students have the opportunity to gain actual workplace experience as professional writers through paid internships with local businesses, non-profit organizations, and government agencies. Most courses for the certificate program are offered during the evening. The following five required courses for the crtificate program are offered each semester:
Students may take additional special topic courses on specialized subjects such as science writing, public relations writing, software documentation, medical writing, etc. This spring the program will offer a special topic course on online information. For more information on the programs at the University of Delaware, contact Debby Andrews, Director
Support needed from academic partners There are many areas in which PMC can benefit from an academe-industry partnership. As workplace practitioners, our members face an ongoing need to acquire new technical knowledge in order to write and design highly technical information products. As the PMC survey indicated, 75% of us have already faced changes in our job definition during the last ten years. Members have expressed other concerns related to workplace practices and environments. Some of these include
These concerns suggest a number of areas in which we need support from our academic partners. We need training that will prepare more of us to assume supervisory positions, move into specialized areas of technical communication, and evaluate and use new technologies, particularly the software required for online and web publishing. Most important, we need academic programs that in addition to educating entry-level professionals provide the lifelong learning and retraining that we need to succeed (and sometimes just survive) as practicing professionals in technical communication. As the STC and PMC surveys show, few practitioners hold entry-level positions. STC reported less than 5% working in entry-level positions; PMC reported none. Since 91% of our members already have degrees and 94% work full time, we need academic programs with flexible curricula that can be tailored to our individual professional requirements. While some may be interested in pursuing additional degrees, many would prefer to take advanced courses and earn certificates in specialized areas of technical communication over a period of time as their workplace commitments permit. Support available from PMC We believe the academic programs in our area can also benefit from an academe-industry partnership. As the dialogue has progressed about the partnership, the directors of the academic programs have revealed several areas in which we can provide support and resources:
A proposed plan of action for an academe-industry partnership The PMC leadership has identified three short-term goals for increasing the collaboration between the chapter and the academic programs in the area and a number of suggested actions for achieving these goals: 1. Increase involvement of students and faculty in chapter activities:
2. Help the academic programs prepare students for careers in technical communication:
3. Increase access of chapter members to academic offerings:
Our hope is that this partnership will be one of mutual support. Instead of Philadelphia having an academic community and a practitioner community, our goal is to create a unified but diverse technical communication community. Members interested in participating in any of these activities or undertaking a leadership role in building the partnership should contact Rebecca Worley at (302) 831-2880 or rworley@udel.edu. References: Barchilon, Marian G. and Donald G. Kelley. 1995. A Flexible Technical Communications Model for Education in the Year 2000. Technical Communication 42:590-98. Geonetta, Sam, Jo Allen, Donnelyn Curtis, and Katherine Staples. 1994. Academic Programs in Technical Communication. 4th ed. Arlington, VA:Society for Technical Communication. Hayhoe, George. 1998. The Academe-Industry Partnership: What's in It for All of Us? Technical Communication 45:19-20. Keene, Michael L. et. al. 1997. Education in Scientific and Technical Communication: Academic Programs That Work. Arlington, VA:Society for Technical Communication. Muirhead, Alan. 1998. Who Are We, 1998: Results of the STC-PMC Membership Survey. News & Views 33:1, 7-9. Rainey, Kenneth T., and Katherine E. Staples. 1995. Toward 2000: Education, the Society, and the Profession. Technical Communication 42:543-44. Society for Technical Communication. 1997. Technical Communicator Salary Survey. Arlington, VA:Society for Technical Communication. Teich, Thea. 1998. STC Sponsors Focus Group on Improving Technical Communication Education. ATTW Bulletin 8:2-3. |
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Posted September 10, 1998 (mh)