The document presents an overview of informatics, its relevance in modern life, and its applications across various disciplines, including healthcare and technology. It highlights the College of Informatics at NKU, detailing its programs and specializations aimed at preparing students for careers in information technology and related fields. Additionally, it discusses the integration of informatics into traditional areas of study and the development of a new state-of-the-art facility for the college scheduled for completion in 2009.

1. What is Informatics, and
who’s in it?
Presented by Teri Slick

2. What is Informatics?
Good question. You're inquisitive. We like that.
Professors will tell you informatics relates information to
digital technology.
But what does that mean?
It means informatics is all around us, in the ways we live,
work and play. More than likely, you've used some form of
informatics at some point in your work or during your
leisure, and improving your knowledge of it will only make
you more prepared for the ever-changing technological
world.
Taken from http://informatics.nku.edu/about/whatis.php

3. What are the possibilities?
Imagine creating software that can recognize the limb
movements of ballet dancers and can record their
choreography to be replicated years from now, like a musical
score.
Imagine doctors and nurses having a patient's information
on a digital tablet that contains every medical record since
the time of the patient's birth.
Imagine a brand-new place built especially for the College of
Informatics, with Computer Assisted Virtual Environment
rooms and the latest technological innovations, created from
the ground-up to be a state-of-the-art facility designed for
discovery.
You won't have to imagine for long; our new building is
scheduled to be completed in 2009, and we're excited about
the possibilities it holds for our students and for the
community.

4. Connecting the disciplines….
Organizing fields of study at a university around Informatics is a new idea. It
cuts "diagonally" across traditional groupings such as Business,
Engineering, Arts, Humanities and Science. NKU is on the leading edge of
this development, but it is not unique.
Many fields make contributions to informatics:
communication and media, computer science and information technology,
and management information systems, to name a few.
Informatics contributes to many fields:
biology (bioinformatics and neuroinformatics), health care (health
informatics), and law (legal informatics), to name a few.
The foremost goal of the informatics-related programs at NKU is to graduate
students who are savvy about information technology, who are
accomplished communicators, and who are intellectually agile "renaissance
people" for the information age.

5. Departments in the
College of Informatics
Department of Business Informatics
(formerly IFS)
Department of Communication
Department of Computer Science
To schedule advising appointments:
informatics.nku.edu/advising/index.php
 Informatics Undeclared (Office of the Dean)
Teri Slick, Assistant Dean (teri.slick@nku.edu)

6. Department of Business Informatics
 B.S. in Business Informatics (must also have minor in Business
Administration)
 M.S. in Business Informatics (MBI)
 Master’s in Health Informatics (MHI)
 Minor in BIS – Also available online in 2007
 Post-Baccalaureate certificates
 Business Informatics
 Enterprise Resource Planning
 Corporate Information Security
 Health Informatics
 Course prefixes are still IFS, but will be changing to BIS.

7. Department of Communication
 Electronic Media & Broadcasting – formerly RTV (B.A.)
 Journalism (B.A.)
 Media Informatics (B.A.)
 Public Relations (B.A.)
 Speech Communication (B.A.)
 M.A. program in Communication
 Minors in EMB, Journalism, Popular Culture, and Speech
Communication

8. Radio/TV (RTV) is now
Electronic Media & Broadcasting (EMB)
 Effective Spring 2007
 EMB major consists of 15 hours in the core
courses and 33 hours of courses listed in two
sequences: electronic media or broadcast
journalism.
 Core courses: EMB/JOU 100; EMB 110; EMB
140; EMB 260/265; and EMB 396/397.

9. Media Informatics
 Interdisciplinary orientation (Business Informatics, Electronic
Media Broadcasting, Philosophy, Art, Journalism, Public
Relations)
 Emphasis on the creation of content specifically for the web
 Creation process consists of the interplay of
video, audio, and text for distribution via the web.
 2-D & 3-D animation; design; linear & non-linear
storytelling through games (not programming)
 Core courses (36 hours) focus on storytelling, web design, 3-D
graphics design.
 Includes integrated media & non-linear storytelling
 12 hours of elective courses

10. General Education courses
 EMB/ Media Literacy (social sciences)
JOU 100
 SPE 101 Principles of Speech Com (oral communication)
 EMB 100 Media Literacy (social sciences)
 EMB 105 Race, Gender and the Mass Media
(race/gender)
 POP 205 Introduction to Popular Culture (social science)
 POP 345 Japanese Popular Culture (non-western)

11. Some Important Course Changes
 RTV 100/JOU 100 – Contemporary Mass Media (no
longer exists)
 EMB 100/JOU 100 – Media Literacy (also, a general
education course in social sciences)
 RTV 105 is now EMB 105 – Race, Gender, & the
Mass Media (general education course in the
race/gender category)
 EMB 110/JOU 110 – Introduction to Mass Media
(takes the place of RTV/JOU 100)
 EMB 140 – Introduction to Media Aesthetics (pre-
requisite to production courses)
 JOU 130 – Newswriting I – is now JOU 220

12. More Course Changes
 Popular Culture Studies (new prefix):
POP 205 – Intro. to Popular Culture
POP 345 – Japanese Popular Culture
POP 394 – Special Topics in Popular
Culture
POP 499 – Independent Study

13. Department of Computer Science
 Computer Information Technology (B.S.)
 Computer Science (B.S.)
 M.S. in Computer Science
 Minors in CIT, CS, Computer Forensics, and
Information Security
 No longer accepting majors in CET (being phased out)

14. Informatics Undeclared
 College-specific, undeclared major code
(not a degree program)
 Placed under the Dean’s Office (DINF)
 For students who have an interest in one
or more of the fields within the college

15. Business Informatics vs. Computer Science vs. Computer Information Technology
 BIS prepares students for careers in
business computing, and basically
connects technology with business.
Some applicable fields include project
and database management, e-
commerce, and systems analysis.

16. Business Informatics vs. Computer Science vs. Computer Information Technology
Business Informatics would
identify the different
categories for the searches;
would devise and
implement the shopping
cart; would identify the free
gifts and recommendations
idea; would design the your
lists ideas; all based upon
analyzing what the
shoppers to Amazon.com
wanted.

17. Business Informatics vs. Computer Science vs. Computer Information Technology
 CSC is an applied science with a strong
software engineering focus. Graduates
are prepared for careers in
programming, software analysis, and
computer architecture.

18. Business Informatics vs. Computer Science vs. Computer Information Technology
Computer Science would
store the data and make
the searches retrieving the
data work more efficiently;
write programs to extract
the data and display it;
make sure that the
shopping cart has access to
all the information it needs
to execute; construct
security algorithms for
executing the purchase.

19. Business Informatics vs. Computer Science vs. Computer Information Technology
 CIT provides students with a broad
background in information technology
and helps them to become experts in IT
support, troubleshooting, and
networking. Graduates become security
technicians, Webmasters, and network
administrators.

20. Business Informatics vs. Computer Science vs. Computer Information Technology
Computer Information
Technology (CIT) makes
sure hardware and software
work together so that the
webpages are up and
functioning. For example,
maintaining hardware
servers and network
operating software so the
applications on a website
execute.

21. New Minors in Computer Science –
Effective Fall 2007
 Computer Forensics (25 hours) –
combines courses from CIT and Criminal
Justice
 Information Security (25 hours) –
combines courses from CIT and BIS/IFS

22. Health Informatics
 Application of information technology across the entire
health care industry (hospitals, pharmacies, insurance
companies, government agencies, etc.)
 Began in Fall 2007; course prefix is MHI.
 CPE approved in July 2007
 Master’s degree program housed in the Department of
Business Informatics
 Program consists of 35 credit hours and can be
completed in two years (full-time).

23. Please check out our NEW
website: informatics.nku.edu
Questions?
Comments?