Confirmed: New Master's at WGU

For those with access:
http://community.wgu.edu/clearspacex/blogs/information_technology_graduate_program_community/2011/12/13/new-masters-in-the-it-program-coming

For those without:

New Master's In The IT Program Coming!!

Posted by Bryan Jensen Dec 13, 2011

Coming to WGU Soon – YES, there IS going to be a NEW Masters Degree offered in College of IT!

Coming sometime late spring/early summer, WGU will be launching a NEW Masters Degree in Information Technology Network Management. The rumors you have heard ARE true! The degree program develops in students both the technological prowess necessary to manage the day-to-day operations of a Network Operations team, and the forward thinking necessary to maintain a competitive edge in today’s rapidly changing IT landscape. The program strives to develop graduates who better understand the power and reach of technology and how it can be utilized to meet the mission and goals of organizations, as well as improve the lives of those in the organizations. It is structured to introduce students to present and emerging technology trends, to enable them to develop competence in managing changing IT networks, and to help them gain leadership skills to meet the IT management challenges of the future.

The MS Network Management program will aid students in developing the knowledge and skillsrequired for management of day-to-day operations of advanced IT networking and the foresight to create and maintain a competitive edge in today’s rapidly changing and highly competitive marketplace. The graduates will advance their knowledge and skills through a practical, real-world program based on soundprinciples of IT. To facilitate this level of engagement and competency, the program was designed around three primary themes: communication, technical competence and strategic vision.
The degree program consists of 12 courses (in no particular order):

• Current and Emerging Information Technologies
• Cyberlaw, Regulations and Compliance
• Organizational Management
• Risk Management and Decision Analysis
• Technological Globalization
• Advanced Network Technologies
• Disaster Recovery Planning, Prevention and Response
• Network Security Challenges
• Management of Information Technologies
• Power, Influence and Leadership
• Technical Writing
• Capstone (Oral and Written)

Pre-requisites: Students entering the program must demonstrate substantive networking experience or expertise prior to enrolling. If you are interested in learning more about this program, please email Gwen Britton (gbritton@wgu.edu) or Cheryl Bagshaw (cbagshaw@wgu.edu) for more information.

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Comments

erpadmin

Will this degree have a certification component? That posting was not clear on that; just that the new degree was coming.

For all I know, Advanced Network Technologies requires a CCNP. [sarcasm...I don't want to start rumors. lmao]

jmasterj206

It actually doesn't look that bad with the leadership side added in.

oot

-[ I sent an email to request more info]-

Thanks for inquiring.

Answers are below:
(1) Are there any IT certifications in this program? << No—there are no certifications in this program.

shodown

I need to Jump on this WGU thing.

darkerz

The topics look genuinely enthralling, considering if you're in a position to go after a MS, you most likely have a CCNP/JNCP/MCITP:EA already... Also, the WORD MANAGEMENT (Serious. The word alone) in a title for a Masters makes anyones resume look nicer.

I **** you not. Our Sr. Engineer got the job because he had a MBA in IT Management, the other guy had 3 years more experience, was much more technical but was a pure tech no manage guy.. Shame.

erpadmin

darkerz wrote: »

The topics look genuinely enthralling, considering if you're in a position to go after a MS, you most likely have a CCNP/JNCP/MCITP:EA already... Also, the WORD MANAGEMENT (Serious. The word alone) in a title for a Masters makes anyones resume look nicer.

I **** you not. Our Sr. Engineer got the job because he had a MBA in IT Management, the other guy had 3 years more experience, was much more technical but was a pure tech no manage guy.. Shame.

That was EXACTLY the reason I went for the Network Design and Management emphasis. My masters will just be in Information Systems, but still....

Actually, I'm in a graduate certificate program that will have Management of Technology......so I'll have TWO places in my education where Management shows up. (I will put the certificate on there.....won't hurt.)

veritas_libertas

I like the content of the degree plan. I'm happy that they chose to create a degree without including certifications.

petedude

veritas_libertas wrote: »

I like the content of the degree plan. I'm happy that they chose to create a degree without including certifications.

I think it's a really good idea, but I can see arguments for the inclusion of certs as well.

Their timing for this announcement isn't bad. There's still at least a few weeks before I finish my BS-IT and I have to make a final decision on that next big educational leap.

cyberguypr

I like what I see. I reached out to Gwen and she said they will know the official launch date early next week at which point they'll have more details to share.

instant000

Right now, I have 11 courses remaining towards the MS:ISA. Comparing its curriculum to this one, this one looks a lot closer to what I'm interested in. Also, depending on how fast it transitions over, I wouldn't have any lost study time to do this one. 2 of my remaining 11 courses are Cyberlaw and Disaster Recovery, so if I can just work on these two in the meantime, I won't lose any labor if I can transition over to that one. I'm going to request to be a "Beta" student of the program, LOL.

themagicone wrote: »

So here is the latest that I know of. There will be NO certification based classes. The 3 classes that will carry over from the MS ISA degree are Cyber law, Organizational Management and Disaster Planning/recovery. It is planning on being launched on January 1st.

Comparing Programs:

MSISA

Network Security Practices and Policies
Fundmentals of Interconnecting Network Devices
Organizational Management
Hacking Countermeasures and Techniques
Cyberlaw, Regulations and Compliance
Ethical Hacking
Vulnerability Assessment
Forensics and Network Intrusion
Risk Management
Security Policies and Standards – Compliance and Certification
Security Policies and Standards – Best Practices
Disaster Recovery Planning, Prevention and Response
Information Security and Assurance Capstone Project

MSITNM

Current and Emerging Information Technologies
Cyberlaw, Regulations and Compliance
Organizational Management
Risk Management and Decision Analysis
Technological Globalization
Advanced Network Technologies
Disaster Recovery Planning, Prevention and Response
Network Security Challenges
Management of Information Technologies
Power, Influence and Leadership
Technical Writing
Capstone (Oral and Written)

Power, Influence, and Leadership <--- whoever in Marketing named this course deserves to get a Gold star on their Performance Review

colemic

Instant, thanks for the comparison... I need to think about this and figure out if this track is better suited for me. Being picky I guess, but I don't really see where the 'Network Management' piece is really represented in the course listing. I'd rather see it named Information Security Management or something similar.

The WGU post says it will be available late spring, and my new term starts in January, so I will keep plugging along for now. For the overlapping courses, I am only missing the DRP one so I will try to knock that one out.

Just noticed you may have missed one - Risk Management in MSISA, and Risk Management and Decision Analysis for the MSITNM - surely these are the same courses?

oot

colemic wrote: »

Just noticed you may have missed one - Risk Management in MSISA, and Risk Management and Decision Analysis for the MSITNM - surely these are the same courses?

They will take the Risk Management from MSISA (2 credits, some of the tasks) and add some tasks from MBA-IT Management course: JGT2 Decision Analysis (4 credit course).

I assume the new course, Risk Management and Decision Analysis, will be 3 credits.

colemic

Cool, thanks for the info. So if I were to transfer into the new program, if I had already completed the RM course for MSISA, that I could just resubmit those tasks for the combined course? That would make the most sense (assuming they didn't change the tasks!)

Devilry

This is exciting news. I am glad to see this was not a frivolous rumor. Can't wait for more details on whether or not it has a certification component.

jmasterj206

Devilry wrote: »

This is exciting news. I am glad to see this was not a frivolous rumor. Can't wait for more details on whether or not it has a certification component.

Look at post 4.

vCole

Man, that looks great. Too bad I don't even have an associates!

demonfurbie

I think ill look more into it once its been clearly setup and I finish my BS and CISSP