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IBM, Appalachian collaborate to create CIS class |
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Monday, 07 April 2008 |
 | Pollard
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by REBECCA GARDNER
Intern News Reporter
Appalachian State University and IBM collaborated to create a new Computer Information Systems course for students, to be offered for the first time in fall 2008.
Due to demand from students there will be two courses, CIS 3545 and CIS 4545, titled Managing Business and IT Services respectively.
Both classes will meet Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.
“The classes will meet with all students together but they will have different deliverables,” associate
professor of CIS and co-executive director for the Center for Applied Research in Emerging
Technologies (CARET) Dr. Carol Pollard said.
“I have heard about this class and how we will be working with IBM on their projects and stuff like that,”
Association of Information Technology Professionals President and senior CIS major Bryden J.
Tweedy said.
Tweedy is already enrolled in the IT Services course.
“The 4000 level is a senior-only class and IBM is looking to hire from that,” Tweedy said.
Pollard will teach both classes.
Appalachian State has been collaborating with IBM since July 2007, Pollard said.
This collaboration goes hand-in hand with the CIS Department mission statement “to maintain a high
level of effectiveness in the instruction, intellectual contribution and professional service, collaborate
with the business community to provide career opportunities for students in a dynamic global
environment, and provide an environment conductive to attracting and developing professional faculty,”
according to the CIS Web site.
“Students should take this class because this is an important part of information technology
development and operations,” Pollard said. “It is an area that has become much more important lately
because of the complexity of IT and the high dependence of business on fully functioning IT services.”
The IBM sponsoring group is the Tivoli Software Group.
Chris O’Connor is the IBM university ambassador and the vice president of strategy and market
management at Tivoli Software.
Andy Rindos is the head of the Research Triangle Park Center for Advanced Studies. Both contributed
to the creation of the course.
This course will teach students many techniques useful for working at IBM.
“IBM is looking for students who understand how to manage technology from IT and business
perspectives and understand business procedures and what the business is about, what the business
strategy is, but also how technology fits into those business procedures,” Pollard said.
Other qualities include being responsible for keeping technology up and running and also for keeping
business processes in tact, Pollard said.
“This is a new area and there are very few universities worldwide that are currently offering this type of
course and there is a lack of graduates with skills in this area,” Pollard said. “That is why IBM came to
us to develop a course that would produce competent students who could fill these currently empty
positions.”
For more information, contact Pollard at
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