News: Online MSIM ranks No. 3 in nation

As classes were starting up for the spring semester, the Department of Information Systems received great news concerning the quality of the MSIM program and its reputation among students and recruiters. Read on for details.

U.S. News & World Report: MSIM ranks No. 3

U.S. News & World Report recently ranked the online MSIM program No. 3 in the nation based on student engagement, admissions selectivity, peer reputation, faculty credentials and training and student services and technology. The W. P. Carey School’s online MBA is ranked No. 5. “The W. P. Carey School of Business offers the same renowned faculty members and degrees in its online programs as it does in its highly ranked on-campus programs,” says Amy Hillman, dean of the W. P. Carey School of Business. “This school was one of the first highly respected business schools to launch online degrees more than a decade ago, and we use in-house course designers specializing solely in business classes to provide the best possible experience for students.”

The announcement came just as the department launched the new 16-month online Master of Science in Business Analytics (MS-BA) program with 26 students enrolled. The program is designed for working professionals and delivers the same curriculum as the 12-month on-site MS-BA, which started its second cohort of 90 students in August. “We are excited to launch an online version of our already highly successful business analytics program.  The W. P. Carey School has a strong reputation for creating world class online masters programs — and this one is no exception” said department chairman Michael Goul. The MS-BA is a joint offering of the Department of Information Systems and the Department of Supply Chain Management. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimate that the demand for business analytics specialists to reach 1.5 million by 2018.

The Master of Science in Information Management program also started an online class this month. There are 83 students currently in this program online: 44 started in August and 39 in January. Meantime, the evening MSIM program is in full swing with 33 students in class fulltime plus nine more dual MBA/MSIM candidates. Information and application deadlines

Getting to know you: DISC redesigns meetings

The weekly Department of Information Systems Club meetings, always a great opportunity for students to meet people from the industry and learn about their companies, are even more interesting this spring, thanks to DISC’s fresh new meeting format. Vi TranLe, vice president for corporate relations, says companies now have three new options: game night, community service and instruction. APS staged game night at a recent meeting. Students competed in a game modeled after the iconic “Jeopardy!” game show that had students supplying the questions to go with answers about APS and information technology.

For the community service option, TranLe explains that companies may invite DISC to participate in service projects, or may choose to pitch in on one of the DISC-sponsored events. Either way, students and professionals could get to know each other while working side-by-side toward a common good. Finally, companies are invited to augment the classroom by teaching students about the latest technology advances. In upcoming meetings, LifeLock Inc. will share what companies are doing in the area of data security and the SRP is scheduled to talk about its service reporting system and business intelligence. The DISC lineup will always include traditional corporate presentations, TranLe says, but the club is hoping these new options will be refreshing. The one thing that will never change is the focus on bringing new talent and successful companies together. If you are interested in connecting your company to DISC, contact TranLe at vpcrasudisc@gmail.com.

Career Mixer: Spring 2015

Students are getting ready for the annual Information Systems Spring Career Mixer on Monday, February 2 at the Memorial Union from 4:30 to 7 p.m. The department has a reputation for developing high-caliber information management, computer information systems and business analytics professionals. That’s why the mixer is a standing date on so many recruiter calendars.

Karen Stark, student services coordinator, provided the following sample of companies attending: Aetna Inc., Amazon Fulfillment, American Express, Arizona Office of the Auditor General, Arizona Public Service, Avnet Inc., Choice Hotels International Inc., Cloud Software LLC, Derive, DHL Global Forwarding, DriveTime Automotive Group Inc., Early Warning Systems, Eco-Chic Consignments Inc., Ernst & Young, Freeport-McMoRan Inc., General Motors Company, Harris Healthcare Solutions, IBM, InfoSol Inc., Insight Enterprises Inc., IntraEdge Inc., KPMG, MicroChip, Microsoft Corporation, Mutual of Omaha Bank, Navigant Consulting, Nextiva, Northcentral University, O’Reilly Automotive Inc., Parchment, Peace Corps, PetSmart Inc., Ports America, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Protiviti, SkyTouch Technology, Sogeti USA, the State of Arizona, State Farm Insurance, Symmetry Software, Systems Evolution Inc., The Nerdery, Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. and the UnitedHealth Group Inc. Contact Stark if you are interested in participating in future events.

Attention students: Register for 10th Annual Avnet Tech Games

Avnet has announced that registration is now open to student teams to compete in the Avnet Tech Games. The games match college students with real-world technology and engineering challenges in a competition for college scholarships. W. P. Carey students have won twice. Four CIS alumni comprised the 2010 VMware Virtualization Challenge team: Ian Alexander, David Quigley, David J. Roman and Trevor Royer. This year’s competition features both live and virtual games. The live onsite competition will take place on Saturday, April 11, 2015 at The University of Advancing Technology in Tempe.

In the news

Information Systems faculty are frequently quoted in the popular press. For example, department Chairman Michael Goul recently commented on Google’s move into the domain-name business and its effect on Scottsdale-based GoDaddy. According to AZCentral on January 21: “Goul said Google has yet to announce if it will act as a full-service system like GoDaddy — one of the company's strongest attributes. However, he said it's likely Google will use its brainpower to integrate this service with their other products, like Google ad placement.