The Office of Undergraduate Admissions Texas A&M University—Commerce ISSUE 09 APRIL/May 2012

Commerce, TEXAS—The Texas A&M University-Commerce Mane Event Preview Day was held March 3 in the Sam Rayburn Student Center. The event featured programs and activities specially designed to provide helpful college-related information to future students and help them get acquainted with the university. “The Spring 2012 Mane Event was a huge success!” said Stephanie Holley, dean of enrollment and retention. “The weather was beautiful for the almost 1000 visitors we hosted on our campus.” The day’s activities included general information sessions on admissions, financial aid and scholarships, residence life, a chance to meet faculty and students, academic sessions to preview college major interests, student organization showcases, campus tours and more. Mane Event Preview Day is a great source of information for high school or transfer students who are considering A&M-Commerce. Prospective students had the opportunity to meet with representatives from admissions, financial aid, veterans and military services, Residential Living and Learning, Hispanic Outreach and a variety of other organizations. For more information about Mane Event, contact Stephanie Holley at Stephanie.Holley@tamuc.edu.

Spring Mane Event Preview Day a Success

Mane Event Preview Day P. 1 Bacterial Meningitis P. 2

MIS Degree P. 3 New Student Orientation P. 4

Upcoming Events P. 5

This Issue

Important Information Regarding the Bacterial Meningitis Vaccination

Bacterial Meningitis Vaccination Requirement

Effective January 1, 2012, Texas Senate Bill 1107 (SB 1107) requires all students (under age 30) entering an institution of higher

education (public and private) to either receive a vaccination against bacterial meningitis or meet certain criteria to decline

the vaccination 10 days before they first day of the semester.

Important facts about Bacterial Meningitis

How to complete this requirement

We have chosen the services of Magnus Health to collect, review, and securely store all student documents pertaining to the

meningitis vaccine. Magnus Health’s SMR (Student Medical Record) is a web-based solution that will allow us to manage the

vast number of vaccination records that we have to collect to comply with the new state law. All first-time and former

students that fall under this requirement must register through Magnus Health’s SMR, ensuring that the course registration

process is not delayed. Students will be withdrawn from their classes on the 10th class day if this new requirement has not

been completed. The vaccine must be administered within the past five years and verified at least 10 days prior to the first day

of classes in the semester for which you are beginning at Texas A&M University–Commerce.

Admissions Semester 10 Days Prior Date 1st day of Classes Date

May Mini May 4th May 14th

Summer 1 May 25th June 4th

Summer 2 June 29th July 9th

August Mini July 31st August 10th

Fall 2012 August 17th August 27th

Getting started

1. Log into myLEO to enter the Student Portal. You will need your CWID number and password.

2. Click on the myLEO link at the top of the page to enter the Self-Service page

3. Click on the Meningitis Shot Requirement link found on the Main Menu

4. You will automatically be directed to the Magnus Health’s SMR account page

5. Your myLEO account is linked to your Magnus Health account through a single-sign-on; therefore, you do not need to

create an additional username and password.

6. You will be asked to verify your personal information

7. You will then be guided through the rest of the verification process through Magnus Health SMR

8. You can access Magnus Health’s SMR by logging into your myLEO account at any time.

If you have any further questions, please contact your admissions processor based on the following alphabet breakdown:

A-E Angela Woodruff 903-886-5077 angela.woodruff@tamuc.edu

F-K Gary Robnett 903-468-3284 gary.robnett@tamuc.edu

L-R Judy Allen 903-886-5079 judy.allen@tamuc.edu

S-Z Sally Stout 903-886-5104 sally.stout@tamu-o.edu

Why Should You Consider an MIS Degree?

(Management Information Systems) Why choose a degree in the first place?

What is all the fuss about choosing a degree? Isn’t college just college? Everyone seems to be pushing that you decide what you want to be when you

don’t know why it is even important to know. Isn’t college about exploring, examining, having some fun, and trying out new things? This is a very

confusing time in one’s life. While it is true that most students will have more than one major before graduation and many different jobs over their

work careers, the preparation that is done during college will provide the foundation for most of your future. What you learn in college will enable you

to build the base of knowledge upon which you will build your success for the rest of your life.

With proper reflection, you should be able to choose a degree that is compatible with your interests. This will allow you to pursue a career and not just

find a job. You will maximize your already developed skills; using the interests that brought you this far. It should be a degree that allows your natural

abilities to shine through. You will then be propelled to greater heights as your career develops and blossoms in the future. Too many students reach

the end of their studies to discover that they have made a poor choice of a major. They may learn that they don’t like the jobs that are available for the

chosen major or, even worse, there are no jobs available for that major.

Who should consider an MIS degree?

MIS is not for everyone. Those who do well in this degree field are those who tend to be questioners: how or why things are done; those who have a

business interest; and those who possess a technical savvy: they don’t necessarily know a lot of technical information, but are not afraid to learn it.

People who like to use technology to solve real problems are the best candidates for an MIS degree. Those who are willing to go with the flow or

maintain the status quo, in spite of the problems associated with that, don’t do well in this field. The predominate characteristic of MIS professionals is

that they are problem solvers.

What do MIS graduates do?

Fundamentally, MIS graduates solve problems. One day they may be determining how to make a production process more efficient and the next, they

may be asked to develop a better procedure for an accounting problem. The MIS professional works in many business processes at the same time. Their

work experience is rarely mundane, because most problems can’t be solved with yesterday’s solutions.

What is unique about MIS graduates is they are able to speak both the language of business and the language of Information Systems. They build the

bridge between the two and can have a huge impact on a business’ bottom line.

Good MIS graduates have the ability to work with business managers, technologists, and end users to develop, implement, and manage the information

structure to the betterment of the corporation. While these skills are established in ones undergraduate program, they will require active development

throughout one’s work life. Only with ongoing development will the MIS graduate be able to meet the many new challenges that come along.

What do MIS graduates do?

Career opportunities for MIS graduates are extremely plentiful and varied. Many serve in companies as project managers, business analysts, or business

process analysts/developers. They may have the responsibility to lead the eBusiness operations, Internet marketing, or website design & development.

They could be the information architect, business intelligence specialist, database administrator or data warehousing manager. They could be the

security analyst, security designer, Sarbanes-Oxley/Business compliance manager, or IT Compliance supervisor. They could be the implementation

specialist. They can be the quality assurance specialist, legal forensics examiner, or IT leadership. These are just a few of the jobs that MIS graduates

pursue upon graduation. Most MIS jobs are not outsourced, because they require such an intimate knowledge of the corporate infrastructure that it is

not feasible to have them offsite.

How stable is the job market?

MIS jobs are expected to average a 38% growth rate over the next ten years according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The same source states that

MIS jobs will grow at a rate 3 or more times as fast as the national average through 2018. While the current job market is tougher than it has been for

many years, MIS jobs are expected to remain in high demand. When many computer jobs are being outsourced, MIS jobs go consistently unfilled do to

the lack of viable candidates. Salaries for these candidates are high and going higher. MIS degrees command among the highest salaries of any

undergraduate business degree, significantly higher than most computer science degrees.

There is a current shortage of MIS graduates. It is projected to worsen over the next five to ten years as the baby boomers reach retirement age. With

more and more of our work being dependent upon information systems, there does not seem to be a foreseeable end to the shortage. It has been stated

that more than 40% of the technology workforce reached retirement age in 2010. On average, universities are only providing about 30% of the needed

MIS graduates. Now is a perfect storm for those who desire to pursue this degree option.

New Student Orientation Dates Announced!!!

DAY OF WEEK DATE

Thursday—Friday May 24—25

Thursday—Friday June 7 –8

Friday—Saturday June 15 –16

Thursday—Friday June 28 –29

Thursday—Friday July 12 –13

Friday—Saturday July 20 –21

Friday—Saturday July 27 –28

Thursday—Friday August 2 –3

Wednesday—Thursday August 15 –16

Lion Camp— August 23 –25, 2012

Orientation is mandatory for all new freshman and transfer students!!

If you are admitted, Sign up today!!

Comments?

Let us know what you think. We

would love to hear your

feedback and suggestions!

Want more information? Let us

know what you would like to

see!

admissions@tamuc.edu

ISSUE 09 APRIL/May 2012

Upcoming Events

P.O. Box 3011

Commerce, Texas 75429

903.886.5000 ph

888.868.2682 ph

903.468.8685 fax

www.tamuc.edu

New Student Orientation

May 24-25, 2012 Sign up Online

Texas A&M University—Commerce

The Office of Undergraduate Admissions

New Student Orientation

New Student Orientation

June 7-8, 2012 Sign up Online

June 15-16, 2012 Sign up Online

New Student Orientation

June 28-29, 2012 Sign up Online

August 1,2012 Apply Today!

Undergraduate Admissions Application Fall Deadline