Motivation for the Curriculum Update of IS 1997 - IS2002

From IS Curriculum

Since the last revision of the undergraduate curriculum guidelines, three major factors have spurred the need to reexamine and update the existing standard. These were the advent of the Internet, the changes in student computing literacy, and the information accreditation movement. This section reviews each of these motivating factors.

[edit] Internet

As discussed previously, much of the work in developing IS 97 occurred prior to 1995. During the writing of IS97 the utility of Web and Internet programming was not yet foreseen, with limited references to thin-client programming concepts, Internet protocols and applications, and other relevant content. Although it was known that the impact of these then novel concepts could be large, it was at the time unrealized. In the intervening years, the Internet has grown to become a major aspect of all IS environments.

[edit] Changes in Student Computing Literacy

Over the past decade, there has been a significant change in the basic computer literacy of incoming university students. In the past, very few students entered a university having significant skills in using a desktop computer, with even fewer students owning or having easy access to a computer. Today, with the advent of the Internet and low cost PCs, most students entering a university have at least a modest level of computer literacy.

[edit] Information Systems Accreditation Movement

There has been interest in the accreditation of programs in Information Systems since the accreditation of programs in Computer Science was begun in the mid 1980s. The work on IS97, with its support from the major IS professional societies provided a catalyst for IS accreditation. With the support of the National Science Foundation, the Criteria for the Accreditation of Programs in Information Systems have been developed with IS97 serving as the basis of the IS curriculum criteria. ABET is the agency with responsibility for accrediting all programs in computing, engineering, and technology (Gorgone and Lidtke, 2002). The Computing Accreditation Commission (CAC) has responsibility for accrediting computer science and information systems programs. The first pilot visit was completed during Fall 2001.