Integrating industry developed courseware in IT scripting courses

The alignment of higher education with the skill needs of employers and industry at large is a topic of active debate, particularly for engineering education. Formal and informal content developed by companies, technology-specific associations, consulting firms, and individuals forms a body of knowledge that might fast-track careers toward very specific opportunities. By contrast, academic courseware is known for its pedagogical rigor while being slow to adapt to the fast-paced changes in technology, particularly information technologies, and reliance on expensive course materials that burden students. This paper explores the drivers for integrating industry-developed courseware in an existing, higher-ed course on Scripting for Information Technology in the Department of Technology Systems at East Carolina University and the implications of such integration. We hypothesize that industry courseware is a streamlined, cost-effective way to provide students with the knowledge they need in the workforce. Students were exposed to the two types of content and their scholarly performance was analyzed. Student perception of the two types of content was assessed through a postclass survey. The student results and the feedback they provided suggest that a hybrid approach is more suitable to address the learning preferences and predispositions of students. This case study concludes that textbook and industry-generated content can be integrated into existing courses and improving them in terms student outcomes and in terms of alignment with industry's hiring expectations.