The David Eccles School of Business is bracing its students against the economic thunderstorm.
The U business school created a new Master of Science degree in information systems, a move that the administration believes will better prepare students to enter the business world.
“There’s a lot of excitement about the degree because it’s such a practical degree, and it’s meant to be earned in just one year,” said Tracy Oulman, admissions director at the business school.
The degree was part of a package presented to the U Academic Senate, the legislative board responsible for educational policy. The package also included the creation of a new operations and information systems department. The programs were created in response to increased enrollment and interest in the up-and-coming field of information technology.
“Most large schools have a master’s in information systems,” said Randy Boyle, director of the masters of science in information systems program. “We were just waiting for growth in our undergraduate programs, and since 2005 we’ve seen a tremendous growth.”
The Senate voted in favor of the degree in December, and the Utah State Board of Regents passed the proposal in January allowing the school to begin finalizing the process.
Boyle said the department and degree have been in the works for a while.
“With (information systems) growing so rapidly, it was bursting at the seams; there had to be a division,” Boyle said.
That “bursting at the seams” includes a 350 percent growth in the information systems undergraduate program, with a projected annual enrollment increase of 10 to 15 percent in the next few years, said Olivia Sheng, chairwoman of the newly formed department of operations and information systems.
Students have already shown interest in the new degree, with applications for degrees coming in faster than the administration initially anticipated. Business school administrators hope the inaugural class will consist of 25 students, but are willing to accept up to 40 depending on the caliber of the applicants.
The short amount of time the degree takes is what attracted Jeff Proudfoot, a recent U graduate in information systems, who hopes to enroll for Fall 2009.
“A major part of my interest was that I had such a good experience as an undergraduate in (information systems), and with the current situation of the economy, I figured I could stick it out for another year and have a master’s in a competitive industry,” Proudfoot said.
Business school leaders said students interested in the degree don’t need to have a degree in a business field and that anyone can apply for the new program.
“That’s one of the misconceptions8212;that you have to have an (information systems) degree8212;but we have students from the law school, history majors, many others,” Boyle said. “We have people from all majors across campus.”
The U hopes the program will create a way for students to become competitive in a difficult market, giving them unique skills in a growing field.
Boyle said he is optimistic about the potential good that will come of the program.
“If the economy is cold8212;stay inside where it’s warm,” he said. “You stay for an extra three semesters and your salary shoots up. People just say, “Hey, I’ll stay an extra few semesters and be more qualified than everyone else.'”
