Welcome to the College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST)!

The Westgate Building is home to the College of IST

After completing this module, you will be able to: 

• Understand how advising works in the College of IST  
• Learn where your student can go for help within the college  
• Gain insight into the majors in the College of IST  
• Understand what Entrance to Major means  
• Know how your student can stay connected with the college after their orientation experience  

There are many resources in the College of IST to help your student succeed academically and with co-curricular activities. Faculty, advisers, and others in the college are available to support your student’s learning and growth.  In the following pages, you will learn more about the college and how your student can make the most of their academic journey.

Agenda:

1. Welcome to the College of IST!
2. College of IST Resources
3. Academic Advising in the College of IST
4. College of IST Majors
5. Academic Planning and Entrance to Major
6. How To Support Your IST Student
7. What’s Next After Orientation?
8. Knowledge Check to Complete the IST Module

The College of IST is home to a thriving community of students, scholars, staff, alumni, and friends. Our focus is preparing leaders for the Information Age who can understand and address the challenges that exist at the intersection of information, technology, and society.  

What that really means is we work to understand how rapidly evolving information technologies can be used to help us make better decisions, develop new opportunities, and protect our increasingly valuable information. In short, we strive to change the way people communicate, live, work, and play.  

In the Classroom   

Our courses and majors are interdisciplinary, so your student won’t just learn technical knowledge of information technologies and information system concepts. They will also gain a broad perspective about how to apply this knowledge across countless industries by learning skills in:  

• Business  
• Math and Statistics  
• Sociology  
• Law and Policy  
• Psychology  
• Security and Risk  
• …and many others  

Your student will also find that our courses require a lot of teamwork and are focused on enhancing their communication skills – qualities that are critical for leadership in a digital society.  

In Their Career  

Every undergraduate student in IST will complete at least one internship before graduation. This real-world experience will help your student learn about what they want (and don’t want!) out of their career.  

The Office of Career Solutions and Corporate Engagement will help your student with their resume and their interview skills. Encourage your student to take advantage of this resources. It is one of the first steps towards finding their first job after graduation. This office also hosts two career fairs per year specifically for employers seeking IST students, so they have plenty of opportunities to find a meaningful path that’s right for them. 

In Their Community  

Your IST student will find a community of individuals who know we are stronger together. Our faculty and staff are dedicated to your student’s overall wellness and will work with them to have a positive impact on the world.  

Here’s how we build that community:  

• Small classes led by engaged faculty  
• Opportunities for students to build a network of peers and friends 
• Academic advisers, career counselors, diversity advocates, and student engagement specialists—all of whom can support your student based on their specific needs  
• Unique academic support programs that provide additional guidance in classes  
• A strong alumni network that can help your student find their way in the professional world  

All of this gives your student a small college feel while giving them access to Penn State’s nearly endless resources. 

 College of IST Resources

The College of IST is located almost entirely within the Westgate Building. That means classes, faculty offices, and academic services staff are all under one roof. IST students have many opportunities to connect with resources.  

Academic Services  

The Academic Services team is available to support your student both in and out of their classes. Staff offices are located in E103 Westgate Building and offer a variety of scheduled and drop-in appointment options. All staff are available this summer to meet with your student virtually.  

• Academic advisers partner with your student to review academic plans, identify courses to support their interests, and stay on track to graduation.  

• Career coaches provide information about how to build their portfolio, develop as a professional, and navigate their career search.  
• Inclusion and diversity engagement advocates help your student recognize how our diversity creates a richer educational experience and how your student can support an inclusive environment.  
• Student engagement specialists help connect your student to student organizations, experiential opportunities, and other out-of-classroom activities that can enhance their time on campus.  
• IST research consultants can help your student access the millions of resources available through the University Libraries and build skills to organize and manage research for their classes. 

Academic Support 

In addition to the university-wide resources you have already learned about, the college offers several services to help your student succeed in their classes. Whether it's to get a better understanding of course objectives and assessments or to find some additional help in grasping class concepts, there are resources to help. 

• Faculty hold regular office hours to answer your student’s questions, provide additional support, and point your student toward college and University resources.  
• Learning Assistants (LAs) are motivated undergraduate students who serve as learning coaches and mentors for other students, while also supporting instructors with teaching-related tasks. Your student can meet with their course’s assigned LA to get additional help and make the most of their courses.  
• The Peer Tutoring program is a student-managed academic support resource for IST students. Subject-specific tutors provide one-on-one coaching to help your student practice and reinforce concepts learned in class. Tutors can clarify unclear concepts and help your student practice skills and apply new understandings.  

• IST students access sample course materials to better understand what might be expected in each course and plan their academic schedules.  

Academic Advising in the College of IST

Academic Advising Team in the College of IST

Who? 

The IST Undergraduate Advising Office is a nine-person team. We have five full-time advisers, a records specialist, an administrative support staff member, an assistant director, and a director. We are all here to support your student through their academic career in the College of IST! Each student is assigned an adviser for their entire IST academic career. This enables your student to develop a meaningful relationship with their adviser. This helps us, the advising team, better support your student in fulfilling their academic goals.   

How? 

Your student will meet with an IST adviser as part of their orientation experience. This person will help ensure that your student schedules appropriate coursework towards their academic goals. You should know that the person who your student meets with during orientation may or may not be their assigned adviser in the College of IST. 

After orientation, your student will be assigned an adviser who will work with your student throughout their college experience. The IST advising office is open Monday-Friday 8 am ET- 5 pm ET. Advisers see students in two ways: Scheduled appointments and drop-ins. Scheduled appointments are the preferred method to see their adviser. This ensures your student is given our undivided attention for a full, 30-minute appointment. Your student will use Starfish to schedule appointments with their adviser.  

In the fall semester, another way to meet with their adviser is during our drop-in hours. These drop-ins are meant for time sensitive, quick questions. We limit drop-ins to 10 minutes. Your student can check the IST Undergraduate Advising website for drop-in hours as they may change each semester.   

When? 

Beginning Fall 2020, we encourage your student to schedule an appointment with their adviser at least once per semester. We want to check in on how students are progressing in the current semester and begin planning for upcoming semesters. Of course, your student can always schedule more appointments as needed! We love it when our students are engaged and take an active role in their academic career. 

Why? 

Your student’s adviser is here to help them make academic progress. We can support and guide, but ultimately, your student is in charge of their academic experience. The rule is: advisers advise, but students decide! We look forward to meeting your student and helping them reach their goals.  

College of IST Majors

Going to college means your student has many exciting options for what to study, and we are excited your student has chosen the College of IST as their academic home. Our college offers six majors. Your student may already know what they would like to study or maybe they are still deciding. Take a moment to read through the majors we offer and feel free to explore the Bulletin for more details.  

Teamwork is a focus in many College of IST classes

1. CYBERSECURITY ANALYTICS AND OPERATIONS, commonly referred to as CYBER. Students learn how to manage risk, analyze cybersecurity data, and build cyber defense strategies. They apply math and computer programming to protect digital assets. In addition, they learn to analyze security from the perspective of human and information systems. This major is highly technical, but don’t be afraid to jump in without prior coding experience. Our faculty are here to teach your student from the beginning.  
2. DATA SCIENCES, the Applied option is housed in IST. The three options are Computational (builds the machine), Statistical (paints a picture with the data) and Applied (tells the story of the data). These students learn to master the technical fundamentals of data sciences and the skills to manage and analyze large scale, unstructured data. These students should love math and statistics and be excited to apply these skills to a specific domain.  
3. ENTERPRISE TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION, or ETI. This is the newest major in the college. Students in this major will seek to understand the interconnectedness of systems, data, and distributed computing environments. This major grew out of the original IST major. This is where we study the most effective use of IT across organizations. These students will look at careers as Project Managers and Systems Engineers. This major is too new to be on the Bulletin, but it is available to read about on the IST website. 
4. HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT, or HCDD. These students concern themselves with how people use technology and seek to design ways to improve people’s lives. They look at quantitative and qualitative methods to identify how technology can better support human activity. This major focuses on the user experience and is reliant on programming to learn to build new technology.  
5. INFORMATION SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY, or IST. This is our original major. Once a major with three options, two options have developed into full majors of their own (HCDD and ETI). The current IST major focuses on People Organization and Society. The sociological perspective of creating new systems to meet the needs of organizations. If your student had an interest in either IST with the Design and Development option, or IST with the Integration and Application option, we will encourage your student to instead pursue HCDD and ETI respectively.    
6. SECURITY RISK AND ANALYSIS, or SRA. Students in this group will assess threats across local, national and global levels. They will collect intelligence and analyze it to make strategic and tactical decisions. These students will need strong writing and communication skills. They will work in government or private industry to keep people safe. 

College of IST: Academic Planning and Entrance to Major

College of IST students hard at work

Your student has already done the Course Planning Guide and selected some or all of their classes for the Spring 2022 semester. Please know it is okay if your student is still unsure of their intended major. We encourage students to explore their options, while staying on track. The orientation adviser can work with your student to choose courses which will leave multiple paths open so your student can explore their interests within the college.  

Academic planning is important because it ensures that your student is staying on track to meet their goals. You have heard about Suggested Academic Plans in other parts of the orientation experience. It is very important for your student to familiarize themselves with the Suggested Academic Plan for their major(s) of interest in the College of IST. To see these plans, go to the Bulletin, just click on the major and then select “Suggested Academic Plans” on the menu of options of the right side of the screen.  

One milestone of your student’s academic journey will be when they officially enter their major. You have learned that every Penn State student starts in a pre-major. Your student’s chosen major will be a goal to work towards and their adviser will help them learn what is needed to reach that goal. The Entrance to Major (ETM) process has three components:   

1. A minimum credit requirement or a credit window 

1. A grade of C or higher in specific ETM classes 

1. A specific cumulative GPA  

These component parts make up every ETM process in the College of IST, but the specifics of them depend upon which major your student is intending. The Bulletin has more information on every College of IST major. The ETM information for ETI is available here.

How to Support an IST Student

We appreciate the opportunity to partner with you to work towards a common goal of student success. Here are some tips for supporting your IST student in their academic journey: 

• Remind them to make an appointment with their adviser once the fall semester starts. 
• Ask them if they have joined any clubs or organizations. If not, encourage them to find a club they might be interested in and attend a meeting. 
• Does your student have a resume? It’s not too early to start building one! Encourage them to meet with a career coach in Career Solutions to start this process. 
• Ask your student how their classes are going. If they say a class is hard, suggest tutoring and faculty office hours.
• Remind your student it’s okay if the first year feels a bit overwhelming. This is normal. They should know they have resources in IST to help them be successful.

Old Main on a beautiful day

What’s Next?

We can’t wait to work with your student! After their orientation experience, we hope your student will stay connected with us.  

Visit the IST NSO website for many resources that may prove helpful this summer, before fall classes begin.  

Your student should also make sure that they routinely check their Penn State email. Offices in the College of IST will send important updates to this email address. It will enable your student to stay up to date on relevant information from the college. Remind them to check their email at least once per day, so they don’t miss out on anything!    

Thank you very much for your attention. We are looking forward to meeting with your student and welcoming them into our college community.  

The Nittany Lion Shrine at Penn State University Park