Governance





Entitlement to Plan a Bachelor's Degree
in Management Information Systems
PSF 38/02-03


The Business Department at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside seeks entitlement to plan a Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems (MIS) degree.

1. Need for the Program

The proposed Bachelor of Science program in Management Information Systems (BSMIS) would be offered within the School of Business and Technology, by the Department of Business. Currently, UW Parkside offers a MIS concentration within the BS in Business Management degree program. Business majors who graduate with a MIS concentration are one of the most highly sought groups of graduates from UW Parkside. From 1997 to 2001, 97 out of 101 MIS students (96%) have received MIS positions through the UW Parkside career center. Most of those students are placed with SE Wisconsin employers.

Since the mid-1990's, the demand for employees with information technology (IT) skills has greatly outpaced supply. Educational programs that provide graduates in the IT areas such as MIS and computer science, have not been able to keep up with this demand. Although there has been some decrease in demand the past year due to the economy, there is no reason to believe that this trend will continue once the economy improves. A recent study (Information Technology Association of America, 2001) on the shortage of IT professional indicates that not only is the long run shortage of IT professionals expected to persist, but that it continues to exist today despite the recent economic downturn.

The proposed BS in MIS has two major aims that can help meet the need for IT professionals in the region. First, the program intends to increase the rigor and depth of knowledge that will be attained by our MIS graduates. Second, a MIS major will provide visibility and identity to the program that will be helpful in attracting more students. Concentrations such as Finance, Marketing, or MIS are merely sequences of courses that are required as part of getting a BS in Business Management. They have no official status other than an internal requirement within the Business program.

A number of subtle, yet real, problems result from being a concentration instead of a major. Our MIS concentration is not included in a listing of degrees offered within the UW System. Many other listings also fail to identify our MIS program because it is listed as a concentration rather than a degree. As a result, someone looking for a MIS program would find it difficult to locate UW Parkside as a source. In our communications, the concept of "concentration" is difficult for prospective students to grasp. This makes the job of advertising and attracting students for this program challenging. This lack of clarity also can be confusing to potential employers; some do not consider recruiting at universities for MIS students unless they graduate with a MIS degree.
In conclusion, a BS in MIS would help in attracting students to the program, and should help in making UW Parkside seen as a supplier of high quality information technology graduates. The proposed MIS program would also better prepare our students to be effective MIS professionals, with improved capabilities in solving business problems using information technology.

2. Relationship to Institutional Mission, Strategic Plan, Goals and Objectives

The Mission of the University of Wisconsin - Parkside indicates that the "University ... is committed to high-quality educational programs, creative and scholarly activities, and services responsive to its diverse student population, and its local, national and global communities." An objective in support of this mission is for UW Parkside to "offer high-quality academic programs rooted in the tradition of a liberal education in the arts, sciences and professions, responsive to the occupational, civic and cultural needs of the region, and actively seek their continual improvement." The proposed MIS degree helps meet this objective by providing a new program that is responsive to the occupational needs of the region. With the increasing use of information technology as a part of core business operations, regional employers will continue to need a supply of skilled information technology professionals. The program is also responsive to the occupational needs of potential students by providing the kind of education that will provide good employment opportunities.

Evidence for the need for BS MIS graduates is provided by a recent national study on the IT skills shortage ((Information Technology Association of America, 2000). Although this study did not focus on Wisconsin, it showed that the shortage of IT professionals in the Midwest to be the same as that found in the rest of the nation. This is further evidenced by the placement rates and starting salaries of our MIS and computer science (CS) graduates, and by the number of companies that actively recruit on our campus for students with these MIS or CS credentials. Developing a new BS MIS program is responsive to regional needs by providing a more rigorous program in MIS, and by providing improved visibility of the MIS area of study at UW Parkside.

3. Relation to Other Academic Programs in the UW System and the Region.

The proposed MIS degree is based in the business curriculum, with an expanded MIS course sequence. Each of the eleven comprehensive campuses in the UW System offers one or more business degrees. Of these, seven provide at least one MIS major within the Business program. The major typically is called either a BS or BBA in MIS. This is the case at the UW campuses at Eau Claire, LaCrosse, Madison, Milwaukee, and Oshkosh. UW Superior calls its major "Computer Information Systems. UW Whitewater offers two majors "Computer End-User Technologies" and "Management Computer Systems". The latter major actually is an interdisciplinary major with the Mathematics and Computer Science departments. A characteristic of all these programs is that the student takes a sequence of business and required foundation courses that closely matches that of other Business Majors. A few of the remaining campuses, besides Parkside, offer business degrees with a MIS or CS "emphasis" (UW River Falls and UW Platteville) but no degree apart from business. UW Parkside is the only AACSB accredited business program in the UW System that does not offer a MIS degree.

Two of the undergraduate MIS majors are within a one-hour drive of UW Parkside. The question then is why would an additional MIS degree be needed within this area? Most of our students come from the Racine, Kenosha and northern Lake County. These students choose UW Parkside due its proximity to their homes. Many of our students are non-traditional. Many work at or close to full time, often living at home. Therefore, relocating to, or commuting to UW Whitewater or UW Milwaukee would not be seen as a desirable option for most of our students. This should be true for prospective MIS majors as well. Since a relatively small proportion of UW Parkside student body comes from outside of the Southeastern Wisconsin/Northern Illinois area, there should be little competition with other UW campuses. It seems that offering majors within the Business Program is becoming the norm within the UW system. This is true at all other AACSB accredited programs, other than UW Parkside.

4. Projected Source of Resources.

The proposed program would consist partially of existing courses that fulfill requirements for the current MIS concentration within the BS in Business Management program. Since the new MIS degree would be expected to produce graduates with more in-depth technical skills and methodological knowledge, there will need to develop and offer additional courses that students would take in the MIS area. Currently, the MIS concentration requires the following MIS courses:

Three full time faculty (PhD qualified) and one full time instructor teach the current array of MIS courses. In addition, the MIS faculty teach in the MBA and Masters of Computer Information Systems programs. We anticipate that the addition of one full-time faculty member in the MIS area would be sufficient to handle the increased MIS course offerings. An additional MIS position, however, has already been approved for the current MIS concentration. Creating a MIS major, therefore, would require no additional faculty members beyond what has currently been authorized.

Apart from the campus' general-access computing labs and the Business Department's computer lab, a MIS degree would likely require some dedicated computing resources. Currently, there are two computer labs that are used primarily by MIS students. Funding for one of these labs comes through normal campus funding opportunities. The other lab is funded through the Information Technology Practice Center (ITPC). The ITPC is a consortium of area employers that provide financial resources and advice to the CS major and the MIS concentration. These approaches to funding will continue to meet the needs of a new MIS degree.

Approved by Faculty Senate March 25, 2003.