I appreciate the opportunity to respond to the letter from an alumnus of our management information systems program that was published in the Daily on Monday. We always welcome constructive feedback from students, current and past. We had hoped to connect with this alumnus, but it appears the writer chose to use a pseudonym to vent his opinions. Still, we would like to ascertain the truth and remove any misconceptions his comments may have created in the mind of the reader.

We are often asked by prospective students and majors, what types of jobs MIS majors get. The range of jobs that an MIS major may pick from depends largely on the knowledge, skills and abilities the student has acquired from their curricular activities and associated internships in the industry. These jobs span from entry-level application developers to business systems analysts and consultants. Given the wide variety of jobs available to graduates, our program provides a basic set of core foundation supplemented with a menu of electives. These together with internship experiences make the graduate a highly desirable product of our program.

The success of our program is reflected in the high placement rates we have had for decades, most recently at 92 percent of our graduates. For a detailed report of the placement statistics including job titles, hiring firms and average salary for the last several years, go to www.business.iastate.edu/careers/Annual_Report.

The writer brings up another point worth addressing. The information technology field is saturated with a bevy of certification programs, each one purporting to make the holder an expert in a specific tool or service of a vendor. As a training tool these certifications might carry value. But according to the recruiters who frequently hire our students, certification in tools and services are of little value to their hiring decision. At last year’s Career Week, a panel of senior executives from our advisory council conveyed as much to an assembly of MIS majors. The executives said they will train their employees in the necessary specific skills. While certifications are useful, they do not replace a formal education.

Another criticism the writer levels at the MIS program is our curriculum has not kept pace with the changes in the field. Changes in curriculum are never rapid; rather, they take a measured change in content and direction. The faculty, assisted by an enthusiastic advisory council, regularly assesses the trends and needs of the job market, not only for its immediate needs but also for the future. As a result, we continuously modify either the content or courses in our curriculum, without losing focus on the fundamentals. Technologies change, programming language change, but the underlying fundamentals change very little.

Finally, we are sensitive to the comments from our students about teaching effectiveness of our faculty. We actively seek out comments from current students and alumni about our teaching, course contents, relevance, etc. Anyone — student, alum, otherwise — can always contact me at [email protected] or call 515-294-8113.