New Approved BBA CIS Curriculum!

Welcome to the approved new CIS BBA curriculum!

Why are you changing the CIS BBA curriculum?

What are the changes?

What new courses are available?

How do I start this new curriculum now?

What courses are offered this summer?

It’s been about 10 years since the last major overhaul of the CIS BBA curriculum.  Given the changes in technology and in how businesses are using information systems, we felt it was time for the next generation curriculum.  We (lots of folks – Dave McDonald, Bala Ramesh, Richard Baskerville, Michael Gallivan, Peter Meso, and more -- but especially Mark Keil, Richard Welke, and Bill Robinson – and I helped... ) worked for over 8 months with E&Y, PwC, Deloitte, IBM, EarthLink, UPS, Georgia Pacific, and others to develop this new program….     And, of course, we have our own vision of where things are going that this new curriculum reflects! 

Please see the curriculum diagram and transition plan.  We are providing more flexibility in direction and, ultimately, more depth in both the technical and managerial areas.  The CIS core of six required courses was reduced to four (IT Project Mgt, Systems Analysis, Database Mgt, and the CIS capstone course – but with different names).  And, there are several tracks rather than just one elective as we have now.  We offered the Managing IT Projects and Computer Forensics in the fall of 2007 (and again Spring) 2008.  The tentative first date of offering for courses (as shown on the attached diagram) may easily change.  See the CIS courses offered this Summer 2008 by clicking here.

The IT project management and computer forensics courses are approved.  And they are offered during summer & fall 2008!  Sign up now for the summer or fall 2008 sections…

The CIS 4120  Defining and Innovating Business Processes was also approved for experimental offering and is offered fall 2008.  Also, CIS 4300 Software Quality Management is new and will be offered spring 2009.  The overall curriculum was approved and is a part of the 2008-2009 catalog.

Note that each course in our current curriculum has a related course in the new curriculum (with the possible exception of CIS 3210 and 3215).  So you can complete your current program of study even as we move to this new curriculum…

See that Math 2420 is now gone from the requirements.  You can either switch to the 2007-2008 catalog to remove Math 2420 from your program requirements or request an email from me to your undergraduate academic adviser authorizing your taking a different course for one of your non-RCB electives.

You can see that there are tracks that do not contain traditional programming courses.  The current programming courses and systems design will move more toward service-oriented architecture and web services.  And, systems analysis and the business process courses will reflect the move by businesses to focus at this process level in defining and innovating their business and the underlying information systems.

IBM, Deloitte, and others have suggested that they are likely to hire many folks who successfully complete this new program.  But, I should mention that Deloitte, E&Y, Accenture, and others are already hiring CIS grads and looking for more....    And, excelling in your studies in this program will heighten your prospects for these potential positions!  No surprise there.

We are all very excited by this new program and its move to a very forward looking position.  These businesses we consulted suggest that this new program reflects what they need of their folks now and in the future.  And, there is -- as always -- a solid academic foundation.  Finally, this new curriculum will increase your potential for “skating where the puck will be” and seizing that future job…

OK, so how to you take advantage of these new courses?  The best (and easiest way) is to switch to the new 2008-2009 catalog by sending an email request for this change to your academic adviser.  See http://robinson.gsu.edu/academic/ouaa/advisement/index.html#counselors for the list of advisers. 

Please let me know what you think (either within our WebCT Majors Portal or by email) about the new curriculum and its directions.  I will be pleased to answer any questions that you have.  And, consider taking a Health Informatics concentration also by taking HA 3900, HA 3910, and HA 3970 as your RCB electives.  See http://www2.cis.gsu.edu/cis/HealthInfo/HIUndergraduateStudy.asp .

Your success both in our programs and in your career remains my number 1 priority.

Cheers and welcome to this new evolving curriculum and to great careers in IS!

Carl