Corporate Partners is a new column in FYI Online, that publicizes the critical importance of outside organizations and the work of UMUC faculty/staff largely responsible for these relationships that are so beneficial to our students.

Oracle, Computer Associates Help Equip Virtual Database Lab

By Chip Cassano

Database technology is hot, and UMUC is responding. The University has expanded its offering of database-related courses from two to eight, launching—in 2002—a new database systems technology track within the Computer Systems Management (CSMN) master’s program.

	Mary Hoferek

“[Database technology] has really grown into an entire area of study,” said Mary Hoferek, program director for computer systems management. “It involves the theoretical, conceptual, and practical aspects of database technology in our society and in the world. It’s a very, very powerful technology—it’s used in our farm economy, it’s used in all the financial houses and in the stock market, and the University uses it to keep track of employees and students. It’s even used to track criminals. For example, during the sniper attacks [in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area in the fall of 2002], it was an INS database that helped authorities identify a suspect.”

Now, thanks to the generosity of companies like Oracle and Computer Associates, Inc., UMUC has been able to establish a virtual database lab, offering students the chance to learn about database technology firsthand, using some of the most sophisticated tools available.

“The question is always, ‘How do you teach this?’” said Hoferek. “I was an adjunct instructor for 12 years before [before joining UMUC full time], and I found that students seemed to learn best if I could mix in some practical work with the theoretical and conceptual. So we’re trying to get state-of-the-art software for our students to use to reinforce the learning of the conceptual and theoretical material.”

Thanks to the database lab—and the generosity of the companies that supply the tools—students are able to access powerful database solutions like Oracle 9i, Oracle Enterprise Manager, and Computer Associates’ AllFusion ERwin Data Modeler. In Oracle’s case, the database tools are valued at about $2 million—yet they cost the University only $500.

It’s a win-win situation, said Hoferek; the students gain valuable experience using cutting-edge tools, and the companies that supply the tools help put professionals in the workforce who are familiar with their products. And that exposure reaches beyond students in the CSMN program.

“We have some of the biotech folks who take database courses,” said Hoferek, “some of the MSIT students take them, the software engineering folks take them, some business people have expressed interest. So there’s a number of people from a lot of different areas who are recognizing the importance of having a more thorough understanding of database technology.”

For more information about UMUC coursework in database technology, click here.