Department of Informatics and Networked Systems

If you look at virtually any industry-health care, law, finance, manufacturing, government-information is the driving force behind its evolution and growth. Embedded in even the simplest of transactions, information is integral to making any organization function effectively. Information science graduates, therefore, are indispensable resources for any employer.

The program offerings are designed to provide students with the theoretical foundations and advanced knowledge in storing and retrieving information, communicating information among systems, and understanding the interaction between people and information systems as well as the role of information systems and technologies in both business and society.

Academic Advising/Plan of Study

Each student is assigned an academic advisor at the time of admission to graduate study. These assignments are made primarily on the basis of the student’s background and interests as shown in the application. The student may at any time elect to change advisors: any such change requires the consent of the new advisor and must be reported to the Program. Forms for changing advisors are online through the school’s Intranet.

At the time of initial registration or before the completion of the first term, the student is encouraged, but not required to, fill out and discuss the plan of study with their advisor.

A Plan of Study is a series of courses designed to meet the minimum exit competencies judged by the faculty to be necessary for employment as an information professional. Students coming into the program without prior course work or work experience in the areas covered by the Plan of Studies should adhere fairly closely to the suggested plan. If there has been course work or experience in one or more of the content areas of the program, students are permitted to substitute and take courses in an area in which additional background is needed.

All Plans of Study must have the approval of the advisor. Each student must insure that the Plan of Study meets all of the program requirements for graduation. At the completion of the program, the advisor will sign the Plan of Study signifying recommendation of the student for graduation. If the courses completed on the student’s transcript do not correspond with the Plan of Study as filed, there may be a delay in approval for graduation.

Stricter advising guidelines and regulations apply to the doctoral students. See the doctoral program regulations for details.

Grade Policies for the Department of Informatics and Networked Systems

Maintenance of a 3.0 GPA for Masters Students

Each student must maintain a 3.0 Grade Point Average (GPA) for all credits of graduate level coursework for either degree or the certificate. Failure to maintain a 3.0 GPA in any term will result in the student being placed on academic probation immediately. If the student does not raise the GPA to a 3.0 after the next nine credits, the student will be dismissed from the program in which he or she is enrolled.

Grades for Individual Courses

All students in the Information Science/Telecommunications programs must earn satisfactory grades in each course taken. A grade of C-, D+, D, D-, F and Unsatisfactory are unacceptable for graduation credit. A course for which such an unsatisfactory grade is earned must be repeated if it is a course that is a degree requirement (e.g., INFSCI 2000 or INFSCI 2500 /INFSCI 2592 . Courses may be repeated only once. Elective courses need not be repeated; another course may be taken to replace it. However, the original course remains on the transcript and a higher grade must be earned to maintain a 3.0 GPA.

Satisfactory/Audit (S/N) Grading System

Students are permitted to earn at most six credit hours with the grading option S as part of the credits required for the degree. An S grade is equated with a grade of B, B+, A-, A or A+. Course performance equivalent to a B- or lower will result in the assignment of an audit (N grade) and will not count towards graduation. A grade of satisfactory (S) has no quality points associated with it and is not used in computing the GPA (grade point average).

Students must decide by no later than one week after the end of the add/drop period which grading system they propose to use for each of their courses. This decision may not be changed, nor may a grade of one kind received for a course be changed to a grade of the other kind.

Programs

Doctoral

Master’s

Certificate

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