Graduating seniors in the Department of Computer Information Systems (CIS) are getting valuable experience that helps them launch their own careers. Since spring 1995, students enrolled in CIS 498 have been working with area companies to design prototype Web sites, software and computer systems.

The types of services that CIS students have been performing can be invaluable to small firms and entrepreneurs. According to a study of founders of 500 companies conducted by Roper StarchWorldwide for Inc. magazine, 63 percent of entrepreneurs surveyed said they have difficulty keeping up with technological change, and 75 percent said they wish they knew more about technology

Because of companies' need for technological support and students' need for job experience, the course has received positive feedback from both students and sponsoring companies, according to Dr. James Brown, course administrator. "We feel this is a win-win situation," he said. "Students have the opportunity to go beyond the traditional textbook and lecture approach and develop a real-world system that meets a real business need. For companies, they have the chance to get some projects off the back burner and preview a student's potential contribution to their firms as they near graduation."

The program is partly modeled on a management program in place at the University of California at Los Angeles. Working in teams of three to five persons, students:

Provide requirements, conduct a feasibility analysis and develop specifications

Design a new system, and develop and test a prototype

Develop complete documentation (presented in oral and written reports)

Each company is asked to have an employee meet with the student team an hour or two each week for 10 weeks to provide requirements and evaluate the results.

Brown has been using real companies for projects in systems analysis and design for 20 years (CIS 450 and 850). He is now working with employers as a staffing consultant. When Dr. Richard Welke, chair of CIS, asked Brown about starting CIS 498, he jumped at the opportunity to continue some of the work he had enjoyed for 20 years.

"Our Computer Information Systems program is better known nationally and internationally than locally," Brown said. "I have a mission to make our program highly visible in Atlanta."

And he is doing just that. The course has recently received the attention of local media. The Atlanta Business Chroniclefeatured the course in the November 14-20, 1997, issue. "Working with the students has helped us get the prototype for a state-of-the-art Web site and helped the students show what they can do," Deborah Waller, president of Alpha Learning Techniques, told the Chronicle.

Charles Babalola, a student who has gone through the course, said he believes the experience has improved his chances of receiving job offers after graduation. "A lot of companies ask for help with stuff that we don't do in school, so it forces us to learn different things," he said.

In a recent letter to Brown, P.J. Shores, a recent graduate of Georgia State, confirmed that notion. He wrote, "It [the course] has been a tremendous help to me in my new position at MCI. The student discussions and presentations have guided my steps in preparing projects for my new employer."

Additional companies who have participated in the program include BellSouth, Chick-Fil-A, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Georgia Pacific, Georgia State University Small Business Development Center, Motorola, National Data Corporation and Wachovia. There is no charge to the company for the service. A total of 10 projects were finished in the winter quarter by some 30 students. The course is offered in January, March, June and September.

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