As a way to connect with our many alumni, we will be sending an annual newsletter sharing information about the CMIS department. The newsletter will give us an opportunity to highlight some of the recent events that have taken place within the department.
Both our undergraduate and graduate degree programs are growing! We now have over 25 graduate students pursuing their MS in CMIS and more than 150 undergraduate majors. With the growth, we are adding courses to both programs. The graduate program now includes specializations in both project management and business analytics. Our undergraduate program has added several electives, including courses on mobile application development, big data analytics, and project management fundamentals. In addition, several of our undergraduate courses have added curriculum to prepare students for certification exams.
There continue to be budget woes. We rely on alumni donations to fund scholarships for students and to fund the databases needed by students for coursework. Perhaps you remember downloading free Microsoft software and VMWARE software? Donations from alumni allow us to continue being a member of the Microsoft Academic Alliance so undergraduates and graduate students can download Project, Visio, asp.net, and any number of software products at no cost to the student. Costs to access Oracle databases and SAP databases are the same – only available because of donations by alumni. For this, we thank you, and our current students also thank you for your continued support.
Please visit the department, still on the second floor of Founders Hall, if you are in the area. Best wishes to all of you for a successful year.
Anne Powell
Professor and Chair