Samantha Chaffin
News Editor
Idaho State University’s Department of Computer Information Systems and Department of Computer Science have merged to become the Department of Informatics and Computer Science.
The Department of Computer Information Systems is housed in the College of Business while the Department of Computer Science is housed in the College of Science and Engineering. The merger will not change this.
According to a press release published by ISU on Sept. 10, the merged department “will be housed jointly within the two colleges and faculty will continue to report to their original college through the new, shared chair, Kevin Parker, professor in the College of Business.”
“We are a single department, but each program will still reside in its respective college,” said Parker. “There will be no effect on students’ [degree plans] especially since [the departments have] already been working together for some time now.”
Parker said reasons for the merger include aiming to take advantage of the commonalities between the programs and reducing redundancies. He said the merger would benefit students, faculty and recruiters alike.
The program is awaiting approval of a newly proposed curriculum that would change the current Computer Information Systems program to Business Informatics and the current Healthcare Information Systems Management program to Healthcare Informatics.
“There will be no curriculum changes as a direct result of the merger,” said Parker.
Parker said many people are unsure of what “informatics” entails and explained that informatics, put simply, “is the study of information in a context.”
Parker noted that there will be a renewed emphasis on the Health Informatics degree and said new professors with backgrounds in business informatics and heath care informatics are joining the faculty.
Sankara Srinivasan recently joined the faculty. Nima Kordzadeh and Karoly Bozan will arrive in August 2014.
The merger was made official over the summer.
According to the Sept. 10 press release, “Both programs will continue to remain vital parts of Idaho State University. There is an increasing demand for graduates from both programs, and job prospects are excellent.”
The press release also stated that computer technology and its applications in business have generated more jobs than any other area over the past several years.
