Faculty Spotlight: Associate Professor and Program Coordinator Kristi Hall

Kristi Hall Brings a Depth of Experience and a Big Heart to Students Interested in an Information Technology Career

In 2024, University of Cincinnati (UC) Associate Professor Kristi Hall began using her expertise in information technology (IT) in a new way — as the Program Coordinator for UC Clermont’s online associate degree program in IT.

UC Clermont’s Associate of Applied Business in Information Technology program, which is entirely online, is a two-year program that develops graduates’ skills,  to enable them to establish a career as an IT professional.

With more than 25 years of IT industry experience and college-level teaching, Kristi understands the educational and industry requirements that will propel students to career success.

Guiding Academic Excellence and Inspiring Innovation

As a Program Coordinator, Kristi manages a wide range of the online degree’s requirements. “I oversee class scheduling and staffing, ensure all program materials and tools are available for students each semester, and support our faculty,” she says. “I also continuously monitor class progress to ensure the program keeps running smoothly.”

Kristi teaches courses in the program, sharing her deep industry expertise with students. Her focus is higher-level programming, where she helps students develop advanced skills to enhance their IT career marketability.

Describing herself as a ‘nerd’ when it comes to programming and web development, Kristi says, “In my classes, I strive to show my students all the possibilities and creativity that can be explored in those areas. I love being able to get those ideas across to my students,” says Kirsti.

Love of Teaching is Part of Kristi’s DNA

Kristi comes from a family of educators (her mother, sisters, and aunts) and shares the family legacy of loving teaching — and teaching is a passion of hers. “I love working with the students, getting to know them, and seeing them be successful. Those connections are very meaningful.”

Kristi also remembers the positive impact of her early mentors when she decided to study computer programming at her local community college in rural Appalachia. “The two faculty members who ran that program were women, which was quite unusual at the time,” Kristi says. “They were important mentors to me. I love interacting with students and mentoring them through the program.”

Becoming a Successful IT Student and Professional

When asked about the characteristics that make a person a good fit for a career in IT, Kristi places a love of problem-solving at the top of the list. “That’s the number one skill to have in the IT field because solving technology problems is the crux of IT,” she says.

Kristi gives this example to further drive home her point: If your company’s network is broken, as a network technician you do the diagnostics, figure out what the problem is, and then solve that problem.

Similar problem-solving is needed in each area of IT. “A lot of what goes into the problem-solving component is doing research,” Kristi says. She says you must do research to determine the problem, come up with solutions to solve it, and choose the best option for the situation. “A successful IT professional has to have a lifelong learning mindset,” she says.

Ideal Students for the Associate Degree in IT Program

Kristi appreciates how UC Clermont’s online associate program in IT is easily accessible by a range of students at different points in their lives and careers.

Kristi has seen students enter the program who are:

• Recent high school graduates who like technology and want to translate it into an IT career.
• Professionals who want to change careers and move into IT.
• People requiring new job skills or a college degree to advance their careers.

“There’s no ‘typical’ IT student in terms of their incoming experience in technology or any other profession,” Kristi says.

Supporting a Student-Centric Program

UC’s 100% online IT study program is designed to support a diverse student population uniquely and effectively.

One of the most unique things is that UC accepts first-semester students three times a year, in the summer, fall, and spring. Similar programs at other universities only allow students to begin in the fall semester, which can dampen a person’s enthusiasm if they must wait to start pursuing their goals. UC’s students also have the option to choose a full- or part-time study schedule.

Once in the associate degree program, the asynchronous structure of the curriculum allows students to access classwork at the times that work best for them. This allows UC’s students to incorporate their studies into their work and life responsibilities.

Kristi notes another distinguishing characteristic of the UC online program: “Our faculty care so much about our students, and they work hard to make sure our students are successful! Our students have much more support than I’ve seen in other online programs.”

UC’s faculty make themselves available to students and provide opportunities for student-to-student collaboration using a variety of tools that include:

• Using the Canvas platform for teacher and student interaction.
• Using Microsoft Teams for messaging and meetings.
• Providing students the ability to facilitate networking and develop friendships with peers.

Kristi uses Teams for online office hours. “Students often use Teams to instant message me,” she says. “If they have a question while doing their coursework, they can send me a message and get an immediate reply. If the question requires more than a short reply, we schedule a phone call or meeting to discuss it.”

Keeping Up with the Evolving Technology Landscape

One aspect of maintaining a student-centered program is continuous learning and improvement on the part of UC’s faculty and program staff. This is especially true for IT programs when it comes to staying on top of technological innovations and trends. As Kristi says, “Part of our job as faculty is to conduct research and regularly participate in professional development and training.”

The IT associate degree program’s administrators recognize the importance of keeping the material relatable and real-time by actively supporting faculty research, training, and development. One current example is the need to understand and teach IT students about Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies. “We implemented AI into our courses,” Kristi says. “For example, in my programming classes, I teach students how to use AI to troubleshoot code.”

The associate degree in IT’s program curriculum also includes the course “Implications of Information Technology” in which students consider the impact brought upon society by computers and related technologies, including AI. Students study privacy, ethics, law, encryption, copyright, computer crimes, and professional ethics via lectures and group discussions.

As a result of these staff’s ongoing efforts, the program and courses are regularly enhanced to include the innovative technology and knowledge students need to be successful in IT.

Next Steps if You’re Interested in an IT Degree

We hope you enjoyed learning about Kristi Hall’s background and responsibilities as the Program Director of our Associate of Applied Business in Information Technology program. She brings her knowledge, experience and excitement to students who want a rewarding career in IT — and our program is richer with her involvement.

If you’d like more information on the IT degree program, we encourage you to explore the online information that covers IT careers, the academic calendar, admission requirements, and more. To get one-on-one help and advice, connect with a UC Enrollment Service Advisor.