Innovative Education
Education Journal Takes Off
Thanks to electronic medium, INFORMS Transactions on Education brings refereed content to readers in record time
By Erhan Erkut
Where do you find a provocative essay on the art and science of simulation, a new and convenient method for implementing project networks on a spreadsheet, and IP formulations of delightful logical puzzles of Smullyan? Or how about an article on the cleansing of muddy data accompanied by two ready-to-go tutorials, a technique to simulate a G/G/c queue in Excel using only native functions, and a formulation to find the optimal move in the game of Nim? The answer: In the most recent issue of INFORMS Transactions on Education (ite.pubs.informs.org). We invite you to browse through this and our previous issues by visiting our Web site. It is very likely that you will find one or more articles that will help you improve the delivery of OR/MS in your classroom.
What is INFORMS Transactions on Education?
INFORMS Transactions on Education (ITE) is an INFORMS journal whose goal is the enhancement of the quality of OR/MS education worldwide. It publishes peer-reviewed articles to enable more effective teaching and learning of OR/MS. Its refereeing delays are measured in weeks, and its publication delay is measured in days, sometimes hours. The electronic format allows for dissemination of supplementary files and provides the readers with useful material for their classes. It operates on a very small budget, and best of all, it is free for readers.
Is ITE unique? By no means! It is one of many publications that target enhancing the quality of education in their respective fields. Deliberations, a portal on issues of learning and teaching for the higher education community, lists 72 subject-based education journals, in addition to 38 general education journals such as Journal on Excellence in College Teaching and Journal of Instructional Science and Technology. Many subject-based education journals have been around for a very long time. For example Journal of Statistics Education is in its 11th year, Journal of Economic Education is in its 14th year, Journal of Marketing Education is currently publishing its 25th volume and the granddaddy of them all, Journal of Engineering Education, published by the American Society for Engineering Education, is currently in its 92nd volume!
While ITE is one of the newcomers to the subject-based education journal scene, it is not the newest. That title may well belong to a sister journal, The Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, which published its first issue in January 2003. Another very recent addition to the field is the Academy of Management Learning and Education Journal that started publication in September 2002. Also, Operations Management Education Review has been founded and is targeting its launch for the 2003/04 academic year.
The emergence of three more education journals that are of interest to INFORMS members is an exciting and welcome development. It signals that the business school academic world is paying increased attention to education, and it is likely to result in increased activity (reading and writing) in the area.
Another welcome recent development is the emphasis on "learning and pedagogical research" in the new AACSB accreditation standards approved on April 25, 2003 [AACSB, 2003]. Under "Faculty Qualifications" (p. 39), the standards stipulate that contributions are expected in three areas: discipline-based scholarship, practice, and learning and pedagogical research. A school's mission will determine the importance placed on these three areas, but no school is expected to opt out of an area. The "outcome indicators" for learning and pedagogical research (p. 43) include cases and articles on teaching innovations. Given the importance business schools attach to accreditation, the new standards are likely to result in re-evaluation of business school priorities and incentive systems. It is reasonable to expect increased attention to articles published in ITE by administrators and faculty evaluation committees, which is likely to increase submissions. Furthermore, as discussed in other articles in this issue, AACSB standards mention "management science" but leave the coverage up to the schools. Ensuing efforts to design or redesign courses with OR/MS content are likely to generate a significant increase in our readership.
Looking Back
ITE published its first issue in September 2000. The first three years were a period of extensive learning and experimentation. There was little experience within INFORMS in publishing an education journal or an electronic journal. Experience with writing, refereeing and editing education papers was also nearly nonexistent. The journal existed during its first three years with near-zero budget and little visibility. However, we were able to attract a healthy number of submissions and publish every issue on time (or almost on time). Perhaps most importantly, we achieved our goal of publishing articles useful to OR/MS teachers. As a result, readership has steadily increased.
In our first three volumes, we published a total of 33 articles, eight games, six notes, two cases and two editorials. The typical issue contains four articles, one note and one game, and we publish three issues per year.
Each article is processed by an associate editor and three referees. The average first-round refereeing delay for articles submitted during 2002 was 13 weeks. Delays in subsequent rounds were typically shorter. The electronic medium and our on-site Webmaster allow us to publish articles within a few days after acceptance. For example, some of the articles from the September 2003 issue are already published (check the "Future issue"). Given the relatively short refereeing periods and almost nonexistent publication delays, it is possible for us to publish a paper within a few months of submission. For example, one of the papers in the May 2003 issue was submitted in February 2003. The net result for the readers is they can read about an innovation while it is fresh, and new ideas can spread very quickly.
Authors of the articles published in the first three volumes come from 36 different institutions. About two-thirds of the academic authors are affiliated with universities that are usually classified as "research universities." Our readership is also quite diverse. In August 2002, our Web site received visits from a total of 65 countries.
Where are We Now?
ITE is now in the best shape of its short life. INFORMS is in full support of the journal. The INFORMS office has developed a marketing plan for ITE, and we have started executing the plan. (The new logo accompanying this article is part of that plan.) We moved the journal from a commercial ISP to an INFORMS server. The submissions are reaching levels that will be sufficient to sustain the journal. (Currently there are 15 articles under review.) We are recruiting case articles more aggressively and cooperating with the INFORMS Cases & Teaching Materials Initiative in producing high-quality teaching cases. The Web traffic has tripled in two years. As of June 2003, the Web site was receiving an average of 150 unique visits per day. The total bandwidth (the volume of data sent by our Web server) is more than one gigabyte per month.
The editorial board is evaluating the focus of the journal and is working on ways to improve the visibility and appeal of the journal to readers and authors. We are also re-designing the Web site and creating productivity enhancement tools. It is indeed an exciting time at ITE!
And the Future
There is no doubt in my mind that the future of ITE is very bright. The mission is worthwhile, the authors are writing, the readers are visiting, the editorial team is clicking, the technology is working, and the society is behind us. The need for high-quality information and materials to support OR/MS teaching has never been greater. Our electronic medium offers the journal significant advantages in content delivery, cost and distribution — a winning combination.
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The challenges are numerous but they are surmountable: recruit high-quality content; maintain the quality and the speed of the reviews as the number of submissions increases; keep the journal accessible by controlling costs and generating revenue without imposing individual subscription fees; increase visibility among OR/MS teachers at all levels; exploit synergies with other INFORMS publications and other education journals; and streamline processes to facilitate transition to the next editorial board.
I believe ITE has a major role to play in the OR/MS field. I am thrilled to be a part of this exciting initiative. I invite all readers to share the wealth of ITE and to add to it. Come visit our Web site to check out our new look in September 2003, and tell your colleagues about us.
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References
- AACSB, 2003, "Eligibility Procedures and Standards for Business Accreditation," AACSB International —The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (www.aacsb.edu/accreditation/brc/standards-4-25.pdf).
Erhan Erkut is a professor of management science in the University of Alberta School of Business. He is the founding editor in chief of INFORMS Transactions on Education. He has been appointed for a second term ending in November 2005.
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