FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -  September 23, 2004
CONTACT: Sarah Lingenfelter, Media Relations (585) 567-9559

HOUGHTON COLLEGE TO OFFER NEW MAJOR

HOUGHTON, N.Y. – Houghton College has received approval to offer a bachelor of science degree in Information Technology Management.

This new major recognizes that information and technology are strategically significant resources in today’s organizations and when properly managed they can provide the organization with a distinct competitive advantage. Students pursuing a degree in Information Technology Management will develop the skill set necessary to analyze, design and evaluate an organization’s information technology systems and master the leadership skills necessary to leverage the full potential of information technology and services in support of an organization’s mission.

Carefully crafted from existing courses from the department of business and economics and the department of math and computer science, the curriculum for this major is the result of the work of a team of faculty and a consulting group of six professionals in the field. “In keeping with our focus as an intentionally Christian college, this program will provide an ethical framework for responsible decision-making in the field,” said Ken Bates, chair of the business and economic department at Houghton College.

A significant difference in the Information Technology Management major compared to most majors is that it is interdisciplinary in nature. The program consists of seven business core courses, 11 courses in information technology and three prescribed liberal arts courses in the colleges integrative studies core. Courses in this program present technical, economic, and behavioral dimensions of technology-based systems. A significant emphasis is placed on “hands on” project-related work using a variety of application development tools.

Houghton is a Christian liberal arts college of 1,300 students located in Western New York. For more information visit www.houghton.edu.