It Challenges Faced by Watkins

1. Provide a summary of IT challenges faced by Watkins.

The Watkins University has implemented IT initiatives like Web based teaching, student laptop program, web based ERP implementation and one card system to counter the competitive pressures. Among these initiatives, some of them were well received while some of them were found to be not suitable for Watkins present environment. Detailed summary of challenges faced in implementing each IT initiative is enclosed:

Student laptop program

1. Watkins was alone with laptop and wireless network initiatives, but the significance of these efforts was unclear.

2. Paying rentals ($ 660 per term initially and later bundling with tuition fees) irrespective of usage and having the similar kind of own equipment were opposed by the students

3. Some faculty members struggled to find reasons to use laptops in their classes.

4. In the absence of clarity on laptop utilization, students were using them for listening music, instant messaging and other non-academic tasks.

Summary: It is evident from the above mentioned points that the Watkins have failed in taking up the laptop initiative in view of difficulty involved in maintaining the fleet of 1500 laptops under rapid changing technology and difficulty involved for faculty to use them in classroom kind of environment. Instead they should reduce the tuition fees which were already at the higher end compared to other private schools and provide better value to the students by offering the free network connectivity and allowing them to use their own devices.

Web Based Learning

1. Watkins had purchased and implemented BlackBoard, a popular Web based teaching tool, and the tool was significantly underused by the faculty even though the Students were comfortable with the tool

2. Watkins failed to differentiate and provide distinctiveness from other business schools that are offering totally online MBA programs.

3. It is difficult to use the web based learning in some...