The working group drafted a curriculum plan describing this specialization. The Information Systems Management specialization is a management track. This specialization will provide the requisite knowledge and skills for managers who provide and oversee information systems (and organizational processes) for enterprises, both profit and not-for-profit.
There is a great deal of interest from some of SI's sister professional schools to join forces to offer this specialization. If the curriculum is integrated and rationalized, SI can offer a much wider and deeper set of courses relevant to all the professions -- business, law, medicine, education and public policy, to name a few key associated schools. The details of this joint endeavor, however, are less well worked out. Several SI faculty have an interest in this area (e.g., Judy S. Olson, Michael Cohen, Richard M. Dougherty, Maurita Holland) but it is not the primary focus for any of them. Faculty have met, and consulted with others at the School of Business Administration (SBA), e.g., Michael Gordon and Ray Perry, and with recent alumni of this School. SI faculty have devised a prototype curriculum and are now working on its staffing. Some SI courses might overlap with upper-level, undergraduate SBA courses. SI faculty and administrators are also exploring joint courses with the Department of Computer Science. Happily, some of the courses that SI faculty designate for this specialization will also be needed by other specialties (e.g., databases, expert systems), thus lending support for key hires in the new school.
The curriculum planning and cross-school negotiation is going slowly because key people are also involved in the development of the Foundations course and the HCI specialization. Over summer 1996, SI faculty developing this specialization expect to have more discussions with related people in SBA to determine what kinds of joint hires they would be interested in sponsoring with us.
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