Online Information Technology Degree

In this course you will learn key critical thinking concepts and how to apply them in the analysis and evaluation of reasons and evidence. The course examines the basic components of an argument, the credibility of evidence sources, the impact of bias, and how to construct an argument that provides good support for a claim. The course consists of an introduction and four major sections. Each section includes learning opportunities through readings, videos, audio, and other relevant resources. Assessment activities with feedback also provide opportunities to check your learning, practice, and show how well you understand course content. Because the course is self-paced, you may move through the material as quickly or as slowly as you need to gain proficiency in the four competencies that will be covered in the final assessment. If you have no prior knowledge or experience, you can expect to spend 30-40 hours on the course content.

This is a Global Arts and Humanities course that contains three modules with corresponding lessons. This course is an invitation to see the world through the humanities, examine the humanities during the Information Age, and explore the global origins of music—essentially questioning what makes us human, and how people are connected across culture and time. Each module includes learning opportunities through readings, videos, audio, and other relevant resources. Assessment activities with feedback also provide opportunities to practice and check learning. With no prior knowledge or experience, a learner can expect to spend 30-40 hours on the course content.

This course provides students with an overview of the basic principles and unifying ideas of the physical sciences: physics, chemistry, and earth sciences. Course materials focus on scientific reasoning and practical, everyday applications of physical science concepts to help students integrate conceptual knowledge with practical skills.

Welcome to Composition: Writing with a Strategy! In this course, you will focus on three main topics: understanding purpose, context, and audience, writing strategies and techniques, and editing and revising. In addition, the first section, will offer review on core elements of the writing process, cross-cultural communication, as well as working with words and common standards and practices. Each section includes learning opportunities through readings, videos, audio, and other relevant resources. Assessment activities with feedback also provide opportunities to check your learning, practice, and show how well you understand course content. Because the course is self-paced, you may move through the material as quickly or as slowly as you need to gain proficiency in the seven competencies that will be covered in the final assessment. If you have no prior knowledge or experience, you can expect to spend 30-40 hours on the course content.

Welcome to Introduction to Communication: Connecting with Others! It may seem like common knowledge that communication skills are important, and that communicating with others is inescapable in our everyday lives. While this may appear simplistic, the study of communication is actually complex, dynamic, and multifaceted. Strong communication skills are invaluable to strengthening a multitude of aspects of life. Specifically, this course will focus on communication in the professional setting, and present material from multiple vantage points, including communicating with others in a variety of contexts, across situations, and with diverse populations. Upon completion, you will have a deeper understanding of both your own and others’ communication behaviors, and a toolbox of effective behaviors to enhance your experience in the workplace.

Welcome to Composition: Successful Self-Expression! In this course, you will focus on four main topics: professional writing for a cross-cultural audience, narrowing research topics and questions, researching for content to support a topic, and referencing research sources. Each section includes learning opportunities through readings, videos, audio, and other relevant resources. Assessment activities with feedback also provide opportunities to check your learning, practice, and show how well you understand course content. Because the course is self-paced, you may move through the material as quickly or as slowly as you need to gain proficiency in the seven competencies that will be covered in the final assessment. If you have no prior knowledge or experience, you can expect to spend 30-40 hours on the course content. You will demonstrate competency through a performance assessment. There is no prerequisite for this course and there is no specific technical knowledge needed.

Applied Probability and Statistics is designed to help students develop competence in the fundamental concepts of basic statistics including: introductory algebra and graphing; descriptive statistics; regression and correlation; and probability. Statistical data and probability are often used in everyday life, science, business, information technology, and educational settings to make informed decisions about the validity of studies and the effect of data on decisions. This course discusses what constitutes sound research design and how to appropriately model phenomena using statistical data. Additionally, the content covers simple probability calculations, based on events that occur in the business and IT industries. No prerequisites are required for this course.

Finite Mathematics covers the knowledge and skills necessary to apply discrete mathematics and properties of number systems to model and solve real-life problems. Topics include sets and operations; prime and composite numbers; GCD and LCM; order of operations; ordering numbers; mathematical systems including modular arithmetic, arithmetic and geometric sequences, ratio and proportion, subsets of real numbers, logic and truth tables, graphs, and trees and networks. There are no prerequisites for this course.

This is Introduction to Physical and Human Geography, a three-module course that addresses the question of what geography really is in today's complex world; how migration affects—and has been affected by—geography; and one of the biggest present problems related to geography: climate change. Because the course is self-paced, you may move through the material as quickly or as slowly as you need to, with the goal of demonstrating proficiency in the five competencies covered in the final assessment. If you have no prior knowledge of this material, you can expect to spend 30–40 hours on the course content.

Applied Algebra is designed to help you develop competence in working with functions, the algebra of functions, and using some applied properties of functions. You will start learning about how we can apply different kinds of functions to relevant, real-life examples. From there, the algebra of several families of functions will be explored, including linear, polynomial, exponential, and logistic functions. You will also learn about relevant, applicable mathematical properties of each family of functions, including rate of change, concavity, maximizing/minimizing, and asymptotes. These properties will be used to solve problems related to your major and make sense of everyday living problems. Students should complete Applied Probability and Statistics or its equivalent prior to engaging in Applied Algebra.

American Politics and the U.S. Constitution examines the evolution of representative government in the United States and the changing interpretations of the civil rights and civil liberties protected by the Constitution. This course will give candidates an understanding of the powers of the branches of the federal government, the continual tensions inherent in a federal system, the shifting relationship between state and federal governments, and the interactions between elected officials and the ever-changing electorate. This course will focus on such topics as the role of a free press in a democracy, the impact of changing demographics on American politics, and the debates over and expansion of civil rights. Upon completion of the course, candidates should be able to explain the basic functions of the federal government, describe the forces that shape American policy and politics, and be better prepared to participate in America’s civic institutions. This course has no prerequisite.

This course provides students an introduction to using the scientific method and engaging in scientific research to reach conclusions about the natural world. Students will design and carry out an experiment to investigate a hypothesis by gathering quantitative data. They will also research a specific ecosystem using academic sources and draw conclusions from their findings.

Ethics in Technology examines the ethical considerations of technology use in the 21st century and introduces students to a decision-making process informed by ethical frameworks. Students will study specific cases related to important topics such as surveillance, social media, hacking, data manipulation, plagiarism and piracy, artificial intelligence, responsible innovation, and the digital divide. This course has no prerequisites.

Technical Communication introduces skills in editing professional communications, evaluating the impact of professional etiquette in digital environments, and in creating artifacts that are persuasive, informational, and research-based. The course also introduces skills in delivering multimedia presentations using professional verbal communication skills.

Network and Security - Foundations introduces learners to the basic network systems and concepts related to networking technologies. Learners will gain skills in applying network security concepts for business continuity, data access, and confidentiality, and in identifying solutions for compliance with security guidance.

The Emerging Technologies course examines emerging technologies, identifies the benefits and drawbacks of technology adoption, and provides students with a process to evaluate technologies. The course will examine three technologies that may have an impact on Information Technology services in the coming years.

Network and Security - Applications prepares learners for the CompTIA Security+ certification exam. The course introduces learners to skills in identifying threats, attacks, and vulnerabilities to organizational security. The learner will also gain skills in designing security solutions for enterprise infrastructures and architectures, as well as in implementing security solutions across hardware, applications, and network services. Learners will be able to execute operations and incident response with tools, policies, forensics, and mitigation techniques, and to analyze information security controls, governance, risk, and compliance.

Scripting and Programming - Foundations introduces programming basics such as variables, data types, flow control, and design concepts. The course is language-agnostic in nature, ending in a survey of languages, and introduces the distinction between interpreted and compiled languages. Learners will gain skills in identifying scripts for computer program requirements and in using fundamental programming elements as part of common computer programming tasks. Learners will also gain an understanding of the logic and outcome of simple algorithms.

Cloud Foundations introduces learners to real-world issues and practical solutions to cloud computing. This course covers the business value of cloud computing, examining cloud types, the steps to successful cloud adoption, and the effect cloud adoption has on IT service management, as well as the risks and consequences of implementing cloud solutions. This course prepares learners for the AWS Certified Practitioner certification exam. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Organizational Behavior and Leadership explores how to lead and manage effectively in diverse business environments. The course requires students to demonstrate the ability to apply organizational leadership theories and management strategies in a series of scenario-based problems.

Business of IT - Applications examines Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL®) terminology, structure, policies, and concepts. Focusing on the management of information technology (IT) infrastructure, development, and operations, learners will explore the core principles of ITIL practices for service management to prepare them for careers as IT professionals, business managers, and business process owners. This course has no prerequisites.

In this course, students will build on industry standard concepts, techniques, and processes to develop a comprehensive foundation for project management activities. During a project's life cycle, students will develop the critical skills necessary to initiate, plan, execute, monitor, control, and close a project. Students will apply best practices in areas such as scope management, resource allocation, project planning, project scheduling, quality control, risk management, performance measurement, and project reporting. This course prepares students for the following certification exam: CompTIA Project+.

Web Development Foundations introduces students to web design and development using HTML, XML, and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), the foundational languages of the web. This course also covers how to troubleshoot problems using developer tools and integrated development environments commonly employed in web development. There are no prerequisites for this course. 

This course builds upon a student's manual coding skills by teaching how to develop web documents and pages using the web development trifecta: Hypertext Markup Language version 5 (HTML5), Cascading Style Sheets version 3 (CSS3), and JavaScript. Students will utilize the skills learned in this course to create web documents and pages that easily adapt to display on both traditional and mobile devices. In addition, students will learn techniques for code validation and testing, form creation, inline form field validation, and mobile design for browsers and apps, including Responsive Web Design (RWD).

This course covers tools and techniques employed in user interface design, including web and mobile applications. Concepts of clarity, usability, and detectability are included in this course, as well as other design elements such as color schemes, typography, and layout. Techniques like wireframing, usability testing, and SEO optimization are also covered.

Networks introduces skills in configuring networking components and a network infrastructure. Learners will gain skills in optimizing network operations for availability, performance, and security, and in troubleshooting network issues. The course prepares learners for the CompTIA Network+ certification exam. Network and Security - Foundations is a prerequisite for this course.

Data Management Foundations offers an introduction in creating conceptual, logical and physical data models.  Students gain skills in creating databases and tables in SQL-enabled database management systems, as well as skills in normalizing databases. No prerequisites are required for this course

Data Management - Applications covers conceptual data modeling and introduces MySQL. Students will learn how to create simple to complex SELECT queries, including subqueries and joins, and how to use SQL to update and delete data. Topics covered in this course include exposure to MySQL; creating and modifying databases, tables, views, foreign keys and primary keys (FKs and PKs), and indexes; populating tables; and developing simple Select-From-Where (SFW) queries to complex 3+ table join queries. The following course is a prerequisite: Data Management - Foundations.

Linux Foundations prepares learners for the LPI Linux Essentials certification, and is an introduction to Linux as an operating system as well as an introduction to open-source concepts and the basics of the Linux command line. Learners will gain skills in identifying the fundamentals of open-source software and to develop resources for data access and security.

Introduction to IT examines information technology as a discipline and the various roles and functions of the IT department as business support. Students are presented with various IT disciplines, including systems and services, network and security, scripting and programming, data management, and business of IT, with a survey of technologies in every area and how they relate to each other and to the business.

IT Applications introduces skills in identifying operating systems and their configurations and in implementing security principles across devices and networks. Learners will also gain skills in troubleshooting software, security, and malware issues, and in implementing basic operational procedures in documentation, change management, compliance, and communication. The course will introduce basic disaster recovery and business continuity procedures, scripting basics, and remote access technology solutions. The course prepares learners for the CompTIA A+ Core 2 certification exam.

IT Foundations provides learners with an understanding of personal computer components and their functions in a desktop system; a knowledge of computer data storage and retrieval; and skills in classifying, installing, configuring, optimizing, upgrading, and troubleshooting printers, laptops, portable devices, operating systems, networks, and system security. This course also gives learners the ability to recommend appropriate tools, diagnostic procedures, preventative maintenance, and troubleshooting techniques for personal computer components in a desktop system; strategies for identifying, preventing, and reporting safety hazards and environmental or human accidents in technological environments; and effective communication skills for interacting with colleagues and clients, including job-related professional behavior. The course prepares learners for the CompTIA A+ Core 1 certification exam.

Information Systems Management provides an overview of many facets of information systems applicable to business. The course explores the importance of viewing information technology (IT) as an organizational resource that must be managed, so that it supports or enables organizational strategy.

The Spreadsheets course will help students become proficient in using spreadsheets to analyze business problems. Students will demonstrate competency in spreadsheet development and analysis for business/accounting applications (e.g., using essential spreadsheet functions, formulas, charts, etc.)

Principles of Management provides students with an introductory look at the discipline of management and its context within the business environment. Students of this course build on previously mastered competencies by taking a more in-depth look at management as a discipline and how it differs from leadership while further exploring the importance of communication within business. This course provides students with a business generalist overview in the areas of strategic planning, total quality, entrepreneurship, conflict and change, human resource management, diversity, and organizational structure.

The capstone project consists of a technical work proposal, the proposal’s implementation, and a post-implementation report that describes the graduate’s experience in developing and implementing the capstone project. The capstone project should be presented and approved by the course instructor in relation to the graduate’s technical emphasis.