Enroute to making an IT baccalaureate program

Several major factors have contributed to the birth of the new IT baccalaureate degree program at the University of Cincinnati. Of course the timing of IT emerging as an academic discipline has been a major one. Since CITC II several faculty members from the University of CINCINNATI have participated actively in SITE, later, SIGITE. With the arrival of new and exciting integrated technology, the stipulation to design an IT program meeting the needs of our society has become most important. Although originated by the entire group of Computer Science/Information Engineering Technology faculty, the project to step-by-step develop the IT program based on SIGITE's most current guidelines fell onto three such faculty members. The project also coincides with the University of CINCINNATI Collegiate Restructuring Initiative, mandated by the Provost. During the past 12 months, a comprehensive plan containing specific tasks with time-line for each was developed. This paper is to discuss the entire process including implementation, lessons learned, pitfalls to be avoided, opportunities encountered, inspirations found, enthusiasm subtended, etc.