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A Feasibility Study on the Program Offering of Bachelor of Science in

Information Technology (Web and Mobile Applications Development)

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 A Feasibility Study on the Program Offering of
Bachelor of Science in Information Technology
(Web and Mobile Applications Development)
Renato R. Maaliw III, Debbie Salvatierra-Bello, Mariebeth Placino-Seño, Reynaldo V. Danganan

Abstract— This study aimed to determine the feasibility of offering a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology with specialization in
Web and Mobile applications development program in terms of the university’s strengths and weaknesses, the demands and supply of the
program offering’s graduates for the next five years, the course feasibility and viability, and the socio-economic benefits in offering the
degree. Using literature review and descriptive survey method, data were gathered from 448 students for the seven high schools in
neighboring areas of Southern Luzon State University Lucban, Quezon. The findings showed that 83.1% (372) of the respondents were
interested and willing to enroll in the proposed curricular offering. Results also showed that the proposed program is viable and sustainable
based from the internal and external aspect analysis.

Index Terms— information technology, feasibility study, mobile applications, socio-economic, web applications

——————————  ——————————
1 INTRODUCTION
Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are recognized as the investments, policy changes, competitive workforce,
centers of higher learning and are consider as the catalyst of infrastructure, government support and new technologies.
development in nation building. As one of the producers of According to reference [2], the ever presence of ICT in
professionals such as engineers, educators, managers, most industries today permeates all aspects of the economy
scientists, leaders, highly skilled workers and men of different and society that it has become an enabler of development and
work capabilities, they are the primary contributors of contributes to both social and economic growth through
economic growth. The principal objective of HEI is to meet the innovations and technologies that reinforce the economy,
socio-cultural and development needs of a country by social inclusion and culture.
providing opportunity for each individual to develop and In the Philippines contrary to popular belief, there are
enhance their potentials. Moreover, HEI’s are serving to varieties of jobs available in the country in different industries
develop morally sound and ethical individual regardless of such as ICT sectors, health, medical tourism, agribusiness,
their cultural differences or ethnic origins. These facts are cyber services (contact services), hotel and restaurant, and
concretely revealed by varieties of researches by prominent mining industries. The Department of Labor and Employment
leaders and decision-makers stating that the future of a nation (DOLE) published the results of employment opportunities in
depends largely on the quality of education received from the Philippines and identified Information and
HEIs. With regards to these revelations, institutions need to Communications Technology (ICT) as the number one key
offer educational programs that will answer the demands of sectors of in demand jobs in the country. In addition their
time and that will also be beneficial to the society [1]. research also identified several hard-to-fill jobs in the country
At present times, ICT industries are at the fore front and which include jobs from the ICT sectors.
serviced many major industries such as manufacturing, The CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and
banking/finance, insurance, high/technology, electronics, Quezon) regions aspire to be a model on ICT development by
telecommunications, aviation, travel/hospitality, healthcare, enabling sectors for growth and promoting regional
pharmaceutics, power & utilities, real estate, entertainment development according to the Information and
(media & publishing), construction, (architecture & Communications Technology Plan (2018 – 2022) of the
engineering), transportation and government to name a few. Regional Development Council (RDC) through its special
The reasons for the fast evolvement of the ICT sector in the committee, the Regional Information and Communications
world are the drivers of change specifically in business Technology Committee (RICTC). The committee crafted a plan
————————————————
in harnessing the potential of the region as one of the centers
of ICT development in the Philippines by recognizing the
 Renato Racelis Maaliw III has a doctorate degree in Information
Technology and an Assistant Professor of Southern Luzon State University importance of the ICT in nation building. The plan adopts the
in Lucban, Quezon, Philippines. E-mail: [email protected] four pillars of ICT development that includes human resource,
 Debbie Salvatierra-Bello is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Information infrastructure, enabling environment and promotion.
Technology degree and an Assistant Professor of Southern Luzon State
University in Lucban, Quezon, Philippines.
In terms of human resource, the CALABARZON region
 Mariebeth Placino-Seño has a Master of Science degree in Information ranks second as to the number of HEIs with 328, only the
Systems and an Assistant Professor of Southern Luzon State University in National Capital Region (NCR) have more at 350. Number of
Lucban, Quezon, Philippines. graduates wise, the region ranks fifth with an average of
 Reynaldo V. Danganan is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Information
Technology degree and an Assistant Professor of Southern Luzon State 18,235 graduates from its State Universities and Colleges
University in Lucban, Quezon, Philippines. (SUCs).

IJSTR©2019
 The regions infrastructure includes four out of the seven premier higher educational institutions in the province of
operational cable landing stations in the country indicating Quezon offering free tertiary education consisting of 11
progressive increases on the number of cell sites with campuses with the main campus located in Lucban, Quezon,
broadband or internet connection in the region. According to a Philippines.
survey conducted by Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Despite numerous program offerings ranging from the
information and communications technology, about 98.6 fields of allied medicine, agriculture, fisheries, arts, sciences,
percent of establishments related to the Information Economy administration, business, accountancy, hospitality,
(IE) in the region used computer, software and other hardware engineering, education and other relevant field of studies, the
in their business operations. [2] university has yet to offer a program in IT Education in order
In terms of enabling environment, the region ranks second to contribute to the demands of ICT development and job
for the largest contribution to the national Gross Regional opportunities presented in the region. Therefore, there is a
Domestic Product or GRDP amounting to PhP 1.365 trillion or need for the university to offer Bachelor of Science in
16.8 percent of the Philippines GDP in 2019. Other than Metro Information Technology (BSIT) program with specialization in
Manila, the region is second as the most economically Web and Mobile applications development. The researchers
important region in the country for the reason of its proximity believe that the university can offer and sustain the proposed
to NCR. This geographic feature makes the region a hot-bed program offering.
for investors in the ICT sectors. The region houses 13 IT Parks
and Centers that offers low rental rate and tax incentives to IT- 2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
related business. The objectives of the study focused on gathering and
Promotion wise, there exists a strong collaboration analyzing the gathered data to prepare a feasibility study of
between local stakeholders composed of public and private offering a four-year course in BSIT with Web and Mobile
sectors that regularly craft plans and discuss meetings to Applications Development track at Southern Luzon State
promote the region as one of the ICT Centers in the University, Lucban Campus. The specific objectives of this
Philippines. study are to identify the Strength and Weakness of the
The opportunities of the ICT development in the region program offering in terms of external & internal factors and to
are reinforced through several factors such as big pool of determine whether the proposed curricular program is
quality human resource, established institutions to support to feasible.
ICT, improvement of infrastructure interconnectivity among
regions, efficient government service, good information 3 M ETHODOLOGY
channels and growing real-estate development.
In spite of the aforementioned reasons for the growth of This study employed the descriptive method type of
ICT development in both the regions and in the country, the research by utilizing questionnaire. Interviews and
DOLE research findings concludes that the ICT job documentary analysis were the main data gathering
opportunities are in-demand in the Philippines but there are instruments in the conduct of the study. This method was
still hard-to-fill occupations in the industries such as business used since the intention of the study is to describe analytically
analyst, database administrators, game developer, graphic an existing situation regarding the operations of a secondary
artist, IT security engineer, IT support staff, system & network as basis for the preparation of a preliminary plan for the
engineer, network administrator, programmer, web developer offering of a new curricular program.
and mobile applications developer [3].
Web applications including mobile applications have Respondents
become an essential component of business in today’s world. The respondents of this study consisted of seven (7) high
Through these applications, businesses infrastructures are schools both in the area and neighboring municipalities of
being developed to become simpler to achieve their objectives Lucban, Quezon. Most of the graduates of selected schools
faster. In an article published [4], mobile application are based from the admission data are the probable freshmen
projected to hit 188.9 billion dollars in revenue by 2020, this students of the university. The total graduating student
signifies that there is a strong marketability for individuals population is four hundred forty-eight (448) from the said
who have sets of particular skills in this field as consumers are schools. Table 1 presents the respondents of the study.
becoming more attached to their mobile devices. This fact is
confirmed with another article [5], stating that web and mobile Table 1. Respondents of the Study
applications development market is booming and it is School No. of Respondents Percentage
expected to reach new heights as the mobile application Liceo De Luisiana 44 10.3%
industry has skyrocketed. The article also conclude that for the Lucban Academy 85 19%
next 10 years the market is far from being saturated which Paaralang Sekundarya ng Lucban 60 13.7%
means that there is a strong demand for web and mobile Sta. Catalina 77 17.5%
applications developer. Information Technology (IT) jobs are San Buenaventura 72 16.7%
considered as one of the lucrative careers with salary ranging SLSU – Laboratory High School 62 14%
from $42,535 to $114,243 per year [6]. Luis Palad National High School 45 18.8%
The Southern Luzon State University (SLSU) is one of the TOTAL 448 100%
 information systems (MIS).
Data Gathering Tools Moreover, the Bachelor of Science in Information
Several tools were employed in gathering the needed Technology is listed as one of the priority courses of the
information in this research, namely, questionnaire-checklist Commission on Higher Education (CHED) in the Philippines
both in paper and electronic form, and documentary analysis. and graduates of the program are in demand due to the
In terms of preparation of questionnaire, the researchers evolving ICT industries both locally and abroad. Finally, the
considered to adopt previous instruments in the conduct of specialization track chosen is unique based on the data
the feasibility study for the reasons that adopted gathered and interviews by the researchers from different
questionnaires are already subjected for validation. The neighboring state college and universities in Region IV-A and
questionnaires were then reproduced for the final distribution. Quezon Province as can be seen in Table 2 and Table 3.
The researchers personally distributed the questionnaires to Two HEIs in National Capital Region (NCR) such as Far
the target respondents and retrieved the same after a few Eastern University Institute of Technology (FIT) and
days. Only verbal permit was secured from the different head University of Santo Tomas (UST) have the same specialized
of the schools. The data were then tabulated, analyzed and tracks as can be seen in Table 4.
interpreted. The table shows that majority of the respondents
came from Lucban Academy. It was noted that this school is Table 2. BSIT Specialization Tracks of SUCs in Region IV-A
situated in the heart of the municipality of Lucban, Quezon HEI Specialization Track
and it offers multiple sections for its high school per academic Batangas State University Network Technology
levels. The smallest school which participated is the Liceo de Business Analytics
Luisiana (Laguna) which is situated about 14 kilometers of Service Management
Lucban, Quezon. Cavite State University [No specialized track]
Laguna State Polytechnic University Data Science
Documentary Analysis Multimedia
Since the research aims to study the feasibility of offering Polytechnic University of the Philippines [No specialized track]
BSIT with Web and Mobile applications development track, Southern Luzon State University Web and Mobile Applications
the need for documentary analysis was considered a necessity. Development (Proposal)
Important documents which were subjected to analysis University of Rizal System [No specialized track]
include faculty profile, laboratory facilities and library
holdings. Table 3. BSIT Specialization Tracks of Private HEIs in Quezon Province
HEI Specialization Track
Statistical Treatment
ABE Int’l Business College (Lucena) [No specialized track]
A simple statistical percentage technique was used to
ACT Computer College (Infanta) [No specialized track]
determine the sample size of the population per participating
AMA Computer College (Lucena) [No specialized track]
schools including the response to each set of questions in the
Asian Institute of Technology and
questionnaires. Moreover, simple mathematical calculations [No specialized track]
Education (Tiaong)
were used in deriving the results of the cost-benefit analysis.
Colegio De Santo Cristo de Burgos
[No specialized track]
Corporation (Sariaya)
4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
CSTC College of Sciences, Technology
Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat (SWOT) [No specialized track]
and Communications, Inc. (Sariaya)
Analysis Manuel S. Enverga Univesity CISCO Networking
Some important documents such as records, data and files Foundation, Inc. (Lucena) Business Analytics
from the university were utilized by the researchers for SWOT Multimedia
analysis. Personnel who keep important documents were St. Anne College Lucena, Inc. (Lucena) [No specialized track]
involved for the strength, weakness, opportunities and threats
STI Education Services Group, Inc.
analysis. [No specialized track]
(Lucena)

Strengths
Table 4. BSIT Specialization Tracks of HEIs in National Capital Region
Based on the assessments made the following are the
HEI Specialization Track
strengths. Southern Luzon State University (SLSU) is
Adamson University (ADU) [No specialized track]
International Standard Organization (ISO) certified institution.
AMA University (AMAU) Data Communications and Networking
The learning environment on which the campus is situated are
Asia Pacific College (APC) Internet Technology
very conducive for learning, laboratory facilities are equipped
with software and hardware technology including internet Arellano University [No specialized track]
facilities. In terms of teaching personnel, most of the faculties Ateneo De Manila (ADMU) Data Science and Analytics
are master’s degree holder. Administrative personnel are Enterprise Systems
equally educationally qualified with appropriate extensive Interactive Multimedia
experiences. Moreover, transaction processing in the Colegio de San Juan de Letran (CSJL) Systems Engineering
university is highly systematized with the aid of management Software Development
 Digital Arts extension activities. Although the university has the needed
De La Salle University (DLSU) Internet of Things number of laboratories in offering the curricular program,
Big Data some computer units are recommended to undergo upgrades
Financial Management to meet modern computing requirements.
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery
Network Security Administration Opportunities
Tools Development Exposures to the latest software and hardware trainings
Cybersecurity Operations are opportunities for faculty development. Recently, the
Security Law and Governance CHED is offering non-degree professional advancement
Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC) [No specialized track] grants (graduate certificates, diploma or short courses,
FEU Institute of Technology (FIT) Animation and Game Development leadership development programs) for faculty and non-
Web and Mobile Applications teaching personnel to further enhance their competencies to
Development better serve their institutions, hence, contribute to the
Digital Arts improvement of higher education in the country. Researches
Business Analytics in the field of IT are also given emphasis by the Department of
Jose Rizal University (JRU) Game Development Science and Technology (DOST) and research grants are being
Business Analytics given to develop research capability of the faculty which in
Lyceum of the Philippines University Information Security turns produces technological innovations.
(LPU) Technopreneurship
MAPUA University CCNP Threats
HP-UX Administration Some private colleges and universities within the area are
Java Programming offering premium salary and additional benefits for IT faculty
.NET Programming and practitioners to keep at par with the equivalent salaries in
Cobol Programming the IT industry to entice them to teach in their institutions
Data Management which is a great threat in the recruitment of future possible
Business Analytics faculty for the program. In addition, the steep requirements of
IT Audit and Control having a vertically aligned master’s degree as a minimum
IT Service Management requirement to teach in state colleges and universities in the
National University (NU) [No specialized Track]
Philippines has resulted to exodus of would be tertiary faculty
Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila
as the Department of Education with the advent of the K to 12
(PLM)
[No specialized track] transition program offers a lot of vacant item positions for the
next years to come; some IT faculty may consider teaching in
Philippine Christian University (PCU) [No specialized track]
senior high schools than to teach in tertiary levels with almost
Philippine State College of Aeronautics
Aviation Information Technology the same salaries but lower educational qualification
(PHILSCA)
requirements.
Philippine Women’s University (PWU) [No specialized track]
Polytechnic University of the Philippines
[No specialized track] Internal Aspects
(PUP)
Rizal Technological University (RTU) [No specialized track]
Faculty Needed for the Curricular Program
San Beda University (SBU) [No specialized track]
The BSIT with specialization in Web and Mobile
San Sebastian College (SSC) Game Development applications development have the following faculty
Digital Animation-Technology complement which are presently available in the university.
Technological Institute of the Philippines Human Computer Interaction There are a total of nine (9) faculty in SLSU including satellite
(TIP) Networking campuses with plantilla positions to handle BSIT subjects.
Technological University of the Philippines
[No specialized track] Two of which are Doctor in Information Technology (DIT)
(TUP) degree holders and the rest are Master in Information
University of Santo Tomas (UST) Network Security Technology (MIT) degree holders and related fields. Three of
Web and Mobile Applications the four faculty assigned in the main campus have taken web-
Development based programming (web applications) & multimedia
Robotics technology as an elective in their respective master’s degree,
University of the East (UE) Systems Administration and one faculty has a master’s degree in Information System.
Software Engineering Furthermore, out of the four faculty mentioned, one faculty
Telecommunications has also a Doctor in Information Technology (DIT) degree
specializing in data mining & analytics, and likewise a
Weaknesses contributor as a code and plugin author of web and mobile
In some situations based from the CHED memorandum applications for Codecanyon.net.
order, maximum load of 24 units is not followed in the (https://codecanyon.net/user/peanutcode/portfolio)
university that directly affects the faculty’s research and
Laboratory & Facilities Lucban Campus.
SLSU has the MIS building which houses 5 computer
laboratories composed of approximately 25 to 35 computer On Viability of the Program Offering
terminals. Moreover, the Computer Technology laboratory is To offer the BSIT with specialization in Web and Mobile
also available which houses 40 computer terminals including applications development is very vital based on the results of
computer network laboratories. All laboratories are properly the survey conducted to the participating high schools.
lighted and ventilated with air-conditioning units. A total of 4 Majority of the respondents are willing to enroll in the said
classrooms are available in the Andres Bonifacio building program offering with the interest in both web applications
which also houses the Industrial Technology programs. (42.9%) and mobile applications development (52%) as
The Library is a standalone 3-storey building with collection answered by the respondents.
of books, references, journals, publications and varieties of
other learning materials and resources. Most of the required The Socio-Economic benefits in offering a four – year course
library holdings for the program are intact in the library for in Bachelor of Science in Information Technology with
the reasons that an allied field of Computer Engineering specialization in Web and Mobile applications
program is also offered in the main campus. The campus is development.
provided with Internet services for all students and faculty.
Gymnasium, covered court, auditorium, audio-visual rooms Based from the study conducted, it shows that offering of the
and open fields which serves as locations for students program is feasible for the following reasons: The curricular
activities such as sports and cultural presentations. Chemistry program is unique in the region which offers a field of
and Physics laboratories are also available situated in the specialization in Web and Mobile applications development;
Science and Technology building in the main campus. there are few graduates that specialize on these sets of fields in
order to sustain the high demands for the jobs. There exists a
Financial Feasibility strong job market for graduates of this curricular offering not
Based from cost-benefit analysis conducted on financial just locally but globally and these demands will continue for
feasibility for the projected four-year period offering of the the next ten (10) years. The program offering’s role in enabling
program, a positive cost-benefit ratio of 1.65 that is greater economic growth has become more significant as governments
than 1.0 correlates that the program is expected to deliver a are investing heavily in improving infrastructure in hardware
positive net value and will have a positive internal rate of and software applications development. Beyond economic
return. This suggests that the net value of the program benefits, the program is uniquely positioned to help build a
offering outweighs the cost, and that the program should be more socially sustainable future in terms of business
considered. Detailed analysis can be seen in the appendix economics.
section in Figure 1, Figure 2 and Figure 3.
5 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
External Aspects The study revealed that offering an additional program
such as the Bachelor of Information Technology with track in
Demand and Supply of Graduates of the Curricular Offering Web and Mobile applications development is feasible. The
for the Next Five (5) Years internal and external aspect are favorable to the university
The employment opportunities of the graduates of the since based on the presented data gathered, the needed tools,
program were determined through statistical data published equipment and human resources needed for the program
on different sources. According to statistics, business sectors offering are available. The course is included as one of the
affirmed the demands for graduates along the field of CHED’s priority courses for the next years and the university
Information Technology as the business process outsourcing can continually sustain the operation of this new program. On
in the Philippines including the global market is growing. administration, the university is very supportive in offering
According to reference [7], the market demand for new programs as stipulate in the strategic development plan.
graduates who possesses skills in web and mobile applications On higher institutions offering this course in the region, the
development would surpass most internal organization’s course is unique in terms of specialization track and the
capacity on recruitment which means that an even higher demands for the chosen set of skills of would be graduates are
demand rate for applications developer will be needed for the promising.
next ten (10) years. There are strong and weak points along the areas of
evaluation and this should be strengthened and be improved.
On Attractiveness of the Program Offering Quality and not quantity of graduates should be given
Based from the questionnaires, 372 (83.1%) of the emphasis and institutional faculty development of the
respondents answered ‘Yes’ on the question of their intention university must be continually monitored to address the
to take a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology changing needs of time.
degree with specialization in Web and Mobile applications
development if the curricular program will be offered in SLSU
APPENDIX

COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS

Fig. 1 Projected Cost

Fig. 2 Projected Benefit

Fig. 3 Cost-Benefit Ratio

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