The Bachelor of Science in Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) is a comprehensive major offered by the Department of Computer Information Systems (CIS) in partnership with IBM. This is one of the first BS degree programs in ITSM offered in the USA. The BS in ITSM blends quality and process improvement methods with the underlying concepts of information and communications technology.

ITSM is an emerging discipline for managing IT services, resources, and systems. In 2005, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) approved ISO/IEC 20000 as the first international standard for IT Service Management.

An IT service can be defined as any service process delivered by an IT department to support the business enterprise. Service support includes incident management, problem management, configuration management, change management, release management, and the management of the service or help desk. Service delivery includes service level management, capacity management, availability management, and security management. In addition, infrastructure management focuses on the more technical aspects of the underlying information and communications technology.

The ITSM major should not be considered if the student is considering a programming/analysis career track. Some sample job descriptions are:

Support Analyst:  delivers quality service to service desk customers by providing them with a single point of contact to report incidents, make service requests, or make inquiries.  This job requires a blend of strong communication capabilities, solid business knowledge, and good technical skills.

Support Specialist:  possesses a broad understanding of IT with a depth of expertise in a specific area in order to address incidents and problems.  This job requires a blend of good communication capabilities, solid business knowledge, and in-depth technical skills.

Service Desk Manager:  oversees the day-to-day operation of the IT service desk and works closely with front-line personnel to ensure that they have the resources needed to perform their duties efficiently and effectively.  This job requires a blend of strong communication capabilities, strong business knowledge, and good technical skills.

Business Analyst:  applies their IT, service management, process management, and project management skills to address an organization’s problems.  This job requires a blend of very strong communication capabilities, very strong business knowledge, and good technical skills.

As in the CIS major, the degree is a 125 hours with general education comprising 63 hours, the business core consisting of 27 hours, and 35 hours in the ITSM core.  The ITSM major is comprehensive, no minor is required.

The ITSM core is composed of the following courses:

• CIS 260 Java I
• CIS 281 Intro to ITSM
• CIS 230 Tech I
• CIS 321 Analysis & Design
• CIS 326 Intro to Database
• CIS 381 Incident Mgt
• CIS 330 Tech II
• CIS 420 Project Mgt
• CIS 525 Security
• CIS 461 MIS
• MGT 565 Operation Mgt

The Computer Information Systems faculty is comprised of graduates from various universities across the nation. Some of their interests are neural networks, project management, MIS issues, database, and applications as well as authoring books and consulting. The Faculty is available during required office hours. Students should feel free to consult with any member of the faculty or the department head in regard to academic policy, career advice or course work.

The Missouri State campus is a Dell campus with corporate agreements with Microsoft Corporation. The CIS Department is a MSDN Alliance member which allows students enrolled in CIS courses to purchase software at reduced prices. The IBM Scholars program provides the department the use of an I-Series computer at a reduced price. The Oracle Alliance membership has made it possible to integrate Oracle into the curriculum. Open labs are in several locations across campus. Within Glass Hall, home of the College Of Business, the student will find open Dell labs and dedicated CIS computer labs to support the CIS curriculum. WI-FI hotspots can be found in Plaster Student Union and Glass Hall.

The student chapter of the Association for Information Technology Professionals (AITP) is an important factor in the life of CIS majors at Missouri State. Chapter meetings often include guest speakers from industry and serve as a source for information for campus visits from companies offering internships and full-time positions. Their attendance at the national spring meeting make the chapter vital, current and well connected. The branch office of Career Services (417-836-5636) is resident in Glass Hall 103. Interview scheduling within Glass Hall is evidence that the majority of interviews conducted on campus are for COB majors. The COB Business Advisement office in Glass Hall 106 (417-836-5386) handles registration and advisement for current and transfer students. Sandy Culver, Director of Advisement, strongly advises semester appointments for finding the most efficient and satisfying path to graduation.