Curriculum Change- Switch IA 606 and IA 612 into electives

Hello Dr Chen,

This petition is regarding the issue, most of the MSIA students are facing regarding IA 606 and IA 612 classes.

IA 606 applied cryptography demands very thorough knowledge in the fields of Linux, Algorithm, Coding etc. and IA 612 demands a thorough knowledge on networking and other concepts. As MSIA majors we believe that IA606 and IA 612 courses weighs an unnecessary burden on the MSIA program students, especially the ones who plan to pursue the management concentrations. As a matter of fact these classes offered for computer science majors requires 3-4 prerequisite classes before enrolling into these courses and offering these classes without any prerequisites for MSIA students is unfair.

These courses were made elective in spring 2016 and the students were informed that these classes are no longer core classes, however in November 2016, in the middle of the semester the MSIA department sent an email again stating that these classes are required core classes putting students in a dilemma, especially international students who cannot afford to deviate their plans due to crucial immigration deadlines ahead of them ( OPT, CPT and etc.) Furthermore, as per the feedback received in the department meeting, and from the students who had taken this course previously, it is pretty clear that a strong criticism have been made regarding the structure of these courses and the emphasize of prerequisites, but still the department has not yet come up with a solid conclusion.

We MSIA students do not intend to condemn these courses, we believe that these courses are very important and have a lot to offer, the argument we are trying to convey is that since these courses are very heavy computer science courses which require several prerequisites, adjust the curriculum in such a way so that these courses go into the elective category. Students who have a strong computer background or students who genuinely wants to aspire going in to the technical/networking career path can follow these courses, and students who choose a less technical and management oriented career path can then have the chance to replace the IA 606 and 612 with more logical curriculum choices in line with their career objectives.

Since the decision had been already taken to make these courses electives by the MSIA department in March 2016, we would appreciate and be grateful if MSIA department take their stand and implement this action which is in the interest of its students at the earliest convenient, given the impact of this matter on our curriculum plan.

Thank you