Faculty Profile: Dr. Aryya Gangopadhyay

“Focused learners in a strong academic environment produce significant results.”

"Students in the online program have very clear expectations of what they want to learn," says Aryya Gangopadhyay, UMBC’s Department of Information Systems Graduate Program Director and Associate Professor.

Gangopadhyay has been director of the Information Systems’ M.S. (both online and on-campus) and Ph.D. programs since July 2002. During this time, he’s noticed that the online students tend to be very focused and assertive. "They don’t have any inhibitions – they feel free to ask questions when they have concerns. There’s also a high level of participation in the online program; they don’t feel intimidated by the process. This, perhaps, is a direct result of the fact that our online students get the same rigorous program as on-campus students—it’s not watered down. The faculty is committed to making sure their courses are not weakened versions."

Gangopadhyay is emphatic, however, that the flexibility built into UMBC’s online program has not compromised academic integrity, a concern that some students have when looking into online programs. He notes that UMBC’s IS Master’s program is credited with being one of the most academically comprehensive, with its emphasis on all aspects of IS, including networking, data systems and systems analysis and design. "It’s a very wide range of courses and that will evolve as the IT industry does, Gangopadhyay says.

Additional information about Dr. Gangopadhyay can be found at http://www.research.umbc.edu/~gangopad/.