Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/58916
Technology Better IT, Better Business The more technology has advanced, the more money companies have spent on IT to improve everything from productivity to communication. But even as they spend more in their IT budgets, many managers are wondering whether the investment is really worth it. Some business schools are now stepping in to offer programs that link IT savvy with management know-how, so that management and IT professionals can make better decisions when it comes to their IT expenditures. For example, since the 2000 launch of its Master of Science in Management of Information Technology, the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville has seen a steady rise in the program's enroll- ment. Aimed at working profes- sionals from one side or the other of the IT/management divide, the program is designed to teach both groups how the other side works. "In the late 1990s and early 2000s, people were throwing huge amounts of money at IT because they knew its potential. But they were realizing increasingly low returns on their investment," says Cyndy Huddleston, assistant dean of graduate marketing and admissions. "We've spent the last five years try- ing to understand how managers can learn to use technology to save costs, create value, and drive business." Students can opt for McIntire's 12-month program, in which they meet every other Friday and Sat- urday in Charlottesville; or its 16- month program, in which they meet every other Saturday in Reston. During the program, students con- tinue to work and use the IT man- 48 BizEd MAY/JUNE 2006 Students in McIntire's MS MIT program link technological savvy and management skills. agement challenges they face at their jobs as the basis for much of their discussion and assignments. Both tracks follow a four-module progres- sion that includes IT architecture; IT project management; enterprise IT management; and the capstone module, IT strategy and manage- ment. The capstone module also includes a feature called "Executive on Ground," in which CIOs from companies such as Sprint and the Peace Corps mentor students and help them with their final projects. It took a year—and interviews with 40 managing partners and CIOs—to create the MS MIT degree, says Barbara Wixom, associ- ate professor of commerce and pro- gram director. Since then, 445 stu- dents have completed the program, and 72 are currently enrolled. In the future, the school plans to add tracks that target the government and finance sectors. Both Wixom and Huddleston say they've been most surprised by the patterns of enrollment in the program. Early cohorts were filled mostly with lower-level managers who had been sent by their super- visors. But when those managers returned to their jobs with improved skills, their supervisors decided to enroll as well. Today, Wixom says that senior-level managers make up nearly half of enrollment. "Our MS MIT program is attracting IT professionals who want to think like businesspeople and managers who want to know more about IT," says Wixom. "All manag- ers want to know whether they're making the most logical IT decisions and getting the most return on their IT investment."