Catherine C. Aust, Dean

Technology Building, TEC-105. 

(770) 960-4324; Fax (770) 961-3635; http://cims.clayton.edu

      The College of Information and Mathematical Sciences (CIMS) was formed in  2002-2003 by renaming and restructuring the former New College for Economic and Community Development.  CIMS is composed of the Department of Information Technology, formerly part of the New College, and the Department of Mathematics, formerly part of the School of Arts and Sciences. 

      A primary objective of the College of Information and Mathematical Sciences is offering the Information Technology Program, a laddered program that prepares graduates to enter the burgeoning Information Technology field at three levels:

·       Certificate in Information Technology (C.I.T.)

·       Associate of Applied Science in Information Technology (A.A.S.I.T.)

·       Bachelor of Information Technology (B.I.T.)

      In addition, the College of Information and Mathematical Sciences has two other primary objectives:

·       To provide course work in mathematics and computing to support the general education portion of the Core Curriculum and programs of study offered throughout the University.

·       To offer transfer programs leading to the Associate of Arts (A.A.) in Mathematics and the Associate of Science (A.S.) in Computer Science.

      All instruction in the College of Information and Mathematical Sciences addresses one or more outcomes and uses a variety of assessments to determine a student’s progress in developing the knowledge and abilities necessary to demonstrate that he or she has achieved the outcomes.

Larry D. Booth, Department Head

Information Technology Office, TEC-105 http://cims.clayton.edu/it

(770) 961-3636; Fax (770) 961-3635

Full-time Faculty: Bakhtiarnejad, Bowler, Chastine, Davis, Ganoe, Jeff, Kinnard, Marcus, Medastin, Preston.

      The Department of Information Technology administers Clayton State University’s Information Technology Career Ladder (ITCL).  The academic programs in this “ladder” are as follows:

·       Certificate in Information Technology (C.I.T.)

·       Associate of Applied Science in Information Technology (A.A.S.I.T.)

·       Bachelor of Information Technology (B.I.T.)

      The objective of the Information Technology Career Ladder is to prepare graduates to enter the rapidly expanding Information Technology job market.  Based on experience and personal expectations, students can comfortably enter employment after completing the certificate, associate, or baccalaureate levels.

      Courses in Information Technology are taught by Clayton State University full-time faculty and by a cadre of expert practitioners who serve as part-time faculty.

      The Information Technology Career Ladder is structured such that all requirements of the C.I.T. are included in the A.A.S.I.T., and in turn, all requirements of the A.A.S.I.T. are included in the B.I.T.  All students enter at the C.I.T.

SPECIAL ACADEMIC POLICIES FOR STUDENTS TAKING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COURSES

      All normal Clayton State University admission, progression, and graduation requirements for certificate, associate degree, and baccalaureate degree apply to the Information Technology Department.  Because of the unique laddered nature of the ITCL program, there are some special policies that apply to IT and some general University policies that are especially relevant for IT students as explained below. For further information and appropriate paperwork when necessary, contact the Department of Information Technology 770-961-3636, TEC-105.

1.       Enforcement of Clayton State University application deadlines.  It is essential that potential IT students apply to Clayton State University by the published deadline and attend a scheduled new student orientation session.   Because math placement, transcript evaluation, and careful advisement are so critical to the IT program, students who apply late and/or miss orientation may find that they cannot be accommodated in IT courses during their first semester of attendance even if they are otherwise qualified.

2.       Learning Support Requirements. Any student who is required by the University to take Learning Support (LS) courses must exit all LS requirements  (mathematics, English, and reading) before enrolling in any course with IT prefix.  See item 3 below for additional information about mathematics placement.

3.        Mathematics Placement Testing.  All new students admitted to Clayton State University are required to take mathematics placement testing unless they already have credit for MATH 1101 or MATH 1111 or higher level math (other than MATH 1231 – Introductory Statistics).  Math placement is especially critical for Information Technology.  Therefore, there are special provisions for IT students as follows:

a)     IT students who have math credit with a grade lower than C are required to take the math placement test.  Students who fail to take the placement test will be delayed from entering math courses and will therefore be delayed from participation in the IT program.

b)     IT students who have math credit with a C or better are required to take the math placement test if their math credit is more than three years old.

The results of this testing (and the student’s admission status) will determine whether the student is adequately prepared to take college-level mathematics coursework.  

·          Students who score well on their placement test will have a recommended placement of MATH 1101 or higher.

·          Students admitted on limited or non-traditional basis whose placement test (COMPASS) results call for Learning Support math (MATH 0096, 0097, or 0099) must take the course(s) and must exit the series before they may take any IT courses. 

·          Students admitted as regular or transfer students whose placement test results indicated placement below MATH 1101 are strongly recommended to remediate before undertaking college-level math.  Students in this category who choose to attempt MATH 1101 or MATH 1111 without undertaking the recommended remediation do so at their own risk and are cautioned that failure to make a C or better in the math course will interrupt their progress in the IT program.

·          Students who have math credit of C or better that is more than two years old may be recommended, but not required, to remediate or to re-take college-level math.

4.       Core Curriculum. The ITCL includes the full University System of Georgia General Education Core Curriculum (Areas A-E); however, because of the laddered nature of the program, there is not a standard Area F, and some areas of A-E are more narrowly defined. In addition, the ITCL differs from the traditional academic program because Core Curriculum courses are spread across all four years rather than concentrated at the freshman-sophomore level.

5.        Post-Baccalaureate Students.  Individuals who already hold the bachelor’s degree in another field are welcome to enter the ITCL by following post-baccalaureate admission process indicated in the Admissions Information chapter of this catalog.  Post-baccalaureate students are presumed to have completed the equivalent of Core Curriculum Areas A-E subject to normal Clayton State University residency and total hours requirements and subject to the following special ITCL provisions:

a)     A post-baccalaureate student must meet the ITCL requirement for grades of C or better (or K) in MATH 1101 and MATH 1221 (or higher) even if the student earned the bachelor’s degree with lower math courses and/or lower grades. (See item 3 for math placement information.)

b)     A post-baccalaureate student must meet the Clayton State University requirement for a C or better (or K) in Composition I (ENGL 1101) even if the student earned the bachelor’s degree with a lower grade in the equivalent course.

Notes:  Post-baccalaureates are exempt from Critical Thinking (CRIT 1101); Post-baccalaureates must meet the IT requirement of a C or better (or K) in Composition II (ENGL 1102).

6.        Residency Requirement. Normal Clayton State University graduation residency requirements apply for each level of the ITCL subject to the following provisions:

a)     Students who earn credit for IT courses via credit by examination administered by Clayton State University may petition the Dean of CIMS to have such credit counted as in-residence credit.

b)     The following lower division courses must be taken in residence: 

ITFN 2001, Professional Development Seminar

ITFN 2012, Internship

ITFN 2123,  Foundations of Project Management.

c)     The following upper division courses must be taken in residence:

ITFN 4003, Portfolio Development

ITFN 4014, Internship.

d)     All other upper division courses with a prefix beginning IT must be taken in residence unless the Department Head and Dean specifically sign off on transfer course equivalency to allow the course to be counted toward the B.I.T.  This “sign off” does not waive the minimum University residency requirement.

7.        Advisement to Take Information Technology Courses.  Any student taking a course with a prefix beginning IT must be advised each semester by the Department of IT. For non-IT majors, this IT advisement is in addition to advisement they may have received from another school of the University. 

·          Students new to Clayton State University are advised at orientation as indicated in item 1 above.

·          Continuing IT majors must attend one of the announced group advisement sessions.

·          Non-IT majors wanting to take an IT course must make an appointment with an IT advisor.

Note:  Due to high demand, opportunities for “drop-in” IT advisement are very limited; appointments or group sessions are highly encouraged.

8.       Changes in IT Curriculum.  Normal University policy on catalog requirements apply to the ITCL.  (See the Graduation Requirements chapter.) The statement that, “Changes are often necessary in order to keep up with changing knowledge in fields and to improve instruction” is especially relevant to the ITCL.  If a student remains in continuous enrollment, completed courses that counted toward graduation will continue to count even if the curriculum is changed; however, course requirements that lie ahead of the student may be changed, and the student will be held to the provisions of the updated curriculum.  In such cases, advisors will work closely to assist majors to ensure a smooth curricular transition.  The ITCL Worksheet (tri-fold paper and on the Web) is updated and widely distributed periodically and will contain the most current curriculum. Students are responsible for securing the latest copy of the worksheet.

9.       Transfer of IT Coursework – in and out of Clayton State University.

a.     Transfer in:  Clayton State University