Info Systems Students Are Top Competitors at National Competition

PROVO, Utah — Apr 29, 2003 — Brigham Young University information systems students earned top marks in their first appearance at the National Collegiate Conference (NCC) in West Lafayette, Ind. Two of the six students from BYU’s Marriott School of Management scored among the top three in individual competitions.

Ryan Caldwell, a junior from El Paso, Texas, placed first out of 200 students on the information systems core examination and second on the Web development examination. Shaun Smith, a senior from Central, Ariz., placed third in the Java programming contest.

"Our students represented BYU very well, especially considering this is the first time BYU participated at the NCC," says Lynn McKell, professor of information systems.

The conference, sponsored by the Association for Information Technology Professionals, spanned three days and included a career fair that offered students numerous job interviews, internships and job offers with leading industry organizations. More than 560 students representing 84 schools attended this year’s conference hosted at Purdue University.

"Attending the conference was a great experience," Caldwell says. "The problems we solved were based on real life scenarios. Solving them and competing against other students and universities showed us ways the program could be enriched and better prepare students for the workplace."

The Marriott School has offered a major in information systems since fall 2002.

"I think it was good for our students to realize the level of expertise other programs are giving their students," McKell says. "They gained a sense of what kind of competition they’ll have when they enter the workforce."

The Marriott School is located at Brigham Young University, the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States. The school has nationally recognized programs in accounting, business management, public management, information systems, organizational behavior and entrepreneurship. The school’s mission is to prepare men and women of faith, character and professional ability for positions of leadership throughout the world. Approximately 3,000 students are enrolled in the Marriott School’s graduate and undergraduate programs.