State Approves RIT’s Master’s Degree in Learning and Knowledge Management Systems

Companies spend billions of dollars annually to educate and train their employees. Quite often this training and education is delivered through online computer-based learning systems. Responding to the U.S. economy’s shift into this “information economy,” Rochester Institute of Technology is offering a new master’s degree program in learning and knowledge management systems.

The degree is offered through the information technology department in RIT’s B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences (GCCIS) and focuses on the creation of learning experiences, performance support and knowledge management systems that enable people to learn where, when and as fast as they choose.

“Graduates of the program will be able to design systems that improve human performance through networked multimedia environments,” says Michael Yacci, information technology professor in GCCIS. Yacci created the degree with Timothy Wells, an information technology associate professor in GCCIS. “Students who successfully complete the degree will be poised for leadership positions in e-learning, knowledge management, educational multimedia, corporate training and virtual universities,” adds Wells.

The program will begin to accept students in spring 2006 and combines the study of instructional design and computing technology. Unlike similar offerings at other universities, RIT’s learning and knowledge management systems degree is taught completely online using a variety of e-learning techniques and systems. The degree will be offered part-time to accommodate the schedules of employees and students currently in the workforce. To enhance the learning experience, students will be invited to campus twice a year to attend orientation and related conferences.

“The Golisano College has once again demonstrated its ability to be a visionary among its peers by continuing to develop focused academic programming to best meet the needs of an ever-evolving industry,” says GCCIS dean Jorge Díaz-Herrera. “Through this continued innovation in our undergraduate and graduate degrees, GCCIS remains at the helm of computing and information sciences education.”

NOTE: RIT’s B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences, the largest comprehensive computing college in the nation, was created with a $14 million gift from B. Thomas Golisano, founder and chairman of Paychex Inc.

The college offers undergraduate programs in computer science, information technology, applied network and system administration, new media, and software engineering, as well as graduate programs in computer science, information technology, software development and management, and computer security and information assurance.

The college is home to the Center for Advancing the Study of Cyberinfrastructure, located in the university’s Laboratory for Applied Computing building, which partners with industry and other research organizations in the advancement of computing technology in support of scientific discovery and product development, and to foster technology commercialization.

Founded in 1829, RIT is internationally recognized as a leader in computing, engineering, imaging technology, fine and applied arts, and education for the deaf. RIT enrolls 15,300 students in more than 340 undergraduate and graduate programs.