Bring learning to life.
There are many ways to engage with the department, but they all have one common thread—the direct connection with students and the chance to draw on your career experience to add dimension to their classroom learning. From one-on-one mentoring to guest speaking or hosting a visit to your workplace, you can find a way to engage that fits your schedule and leverages your expertise.
Start bringing student career dreams into focus by contacting academic unit head Rhonda Syler or Sam Collier from the Office of Professional Development and Engagement.
Share your expertise while providing feedback to students’ ideas and business projects as they demonstrate their skills during class presentations or competitions.
Get in front of students while contributing a valuable component to their education. You can share your career journey, business success and industry insights with them in undergraduate or MBA classrooms, at a student organization meeting or at a department or collegewide event.
The CIS/BSAN program has an assortment of required and elective courses that often benefit from real-world business perspectives and expertise. Visits and presentations to these classes can be arranged as they fit the syllabus and the class calendar.
Specific and ongoing opportunities:
Introduction to Computer Information Systems Guest Presenters – COB204 Computer Information Systems is the first class where all business majors and minors engage in information technology topics. Offered to over 800 students per semester, COB204 introduces students to many conceptual topics in addition to practical applications of collaboration software (SharePoint) and database design (Access). Guest Presenters normally emphasize IT careers or day-in-the-life of IT practitioners.
Enterprise Architecture Guest Presenters – CIS304 Enterprise Architecture contains a unit on “Building CIS Community.” Students are required to attend professional organization meetings, prepare a resume and a LinkedIn profile and are taught how to use Handshake, the universitywide online job search system. Guest presenters normally emphasize a topic from the class syllabus, which includes business processes modeling, network diagramming and risk assessment.
Association for Information Systems (AIS) – formerly the AITP, this CIS student organization invites guest presenters to over 15 meetings each year. Regularly attended by over 40 student members, AIS meetings are a destination for CIS majors and minors seeking interaction with recruiters. The AIS leadership team organizes each event and provides the direction for this successful student organization, recognized in 2012 as the largest student chapter in the U.S.
Leverage your JMU passion and professional networks by becoming a mentor. Join the private JMU College of Business Career Mentor Network on LinkedIn to connect with other JMU alumni and students. Provide invaluable career advice and guidance from the business world to those seeking to develop their networking skills, explore their career options and develop their knowledge of
Company visit host - Show students what your organization has to offer. By inviting student groups to your place of business, you provide an important opportunity for them to identify career paths and learn more about industry sectors. Reach out to Sam Collier for more information.
Networking event host - Host a networking event in collaboration with the Dean’s office to meet our students and help them to develop and hone their networking skills. This may include providing a venue or catering for the event. Reach out to Brooke Goolsby for more information.
New Hires: Reach out to JMU's University Career Center office for your personnel recruitment needs. Gain career-ready students who assimilate more quickly than their peers, exceed the average tenure and work well in teams. Meet short-term employment needs with highly skilled interns from a specific degree field or academic interest.
Current employees: Be an advocate for JMU while helping your employees--or yourself--develop potential and deliver refined skills to your company’s efforts by supporting their graduate studies in programs like the JMU MBA Programs. Reach out to mba@jmu.edu for more information.
Advisory Board Membership – The Computer Information Systems and Business Analytics Department has an advisory board that meets twice a year. Members provide advice and validation on curriculum, industry trends and business relationships.
Provide a Financial Contribution to the Department, College or University.
Your gift can be to the general fund of the University or the College of Business. You can also specify specific funds, based on the account number.
Provide a financial contribution towards a CIS & BSAN student's scholarship.
Computer Information Systems Support Funds
| Fund | Description |
|---|---|
| Deloitte Fellowship | Support and encourage faculty to further their educational and professional goals and aspirations. |
| Computer Information Systems and Business Analytics | Support a program dedicated to helping students jump start their careers in the challenging and rewarding IT marketplace |
| VERIS Consulting Faculty Fellowship | Partner with VERIS Consulting and Beta Alpha Psi to support a faculty member. |
| Computer Information Systems Scholarship | Support the past and future achievements of a CIS student with high potential |
| Glenn Smith Memorial Scholarship | Sponsor the academic growth of a deserving Computer Information Systems or Business Analytics student |
| IT Consulting Excellence Fund | Support the preparation of IT consultants who can navigate a complicated marketplace for their future clients. |
| Capital One Information Security Faculty Scholar for Computer Information Systems | Reward an engaged professor for their service to the university and dedication to students. |