REQUEST FOR AGENCY SPONSORED ACADEMIC TRAINING

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP89B00423R000200170031-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: January 4, 2017
• Document Release Date: April 21, 2008
• Sequence Number: 31
• Publication Date: May 10, 1984
• Content Type: MEMO

i
Approved For Release 2008/04/21: CIA-RDP89B00423R000200170031-2
CONFIDENTIAL
10 May 1984
MEMORANDUM FOR: Director, Near Eastern and South Asian Analysis
THROUGH: Chief. Administrative Staff, NESA1
25X1
25X1
SUBJECT: Request for Agency Sponsored Academic Training
I would like to request that NESA sponsor my full-time
participation in an academic year of graduate-level studies in
computer systems applications. I am making this request because
I believe it will help fill an urgent requirement within the
office for a substantial increase in our competence in ADP-
related matters. I want to stress the need to begin this program
no later than the fall of this year. Forces are at work, both
within the Agency and in the computer world, that will soon begin
to have a major impact on how we do our work. We are not now
equipped to deal with these forces. I have a stong conviction
that the need for important decisions will be upon us by midyear
1985 (and probably before then).
NESA is still at a fairly early stage in its adjustment to
computers. We are managing to keep our heads above water, thanks
to the work of and to the interest and enthusiasm of 25X1
some of the analysts and supervisors. Our recent soundings
within the office, however, have turned up problems we have been
unable to solve even with the helpiof ASG and the SURE staff.
Most of these boil down to inadequacies in training and support.
My work with the DI's ADP task force convinces me that the
situation will become much more complex in the years ahead.
A few examples:
-- Whatever course of action the DI adopts, there will be a
requirement for more intensive training. OT&E cannot
handle the load. Some of the burden will fall on the
offices, and they will have to develop a capability for
on-the-job training.
-- Analysts are just beginning to discover that their
terminals not only allow them to do their present work
more efficiently, but also; open up important new
anlytical possibilities. Experience has shown that their
demand for such new tools will grow over time. Some of
l 1
CONFIDENTIAL
Approved For Release 2008/04/21: CIA-RDP89B00423R000200170031-2
 Approved For Release 2008/04/21: CIA-RDP89B00423R000200170031-2
NFIDENTIAL
the most useful applications involve building and
maintaining databases that are relatively simple
technically, but which most analysts cannot set up
without some expert advice. Those providing the advice
must not only understand the technical aspects, but must
also be intimately familiar with the what the analyst is
trying to accomplish.1
-- With respect to hardware, past mistakes by others leave
us with no choice in the short term but to contine buying
equipment that is already obsolete--particularly the
Delta Data SAFE terminals. We will have to start
replacing it by the end of the decade. NESA will have an
opportunity to help decide what the replacements will be,
but if we do not know what we want someone else will
decide for us.
-- NESA will probably also want to take advantage of
special-purpose equipment--such as highly sophisticated
graphics systems--at the branch, division, or office
level. These are not!easy to use and we will have to
have people on hand who are trained to operate them.
-- Even with a lot of local initiative, there will be
applications that are too complex to handle in-house. We
will have to turn to the specialists and contractors for
help. Such assistance will be only as good as our
ability to articulate our needs and to monitor the
results.
The level of support from Agency technical staffs will not
grow nearly as rapidly as the demand. If we were to rely
exclusively on such staffs, moreover, I believe we would find
that the larger they grow the less efficient they would be in
meeting our needs. The only solution is to build our own
capabilities. Although hiring a few additional specialists would
help, it would be no substitute for developing a cadre of
individuals with strong analytical backgrounds who also have the
technical competence to provide the advice and training we will
need. Coming up to speed will require more than a part-time
commitment; there is simply too much to learn.
After considering the offerings of several area
universities, I have concluded that the Information Systems Track
of the University of Maryland's Master of General Administration
program is best suited to NESA's needs and my own background. It
is designed to equip managers to apply computer-based
informations systems more effectively in an organizational
setting. I would not be able to complete the entire program in
an academic year, but would plan to continue on my own time
thereafter.
2
CONFIDENTIAL
Approved For Release 2008/04/21: CIA-RDP89B00423R000200170031-2
 Approved For Release 2008/04/21: CIA-RDP89B00423R000200170031-2
CONFIDENTIAL
My proposed course of study would be:
Fall Semester (September through December 1984)
ADMN 601 The Administrator in a Technological Society
ADMN 640 Electronic Data Processing
ADMN 600 Methods of Organizational Evaluation
CMSC 110 Introduction to Computer Programming
MATH 220 Calculus
Spring Semester (January through May 1985)
ADMN 641 Construction of Computer-Based Information
Systems
ADMN 603 Planning and Forecasting for Administrators
ADMN 625 Organizational Communications
CMSC 120 Intermediate Computer Programming
MATH 221 Calculus
COSTS:
FY-84 FY-85
I
Tuition $2,224.00 $2,224.00
Books 175.00 175.00
Fees 50.00 25.00
Totals $2,449.00
3
CONFIDENTIAL
Total
$4,448.00
350.00
75.00
$4,873.00
Approved For Release 2008/04/21: CIA-RDP89B00423R000200170031-2