The Birth of Information Systems - History of Computing: Learning from the Past - page 208

The group provided significant service teaching throughout the faculty of business
as well as offering streams into some degrees. Eventually the Department of adminis-
trative studies graduate diploma degrees, starting with first computing program: the
Graduate Diploma in commercial data processing. This timeline compares with the
creation of the Department of Computer Science in 1981 [2].
1.4 1987 - The Department Is Born
In 1987 the faculty of business saw the demand for information systems courses to be
too large for a group within the administrative studies department. The Department of
business information systems was created by Tony Adams (who replaced George
Sutherland in 1984). Tony Adams had previously headed up a Computer Science
group at RMIT, and before that had come from industry where he was the Data Proc-
essing Manager for Monash University. By the end of 1984 the Data Processing
Group consisted of Tony Adams (Principal Lecturer), Neville Stern and Nigel Tho-
mas (Senior Lecturers), and lecturers Cliff Forrester, Hugh Ballantyne, Philip Crutch
and Stas Lukaitis to lead the new department [2].
1.5 1988 - An Undergraduate Degree Is Created
In Australia university places are created by the federal government and partially
funded by them. This funding arrangement was especially important for the formation
of undergraduate degrees at that time. A new degree could only be created by taking
student places away from other courses. RMIT had very successfully run secretarial
business studies degrees and graduate diplomas in the 1960s and 1970s and had an
outstanding reputation in this area. In the late 1970s the university hierarchy at-
tempted to close the degrees. RMIT had underestimated the “fight back” response of
the secretarial studies group who galvanised a large group of alumni, many of whom
worked for powerful people in powerful places, including leading business leaders,
politicians, and members of Parliament. There was a large “penultimate” city pro-
test/demonstration with news coverage.
The secretarial group consisted of a small number of older (not too far off from re-
tirement) women who had given good service to the Tech (as RMIT was fondly re-
ferred to), students and the community. Their educational standards were rigorous and
their group was run along “traditional” lines, from another era. There was a strong
hierarchy, a very strong commitment to “standards” from which the group did not
swerve, there were many students who could never graduate as they could not meet
specified required minimum skill standards (which were actually quite “high” by
today's standards). In their way they kept up with technology, however were finally
stumped by the introduction of the PC. The Tech had to “back down” from the total
shutdown of the secretarial group, reviewing their position regarding redundancy.
The secretarial staff mostly had accounting qualifications, two staff members had
extensive industry experience but no university qualifications. One particular staff
member was also very active in the Victorian Institute of Management, and other busi-
ness organisations. She also had a large network of important industry contacts that
were beneficial to courses, subjects, staff, students and the Tech all round. As a result
the old secretarial degree was rebadged as the Bachelor of Business (Office Systems).