Meet AIU Faculty/Staff

Dr. Richard Cai
School of Information Technology – Internet Security
Phone: 1-877-701-3800 ext.15727
Email: richard.cai@aiuonline.edu

Meet Dr. Richard Cai: Designing Curriculums to Help Expand Your Career Opportunities

Three years ago Dr. Cai was instrumental in getting AIU Online's Master of Information Technology with a concentration in Internet Security degree program started. As chair of AIU Online's IT Department, Dr. Cai spent time designing the new concentration's curriculum. AIU Online already had several IT concentrations, but Dr. Cai knew this Internet Security concentration was needed. And how did he know? Well, because IT industry insiders told him so.

At least once a year, AIU Online's academic administration meets with an advisory committee of professionals currently working in upper management in the IT industry: CEOs, CIOs and Chief Technical Officers, for example. AIU Online's academic administration picks committee members' brains for industry trends and future employment needs. Based on what these industry insiders say, along with their own research, AIU Online's administration may elect to change or add to its IT curriculum. Three years ago, Dr. Cai was told the IT industry had a great need for internet security experts. So Dr. Cai got to work creating a concentration in the Master's degree program that would prepare AIU Online students for internet security jobs.

"The main goal of AIU Online's IT Internet Security concentration curriculum, and AIU Online's curriculum in general, is to prepare students for challenging career opportunities. In the case of the Internet Security concentration, we prepare students for potential jobs related to network and internet security."

But Dr. Cai is the first to point out that no concentration within the Information Technology degree program is so specialized that students might find themselves limited in career options. "When you choose to concentrate in something within the MIT program, you still need to take the core IT courses. The IT core covers four main areas: information management, programming, database design and network design." Dr. Cai says these four areas were identified as the most important for potential employees to have.

"Whatever you concentrate in within IT, whether it is Internet Security or something else, you still graduate with the potential ability to get a general IT job. You may even be prepared for a project management position. We like to prepare our students for as wide a range of job opportunities as possible."

Dr. Cai says that, in addition to lectures, chats and reading, required projects and class discussions are also instrumental in preparing students for the real world. "The projects that students do as class assignments are designed as close to real-world projects as possible. From working at corporations myself, I know."

Like Dr. Cai himself, the majority of AIU Online instructors have real-world experience. Dr. Cai says real-world examples enliven class discussions. "Whenever it is possible, I share scenarios and methodologies from my time at different companies," says Dr. Cai. "Such sharing not only makes the discussions more interesting for students, but it actually helps them gain that particular experience without having yet been exposed to it themselves."

AIU Online's instructors aren't the only ones whose discussions help students. "I'm always surprised by how much experience students in the program have and what they can add to the course. Some students have already been working in the field for 10 or 20 years. They may have different experiences then what instructors have and are given the opportunity to share. AIU Online's curriculum is designed so that students can learn from each other as well as from instructors."

"Most of AIU Online's students are adults with work experience. They have very clear goals and know what they want and need. They don't want to learn anything that is going to limit them in their job search or career. I, as does the rest of AIU Online's administration, keep that in mind when helping to design curriculum."

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