Manajemen | Fakultas Ekonomi Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji joeb.84.3.142-150

Journal of Education for Business

ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20

Leveraging Alumni and Business Community
Relations to Assess the Information Systems
Curriculum
Robert K. Plice & Bruce A. Reinig
To cite this article: Robert K. Plice & Bruce A. Reinig (2009) Leveraging Alumni and Business
Community Relations to Assess the Information Systems Curriculum, Journal of Education for
Business, 84:3, 142-150, DOI: 10.3200/JOEB.84.3.142-150
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.3200/JOEB.84.3.142-150

Published online: 07 Aug 2010.

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Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 22:49 11 January 2016

Leveraging฀Alumni฀and฀Business฀
Community฀Relations฀to฀Assess฀฀
the฀Information฀Systems฀Curriculum
ROBERT฀K.฀PLICE฀
BRUCE฀A.฀REINIG฀
SAN฀DIEGO฀STATE฀UNIVERSITY฀
SAN฀DIEGO,฀CALIFORNIA

ABSTRACT.฀A฀recent฀Association฀to฀
Advance฀Collegiate฀Schools฀of฀Business฀

(2006)฀task฀force฀called฀for฀increased฀interaction฀between฀business฀schools฀and฀the฀business฀community฀to฀identify฀essential฀skill฀sets฀
and฀help฀with฀the฀curriculum-management฀
process.฀An฀information฀systems฀curriculumassessment฀study฀solicited฀input฀from฀recent฀
alumni฀working฀in฀the฀business฀community฀
who฀had฀demonstrated฀a฀solid฀grasp฀of฀the฀
curriculum.฀An฀analysis฀of฀the฀responses฀
indicates฀that฀communications฀and฀teamwork฀
skills฀are฀perceived฀as฀highly฀important฀to฀the฀
business฀community.฀Qualitative฀and฀statistical฀analyses฀show฀that฀the฀business฀community฀perceives฀value฀in฀curriculum฀content฀
that฀emphasizes฀managerial฀and฀systems฀
development฀topics฀and฀covers฀technical฀topics฀broadly฀rather฀than฀deeply.฀
Keywords:฀alumni,฀business฀community,฀
curriculum฀assessment,฀information฀systems
Copyright฀©฀2008฀Heldref฀Publications

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Journal฀of฀Education฀for฀Business

T

he฀ following฀ quotation฀ is฀ from฀ a฀
recent฀ report฀ by฀ the฀ Alliance฀ for฀
Management฀ Education฀ (AME;฀ 2006)฀
task฀ force,฀ comprising฀ business฀ community฀representatives,฀business฀school฀
deans,฀and฀Association฀to฀Advance฀Collegiate฀ Schools฀ of฀ Business฀ (AACSB;฀
2006)฀administrators:
Management฀ education฀ must฀ develop฀
mechanisms฀for฀understanding฀the฀essential฀ competencies฀ and฀ skill฀ sets฀ of฀ business฀ school฀ graduates,฀ forecasting฀ how฀
those฀ competencies฀ will฀ change฀ in฀ the฀
future,฀and฀assessing฀the฀level฀of฀mastery฀
of฀those฀skills฀and฀competencies.฀(p.฀9)

The฀report฀expresses฀frustration฀over฀
the฀lack฀of฀strategic฀interaction฀between฀
business฀schools฀and฀the฀business฀community.฀ Further,฀AACSB’s฀ (2006)฀ strategic฀ management฀ standards฀ explicitly฀
called฀ for฀ involvement฀ of฀ key฀ stakeholders฀ in฀ the฀ curriculum-management฀
process฀ and฀ identified฀ alumni฀ and฀ the฀
business฀ community฀ among฀ this฀ group฀
(e.g.,฀faculty฀and฀administrators).

Information฀ systems฀ (IS)฀ programs,฀
perhaps฀ more฀ so฀ than฀ other฀ disciplines฀
in฀ business฀ schools,฀ immediately฀ benefit฀ from฀ such฀ interaction.฀ IS฀ faculty฀
face฀ a฀ considerable฀ challenge฀ in฀ maintaining฀ a฀ current,฀ value-added฀ curriculum฀ that฀ prepares฀ students฀ to฀ succeed฀
in฀today’s฀global฀business฀environment.฀
In฀ addressing฀ this฀ challenge,฀ they฀ are฀
constrained฀and฀motivated฀by฀the฀reality฀
that฀IS฀and฀other฀computer-related฀pro-

grams฀ at฀ universities฀ worldwide฀ have฀
experienced฀ marked฀ drops฀ in฀ enrollments฀ since฀ the฀ collapse฀ of฀ the฀ 1990s฀
dot-com฀ bubble.฀ For฀ this฀ trend฀ to฀ be฀
reversed,฀ faculty฀ and฀ program฀ administrators฀ must฀ learn฀ how฀ to฀ incorporate฀
new฀ technologies,฀ evolving฀ standards,฀
and฀ applicable฀ regulatory฀ conditions฀
effectively฀ into฀ their฀ programs,฀ so฀ that฀
current฀ and฀ potential฀ students฀ perceive฀
alignment฀ between฀ what฀ they฀ (a)฀ learn฀
in฀the฀IS฀program฀and฀(b)฀need฀to฀begin฀
and฀sustain฀a฀career.฀Involvement฀of฀the฀

business฀ community฀ is฀ crucial฀ for฀ providing฀guidance฀on฀these฀issues.฀
In฀ the฀ present฀ article,฀ we฀ discuss฀ an฀
approach฀ to฀ IS฀ curriculum฀ assessment฀
that฀evaluates฀perceptions฀of฀alumni฀in฀an฀
IS฀ program฀ at฀ a฀ large,฀ public฀ university฀
in฀ the฀ western฀ United฀ States฀ currently฀
working฀in฀the฀business฀community.฀People฀ at฀ the฀ intersection฀ of฀ these฀ two฀ key฀
stakeholder฀populations฀(i.e.,฀alumni฀and฀
businesses)฀ may฀ offer฀ rich฀ insights฀ into฀
curriculum฀ issues฀ because฀ they฀ possess฀
frontline฀ knowledge฀ of฀ business฀ needs฀
and฀ an฀ in-depth฀ understanding฀ of฀ the฀
IS฀curriculum.฀Other฀stakeholders—such฀
as฀ recruiters,฀ business฀ executives,฀ and฀
university฀ administrators—are฀ likely฀ to฀
possess฀ extensive฀ knowledge฀ of฀ business฀needs฀or฀the฀IS฀curriculum฀but฀not฀
both.฀Moreover,฀when฀open-ended฀questions฀are฀asked฀about฀curriculum฀issues,฀
there฀ is฀ a฀ risk฀ of฀ response฀ misinterpretation฀ unless฀ the฀ terminology฀ used฀ is฀

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commonly฀understood฀by฀the฀researchers฀
and฀ respondents.฀ For฀ example,฀ such฀ IS฀
curriculum-related฀constructs฀as฀systems฀
analysis฀ and฀ project฀ management฀ can฀
have฀ significantly฀ different฀ meanings฀ to฀
engineers,฀ computer฀ scientists,฀ and฀ IS฀
graduates.฀Even฀if฀IS฀graduates฀from฀several฀different฀institutions฀are฀questioned,฀
their฀ responses฀ may฀ include฀ terms฀ that฀
are฀used฀in฀subtly฀different฀ways,฀or฀they฀
may฀refer฀to฀courses฀that฀they฀took฀about฀
which฀ limited฀ information฀ is฀ available.฀
In฀ the฀ present฀ study,฀ we฀ avoided฀ these฀
threats฀ to฀ validity฀ by฀ analyzing฀ the฀ perceptions฀ of฀ business-฀ community฀ members฀who฀share฀with฀ the฀researchers฀the฀
exact฀ vocabulary฀ regarding฀ the฀ content฀
of฀IS฀courses.
We฀ begin฀ this฀ presentation฀ with฀ a฀
discussion฀ of฀ the฀ current฀ outlook฀ for฀
IS฀ programs฀ and฀ the฀ research฀ questions฀ that฀ our฀ investigation฀ addressed.฀
Then,฀ we฀ describe฀ the฀ participating฀ IS฀

department’s฀ alumni฀ advisory฀ board฀
and฀ the฀ approach฀ we฀ used฀ to฀ solicit฀ its฀
knowledge฀ and฀ insight฀ regarding฀ what฀
is฀needed฀in฀the฀industry฀and฀the฀value฀
of฀ the฀ IS฀ curriculum฀ in฀ meeting฀ those฀
needs.฀Last,฀we฀present฀the฀results฀of฀the฀
assessment฀ and฀ specific฀ recommendations฀and฀actions฀that฀have฀resulted฀from฀
the฀evaluation฀process.
Why฀Curriculum฀Assessment฀Is฀
Urgently฀Needed฀for฀IS฀Programs
The฀rapid฀buildup฀of฀Internet-related฀
companies฀ in฀ the฀ late฀ 1990s฀ resulted฀
in฀ a฀ well-discussed฀ hiring฀ binge,฀ with฀
much฀of฀the฀activity฀funded฀by฀venture฀
capital฀ and฀ the฀ proceeds฀ from฀ initial฀
public฀offerings.฀As฀an฀after฀effect฀of฀the฀
consequent฀correction,฀business฀schools฀
in฀ the฀ United฀ States฀ have฀ seen฀ sharp฀
drops฀ in฀ enrollment฀ in฀ IS฀ degree฀ programs.฀ The฀ IS฀ department฀ that฀ served฀
as฀ the฀ setting฀ for฀ this฀ research฀ is฀ typical฀ among฀ universities฀ that฀ have฀ large฀

undergraduate฀ IS฀ programs.฀ The฀ number฀of฀undergraduates฀declaring฀a฀major฀
in฀ IS฀ in฀ 2006฀ was฀ approximately฀ 25%฀
of฀the฀number฀in฀2000.฀There฀have฀been฀
similar฀ reports฀ from฀ other฀ universities,฀
and฀the฀phenomenon฀has฀also฀been฀seen฀
in฀ majors฀ related฀ to฀ such฀ complementary฀ disciplines฀ as฀ computer฀ science฀
and฀electrical฀engineering฀(Foster,฀2005;฀
George,฀Valacich,฀&฀Valor,฀2005).฀Many฀
฀

universities฀have฀cut฀back฀on฀IS฀faculty฀
because฀there฀have฀been฀too฀few฀students฀
to฀fill฀the฀available฀seats฀(Frolick,฀Chen,฀
&฀Janz,฀2005).฀Another฀reason฀students฀
may฀now฀shun฀computer-related฀careers฀
is฀ the฀ widespread฀ publicity฀ regarding฀
off-shoring฀ of฀ IT฀ jobs.฀ This฀ could฀ lead฀
students฀ to฀ consider฀ IS฀ careers฀ risky฀
over฀the฀long-term.฀
There฀ is฀ not฀ likely฀ to฀ be฀ a฀ return฀ to฀

the฀ dot-com-driven฀ enrollment฀ trends฀
in฀ IS฀ in฀ which฀ graduates฀ commonly฀
received฀ multiple฀ offers฀ and฀ enjoyed฀
starting฀ salaries฀ among฀ the฀ highest฀ of฀
any฀business฀major฀(National฀Association฀of฀Colleges฀and฀Employers,฀2000).฀
However,฀the฀Bureau฀of฀Labor฀Statistics฀
(2000)฀and฀the฀Federal฀Reserve฀Board฀
(2005)฀ have฀ forecast฀ that฀ demand฀ for฀
IS฀workers฀will฀be฀strong;฀shortages฀of฀
qualified฀applicants฀have฀been฀reported฀
in฀ some฀ parts฀ of฀ the฀ United฀ States.฀ If฀
the฀ enrollment฀ trends฀ in฀ IS฀ programs฀
are฀not฀reversed,฀it฀may฀be฀difficult฀for฀
future฀employers฀to฀find฀adequate฀numbers฀ of฀ qualified฀ workers.฀ The฀ present฀ research฀ questions฀ were฀ designed฀
to฀ capture฀ the฀ elements฀ necessary฀ to฀
evaluate฀ whether฀ the฀ IS฀ curriculum฀ is฀
meeting฀one฀of฀its฀most฀important฀purposes:฀ to฀ prepare฀ graduates฀ for฀ successful,฀sustainable฀careers฀in฀devising฀
information฀ strategies฀ and฀ guiding฀ the฀
efforts฀ of฀ organizations฀ to฀ build฀ and฀
implement฀ systems฀ that฀ support฀ those฀

strategies.฀
Research฀Questions
The฀ first฀ research฀ question฀ aims฀ to฀
give฀ a฀ sense฀ of฀ the฀ skills฀ that฀ are฀ perceived฀to฀be฀most฀important฀for฀graduates฀in฀achieving฀career฀success.฀
Research฀Question฀1฀(RQ1):฀What฀are฀
the฀most฀important฀skills฀that฀should฀be฀
taught฀to฀IS฀majors?
The฀second฀research฀question฀assesses฀ the฀ value฀ of฀ helping฀ students฀ to฀
achieve฀ certain฀ industry฀ certifications฀
(e.g.,฀CompTIA’s฀A+,฀Microsoft฀Certified฀ Systems฀ Engineer,฀ Cisco฀ Certified฀ Network฀ Analyst).฀ These฀ certifications฀ are฀ sometimes฀ mentioned฀ in฀
job-opportunity฀ postings,฀ and฀ students฀
often฀ inquire฀ about฀ their฀ worth.฀ In฀ the฀
IS฀department฀used฀for฀this฀study,฀there฀
has฀been฀discussion฀of฀(a)฀the฀option฀of฀
including฀ course฀ material฀ specifically฀

intended฀ to฀ enable฀ students฀ to฀ sit฀ for฀
the฀associated฀examinations฀and฀(b)฀the฀
possibility฀of฀requiring฀students฀to฀pass฀
one฀or฀more฀certification฀exams฀prior฀to฀

graduation.
RQ2:฀ Should฀ the฀ IS฀ program฀ require฀
students฀ to฀ achieve฀ specific฀ industry฀
certifications?
The฀ third฀ and฀ fourth฀ research฀ questions฀ relate฀ to฀ the฀ practical฀ challenges฀
of฀ implementing฀ the฀ results฀ of฀ a฀ curriculum฀assessment฀at฀the฀course฀level:฀
It฀ is฀ one฀ thing฀ to฀ gather฀ input฀ from฀
constituencies฀but฀another฀to฀apply฀that฀
knowledge฀with฀respect฀to฀course฀development,฀offerings,฀and฀requirements.฀To฀
support฀this฀effort,฀we฀sought฀an฀understanding฀about฀how฀each฀course฀offered฀
as฀part฀of฀the฀IS฀program฀provides฀value฀
to฀ the฀ business฀ constituency.฀ Specifically,฀ perceptions฀ were฀ sought฀ about฀
whether฀ the฀ course฀ should฀ be฀ required฀
or฀elective฀and฀what฀the฀perceived฀value฀
added฀may฀be.฀
RQ3:฀ Which฀ courses฀ should฀ be฀
required,฀and฀which฀should฀be฀elective?
RQ4:฀What฀is฀the฀relative฀value฀added฀
to฀ the฀ business฀ community฀ of฀ each฀
course?
To฀explore฀RQ1฀and฀RQ2,฀the฀perceptions฀ of฀ recruiters฀ or฀ possibly฀ members฀of฀industry฀associations฀such฀as฀the฀
Association฀ for฀ Computing฀ Machinery฀
or฀the฀Assiociation฀of฀Information฀Technology฀ Professionals฀ could฀ reasonably฀
be฀sought.฀However,฀perceptions฀relative฀
to฀ RQ3฀ are฀ only฀ valuable฀ if฀ they฀ come฀
from฀ someone฀ with฀ firsthand฀ experience฀of฀the฀courses฀available฀from฀the฀IS฀
department฀where฀the฀research฀was฀conducted฀ (i.e.,฀ faculty,฀ current฀ students,฀
alumni).฀Of฀these,฀only฀alumni฀working฀
in฀ the฀ business฀ community฀ also฀ have฀
valid฀ perceptions฀ relevant฀ to฀ RQ1฀ and฀
RQ2.฀ Thus,฀ they฀ represent฀ a฀ uniquely฀
valuable฀ source฀ of฀ information:฀ They฀
have฀ the฀ knowledge฀ to฀ address฀ all฀ four฀
of฀the฀research฀questions.
Alumni฀Advisory฀Board
Because฀of฀the฀objective฀of฀exploring฀
the฀perceptions฀of฀an฀alumni฀group฀that฀
has฀the฀best฀possible฀grasp฀of฀the฀current฀
curriculum,฀ the฀ assessment฀ initiative฀
focused฀on฀alumni฀who฀had฀established฀
themselves฀during฀their฀student฀years฀as฀
having฀mastered฀the฀curriculum฀in฀place฀
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at฀the฀time.฀Also,฀inquiries฀were฀limited฀
to฀alumni฀who฀received฀their฀degrees฀in฀
the฀ last฀ 10฀ years,฀ when฀ the฀ curriculum฀
was฀ comparable฀ in฀ its฀ IS฀ content฀ and฀
emphasis฀to฀the฀one฀today.
The฀department฀serving฀as฀the฀research฀
setting฀ actively฀ maintains฀ an฀ alumni฀
advisory฀ board,฀ with฀ a฀ membership฀
that฀includes฀graduates฀from฀the฀past฀10฀
years฀who฀have฀undergone฀prior฀vetting฀
by฀ the฀ faculty฀ about฀ their฀ suitability฀ for฀
inclusion฀ on฀ the฀ panel฀ (Penrose,฀ 2002).฀
The฀department฀established฀and฀uses฀the฀
board฀ to฀ provide฀ advice฀ on฀ curriculum฀
issues฀ and฀ business฀ needs,฀ support฀ the฀
department฀ by฀ providing฀ information฀
about฀ career฀ trends,฀ and฀ bring฀ in฀ board฀
members฀as฀guest฀lecturers.฀
METHOD
A฀ survey฀ was฀ developed฀ to฀ address฀
our฀ research฀ questions,฀ and฀ it฀ was฀
administered฀ to฀ the฀ alumni฀ advisory฀
board.฀In฀addition฀to฀demographic฀questions,฀ the฀ survey฀ included฀ open-ended฀
questions฀ designed฀ to฀ capture฀ the฀ skill฀
set฀ required฀ of฀ graduates.฀ Addressing฀
RQ1,฀ the฀ survey฀ asked,฀ “What฀ are฀ the฀
most฀ important฀ skills฀ that฀ should฀ be฀
taught฀to฀IS฀majors฀at฀the฀university?”฀
To฀ evaluate฀ perceptions฀ relative฀ to฀
RQ2,฀ the฀ survey฀ asked,฀ “Should฀ the฀ IS฀
major฀at฀the฀university฀require฀students฀
to฀ achieve฀ specific฀ industry฀ certifications?”฀and฀“If฀so,฀what฀specific฀certifications฀should฀be฀required?”฀To฀address฀
perceptions฀ relative฀ to฀ RQ3฀ and฀ RQ4,฀
the฀ survey฀ presented฀ the฀ respondents฀
with฀a฀list฀of฀courses฀that฀are฀presently฀
included฀ in฀ the฀ undergraduate฀ IS฀ program฀ and฀ a฀ brief฀ description฀ of฀ each฀
course,฀which฀was฀taken฀verbatim฀from฀
the฀latest฀(2005–2006)฀official฀university฀catalog.1฀For฀each฀course,฀the฀survey฀
asked฀ respondents฀ to฀ (a)฀ recommend฀
whether฀the฀course฀should฀be฀a฀required฀
or฀an฀elective฀component฀of฀the฀IS฀program฀and฀(b)฀rate฀its฀value฀to฀themselves฀
and฀their฀career฀on฀a฀5-point฀Likert-type฀
scale฀ ranging฀ from฀ 1฀ (low฀ value)฀ to฀ 5฀
(high฀value).
The฀ survey฀ was฀ mailed฀ to฀ all฀ members฀ of฀ the฀ alumni฀ advisory฀ board฀ in฀
May฀ 2005฀ and฀ was฀ followed฀ by฀ an฀ email฀ reminder฀ a฀ few฀ weeks฀ later.฀ Of฀
the฀ 182฀ surveys฀ initially฀ sent฀ out,฀ 25฀
were฀returned฀as฀having฀invalid฀mailing฀
144฀

Journal฀of฀Education฀for฀Business

addresses,฀ resulting฀ in฀ a฀ base฀ of฀ 157฀
possible฀ responses.฀ In฀ all,฀ 81฀ surveys฀
were฀returned฀over฀a฀3-month฀period฀for฀
a฀ response฀ rate฀ of฀ 51.6%.฀ The฀ respondents฀indicated฀a฀mean฀age฀of฀32.9฀years฀
(SD฀=฀8.1฀years)฀and฀mean฀work฀experience฀ of฀ 9.7฀ years฀ (SD฀ =฀ 8.6฀ years).฀ In฀
terms฀ of฀ gender,฀ 50฀ (61.7%)฀ indicated฀
male,฀ 28฀ (34.6%)฀ indicated฀ female,฀
and฀3฀(3.7%)฀did฀not฀respond.฀In฀terms฀
of฀ organization฀ size,฀ 11฀ (14.9%)฀ had฀
fewer฀ than฀ 25฀ employees,฀ 9฀ (12.2%)฀
had฀26–100฀employees,฀13฀(17.6%)฀had฀
101–500฀ employees,฀ and฀ 41฀ (55.4%)฀
had฀more฀than฀500฀employees.฀In฀terms฀
of฀location,฀54฀(66.7%)฀were฀in฀the฀university’s฀ local฀ area,฀ 10฀ were฀ in฀ adjoining฀regions฀of฀the฀state฀(12.3%),฀and฀the฀
remaining฀17฀(20.1%)฀were฀elsewhere.
Analysis฀of฀RQ1:฀IS฀Skill฀Set
A฀ content฀ analysis฀ was฀ conducted฀
on฀the฀open-ended฀question,฀“What฀are฀
the฀most฀important฀skills฀that฀should฀be฀
taught฀to฀IS฀majors?”฀This฀question฀elicited฀a฀wide฀range฀of฀responses฀(see฀the฀
Appendix).฀ The฀ results฀ are฀ categorized฀
under฀three฀major฀themes:฀communication฀ and฀ teamwork฀ skills,฀ managerial฀
and฀ systems฀ development฀ skills,฀ and฀
technical฀skills,฀all฀of฀which฀received฀a฀
large฀number฀of฀mentions.฀฀Each฀theme฀
was฀ divided฀ into฀ subheadings฀ that฀ are฀
further฀ divided฀ into฀ the฀ actual฀ comments฀mentioned฀by฀the฀respondents.
Communications฀and฀Teamwork฀Skills
The฀ first฀ theme฀ emerging฀ from฀ the฀
open-ended฀question฀was฀communication฀
and฀ teamwork฀ skills.฀ Written฀ communication,฀ general฀ communication,฀ teamwork,฀and฀oral฀communication฀skills฀all฀
received฀ frequent฀ mention฀ by฀ the฀ experienced฀ alumni.฀ Communication-related฀
skills฀ (written,฀ oral)฀ were฀ identified฀ far฀
more฀frequently฀by฀the฀respondents฀than฀
any฀other฀area,฀even฀more฀than฀core฀topics฀such฀as฀systems฀development,฀project฀
management,฀and฀databases.฀The฀clarity฀
with฀ which฀ this฀ theme฀ emerged฀ is฀ evidence฀ of฀ the฀ perceived฀ career฀ value฀ of฀
good฀communications฀skills.฀The฀participating฀IS฀department’s฀discussion฀about฀
curriculum฀ choices฀ has฀ been฀ influenced฀
by฀this฀finding:฀Rather฀than฀focusing฀its฀
attention฀ on฀ the฀ relative฀ emphasis฀ that฀
the฀curriculum฀gives฀to฀technical฀themes฀

versus฀business฀themes฀(a฀traditional฀discussion฀ in฀ an฀ IS฀ faculty),฀ the฀ department฀has฀been฀motivated฀to฀look฀at฀ways฀
of฀ introducing฀ more฀ communication฀
skill-building฀ exercises฀ throughout฀ the฀฀
curriculum.฀
Managerial฀and฀Systems฀Development฀
Skills
The฀ second฀ theme฀ emerging฀ from฀
the฀ content฀ analysis฀ of฀ the฀ open-ended฀
question฀ is฀ that฀ of฀ managerial-฀ and฀฀
systems-development฀ skills.฀ General฀
project฀ management,฀ general฀ managerial฀ and฀ systems-development฀ skills฀
(including฀systems฀analysis฀and฀design)฀
were฀ all฀ frequently฀ suggested฀ by฀ the฀
respondents.฀ In฀ particular,฀ project-฀
management฀ skills฀ were฀ recognized฀ as฀
highly฀ important.฀ Thus,฀ it฀ would฀ seem฀
that฀ there฀ is฀ considerable฀ perceived฀
value฀ in฀ the฀ group฀ projects฀ commonly฀
assigned฀ to฀ students฀ pursuing฀ a฀ major฀
in฀IS฀that฀give฀classroom฀experience฀in฀
project-management฀issues.
Technical฀Skills
The฀third฀theme฀that฀emerged฀from฀the฀
content฀analysis฀is฀technical฀skills.฀General฀programming,฀database฀and฀design,฀
and฀network-computing฀skills฀were฀most฀
frequently฀ perceived฀ as฀ important.฀ It฀ is฀
interesting฀that฀few฀specific฀technologies฀
emerged฀from฀the฀responses.฀Rather,฀the฀
responses฀suggest฀that฀experienced฀graduates฀ perceive฀ general฀ knowledge฀ of฀ a฀
broad฀range฀of฀technologies฀to฀be฀more฀
important฀ than฀ in-depth฀ specialization.฀
For฀example,฀there฀was฀little฀mention฀of฀
teaching฀ Oracle฀ or฀ Access,฀ but฀ general฀
database฀ skills฀ were฀ frequently฀ mentioned.฀ In฀ addition,฀ more฀ than฀ twice฀ as฀
many฀respondents฀recommended฀general฀
programming฀skills฀than฀all฀of฀the฀mentions฀received฀for฀specific฀programming฀
languages฀combined.฀This฀can฀be฀interpreted฀to฀mean฀that฀respondents฀perceive฀
a฀ general฀ knowledge฀ of฀ programming฀
concepts฀ and฀ database฀ systems฀ to฀ be฀
important฀for฀their฀careers,฀even฀as฀they฀
move฀into฀managerial฀roles.
Another฀ implication฀ of฀ the฀ study฀
is฀ that฀ communication฀ and฀ teamwork฀
skills฀ occur฀ prominently฀ in฀ the฀ perceptions฀ of฀ experienced฀ graduates฀
of฀ the฀ IS฀ program.฀ This฀ finding฀ suggests฀ ways฀ in฀ which฀ the฀ faculty฀ can฀

of฀2.4฀certifications฀(SD฀=฀1.9).฀However,฀
there฀was฀no฀clear฀consensus฀on฀which฀is฀
most฀valuable.฀General฀systems-oriented฀
certifications฀ from฀ Microsoft฀ received฀
the฀most฀frequent฀mention.฀Networking฀
certifications฀ were฀ also฀ widely฀ mentioned,฀ especially฀ those฀ of฀ Cisco.฀ Project฀ management฀ and฀ security-oriented฀
certifications฀ received฀ relatively฀ infrequent฀mention.฀The฀vast฀majority฀of฀the฀
mentioned฀certifications฀focus฀primarily฀
on฀technical฀skills฀rather฀than฀business-฀
oriented฀topics.฀
The฀ certification฀ question฀ also฀ captured฀some฀unprompted฀responses฀from฀
the฀ alumni,฀ including฀ comments฀ from฀
those฀ who฀ felt฀ strongly฀ in฀ favor฀ or฀
against฀ requiring฀ certifications.฀ Some฀
recent฀ reports฀ hold฀ that฀ the฀ value฀ of฀
certifications฀ may฀ be฀ overestimated,฀
with฀ one฀ survey฀ suggesting฀ that฀ noncertified฀ workers฀ have฀ received฀ larger฀
annual฀ pay฀ increases฀ than฀ certified฀
workers฀ (Pratt,฀ 2005).฀ According฀ to฀
Pratt’s฀report,฀this฀may฀be฀because฀certification฀ exams฀ have฀ become฀ watered฀
down฀ and฀ their฀ value฀ diluted฀ as the฀
number฀ of฀ third-party฀ teaching฀ centers฀

Analysis฀of฀RQ2:฀Certifications
Figure฀1฀provides฀descriptive฀statistics฀
relative฀ to฀ the฀ certifications฀ question:฀
“Should฀ the฀ IS฀ major฀ require฀ students฀
to฀ achieve฀ specific฀ industry฀ certifications?”฀Among฀the฀31฀respondents฀who฀
answered฀yes฀(38.3%),฀6฀did฀not฀recommend฀any฀specific฀certifications,฀and฀the฀
remaining฀25฀recommended฀an฀average฀

Should฀the฀information฀systems฀ 25
major฀require฀students฀to฀achieve฀
specific฀industry฀certifications?
20

Linux+
SCDJWS
MCSA

No
response 15
12.3%

MCP
CCDP
CCNP
Network+

10

MCDBA

aly

sis

UML

An

ion
cat

pli

uri

ty

s

CCSP
Security+
CISSP SAP

OCP

ase
tab

ent

Da

gem

ner

rks
two

Ne

ste

ms

0

al

PMP

Ap

CAPM

A+

Sec

CCNA

Ma
na

Yes
38.3%

MCSE

5

Ge

No
49.4%

Sy

Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 22:49 11 January 2016

be฀proactive฀about฀improving฀teaching฀
methods฀to฀better฀prepare฀students฀for฀
the฀ workplace.฀ A฀ renewed฀ emphasis฀
on฀ group฀ projects,฀ presentations,฀ and฀
written฀communication฀skills฀throughout฀ the฀ curriculum—in฀ addition฀ to฀
continuing฀to฀require฀students฀to฀complete฀ a฀ formal฀ course฀ of฀ instruction฀
in฀ business฀ communications—may฀ be฀
the฀ most฀ important฀ set฀ of฀ actions฀ that฀
can฀ be฀ taken฀ to฀ help฀ graduates฀ obtain฀
jobs฀ and฀ advance฀ in฀ their฀ careers.฀ It฀
is฀ not฀ enough฀ to฀ train฀ students฀ in฀ the฀
managerial฀ and฀ technological฀ aspects฀
of฀ the฀ IS฀ field:฀ Programs฀ must฀ also฀
produce฀ graduates฀ who฀ can฀ articulate฀
their฀knowledge.

FIGURE฀1.฀Relative฀frequency฀for฀requiring฀certifications฀and฀recommended฀certifications฀for฀those฀answering฀“yes.”฀CAPM฀=฀certified฀
associate฀in฀project฀management;฀CCDP฀=฀Cisco฀certified฀design฀professional;฀CCNA฀=฀Cisco฀certified฀network฀associate;฀CCNP฀=฀Cisco฀certified฀
network฀professional;฀CCSP฀=฀Cisco฀certified฀security฀professional;฀CISSP฀
=฀certified฀information฀systems฀security฀professional;฀MCDBA฀=฀Microsoft฀
certified฀database฀administrator;฀MCP฀=฀Microsoft฀certified฀professional;฀
MCSA฀=฀Microsoft฀certified฀systems฀administrator;฀MCSE฀=฀Microsoft฀certified฀systems฀engineer;฀OCP฀=฀Oracle฀certified฀professional;฀PMP฀=฀project฀
management฀professional;฀SAP฀=฀systems,฀applications,฀and฀products;฀
SCDJWS฀=฀sun฀certified฀developer฀for฀Java฀Web฀services;฀UML฀=฀unified฀
modeling฀language.

฀

has฀ grown.฀ Nevertheless,฀ certifications฀
are฀ still฀ reported฀ to฀ be฀ good฀ differentiators฀for฀entry-level฀candidates.฀Those฀
who฀ favored฀ certifications฀ (38.3%)฀
often฀ cited฀ (a)฀ the฀ advantage฀ that฀ they฀
would฀ provide฀ graduates฀ entering฀ the฀
workforce฀ and฀ (b)฀ the฀ opportunity฀ for฀
advancement฀ after฀ entering฀ the฀ workforce.฀ Comments฀ supporting฀ this฀ position฀included฀the฀following:฀“Technical฀
certification฀ will฀ help฀ graduates฀ compete฀ with฀ computer฀ science฀ majors฀ for฀
jobs.฀ Businesses฀ do฀ not฀ seem฀ to฀ favor฀
the฀business฀orientation฀of฀the฀[IS]฀program,฀ all฀ things฀ being฀ equal”;฀ “If฀ the฀
student฀ wants฀ to฀ work฀ with฀ systems฀
on฀ a฀ technical฀ level,฀ then฀ they฀ should฀
also฀ consider฀ looking฀ into฀ a฀ technical฀ certificate.฀ Lots฀ of฀ people฀ start฀ out฀
with฀technical฀positions฀and฀move฀into฀
managerial฀position฀from฀there฀because฀
they฀ technically฀ understand฀ the฀ system”;฀ and฀ “To฀ avoid฀ entry-level฀ work,฀
best฀ to฀ get฀ certified฀ so฀ that฀ graduates฀
can฀ get฀ hired฀ with฀ better฀ skill฀ set฀ and฀
advance฀more฀quickly.”
Those฀ recommending฀ against฀ requiring฀ certifications฀ (49.4%)฀ also฀ included฀
some฀ unsolicited฀ comments฀ explaining฀
their฀ opposition.฀ This฀ group฀ of฀ respondents฀ seemed฀ to฀ associate฀ certifications฀
with฀ technical฀ schools฀ or฀ computer฀ science฀schools฀rather฀than฀4-year฀business฀
degrees.฀ Others฀ viewed฀ certification฀ as฀
something฀ that฀ would฀ be฀ useful฀ after฀ a฀
graduate฀has฀chosen฀a฀career฀path.฀Comments฀ supporting฀ this฀ position฀ included฀
the฀ following:฀ “No!฀ Don’t฀ do฀ that.฀You฀
aren’t฀a฀[community฀college]฀or฀vocational฀school—teach฀IS฀folks฀how฀to฀think”;฀
“I฀ think฀ IT฀ needs฀ to฀ remain฀ a฀ business฀
degree฀not฀computer฀science”;฀and฀“This฀
comes฀ later.฀ Too฀ much฀ pressure—and฀
may฀keep฀you฀narrowly฀focused.”
A฀ prominent฀ third฀ view฀ of฀ certifications฀ was฀ that฀ they฀ should฀ be฀ optional.฀
The฀respondents฀with฀that฀view฀tended฀to฀
answer฀no฀or฀neither฀to฀the฀certification฀
question,฀and฀they฀expressed฀mixed฀attitudes฀toward฀certifications฀and฀their฀role฀
in฀the฀IS฀program.฀Comments฀representative฀of฀this฀view฀included฀the฀following:฀
“I฀ feel฀ that฀ the฀ certifications฀ should฀ be฀
offered฀ as฀ an฀ option฀ or฀ elective.฀ They฀
are฀ sometimes฀ required฀ for฀ a฀ position,฀
but฀ many฀ employers฀ will฀ pay฀ for฀ the฀
training.฀ It฀ can฀ give฀ an฀ advantage฀ if฀฀
student฀ already฀ has฀ the฀ certification”;฀
January/February฀2009฀

145

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“This฀ should฀ be฀ an฀ individual฀ choice,฀
perhaps฀an฀elective฀course”;฀and฀“I฀think฀
[the฀university]฀should฀present฀the฀options฀
but฀not฀require฀them.฀It฀depends฀on฀if฀[the฀
university]฀wants฀to฀compete฀with฀ITT.฀.฀.฀.฀฀
Getting฀ certified฀ in฀ CISCO฀ networks฀ is฀
more฀like฀a฀trade฀in฀my฀opinion.”
Thus,฀perceptions฀related฀to฀the฀issue฀
of฀ certifications฀ appear฀ to฀ be฀ contentious฀ and฀ represent฀ a฀ tradeoff฀ between฀
two฀ categories฀ of฀ skills฀ that฀ emerged฀
from฀RQ1:฀(a)฀managerial฀and฀systemsdevelopment฀ skills฀ and฀ (b)฀ technical฀
skills.฀ The฀ responses฀ should฀ be฀ interpreted฀cautiously,฀but฀there฀is฀an฀advantage฀in฀knowing฀that฀the฀respondents฀as฀
a฀ group฀ were฀ thinking฀ about฀ the฀ certification฀ question฀ within฀ the฀ framework฀
of฀ the฀ present฀ curriculum฀ structure.฀ If฀
the฀ curriculum฀ was฀ to฀ be฀ modified฀ to฀
emphasize฀ the฀ technical฀ skills฀ needed฀
for฀certification฀exams,฀there฀would฀be฀a฀
cost฀in฀terms฀of฀reducing฀the฀managerial฀
and฀systems-development฀content฀of฀the฀
courses.฀If฀the฀knowledge฀needed฀to฀sit฀
for฀ the฀ exams฀ could฀ be฀ acquired฀ without฀ cost,฀ there฀ would฀ be฀ every฀ reason฀
to฀ do฀ so.฀ The฀ advantage฀ of฀ surveying฀
individuals฀ with฀ knowledge฀ of฀ the฀ curriculum฀ and฀ the฀ needs฀ of฀ the฀ business฀
constituency฀ is฀ that฀ they฀ are฀ able฀ to฀
evaluate฀ the฀ costs฀ and฀ benefits.฀ It฀ can฀
be฀ concluded฀ from฀ this฀ question฀ that฀
there฀ is฀ a฀ widespread฀ perception฀ that฀
certifications฀ can฀ be฀ useful฀ for฀ helping฀
new฀ graduates฀ gain฀ entry฀ to฀ the฀ workforce,฀ but฀ that฀ the฀ managerial฀ and฀ systems-development฀ skills฀ in฀ the฀ current฀
curriculum฀are฀valuable฀for฀sustaining฀a฀
career฀over฀time.
Analysis฀of฀RQ3:฀Course฀
Requirements
To฀analyze฀RQ3,฀the฀survey฀presented฀
the฀ respondents฀ with฀ a฀ list฀ of฀ courses฀
that฀ are฀ presently฀ included฀ in฀ the฀ participating฀ university’s฀ undergraduate฀
IS฀ program฀ and฀ a฀ brief฀ description฀ of฀
each฀ course;฀ it฀ asked฀ respondents฀ to฀
recommend฀ whether฀ the฀ course฀ should฀
be฀ a฀ required฀ or฀ elective฀ component฀
of฀ the฀ IS฀ program.฀ Figure฀ 2฀ summarizes฀the฀responses.฀A฀Wilcoxon-Mann-฀
Whitney฀ test฀ (Siegel฀ &฀ Castellan,฀
1988)฀ was฀ conducted฀ to฀ determine฀ if฀
the฀alumni฀responses฀were฀aligned฀with฀
the฀current฀designations฀of฀required฀and฀
146฀

Journal฀of฀Education฀for฀Business

฀

Elective฀courses฀

Required฀courses

IS฀analysis
Reporting฀techniques฀for฀business฀professionals
IS฀design
IS฀technology
Data฀management฀systems
Business฀application฀programming
Management฀of฀IS
Project฀management
Networking฀and฀data฀communications
Statitistical฀analysis฀for฀business
Information฀technology฀projects
E-business฀and฀web฀development
Advanced฀programming฀for฀business
Java฀programming฀for฀business฀applications

฀0%฀

20%฀
40%฀
60%฀
80%฀
Percentage฀of฀Respondents

100%

FIGURE฀2.฀Relative฀frequency฀of฀respondents฀recommending฀current฀
information฀systems฀(IS)฀major฀courses฀as฀required฀curriculum.

elective฀ courses.฀ The฀Wilcoxon-MannWhitney฀ test฀ was฀ chosen฀ because฀ it฀
only฀ requires฀ data฀ in฀ ordinal฀ format฀
(Siegel฀&฀Castellan).฀Other฀approaches,฀
such฀as฀aggregating฀the฀seven฀required฀
courses฀ and฀ comparing฀ them฀ with฀ the฀
aggregation฀ of฀ the฀ elective฀ courses,฀
would฀ be฀ overly฀ sensitive฀ to฀ outliers,฀
and,฀in฀this฀case,฀would฀unduly฀reduce฀
the฀ratings฀of฀the฀elective฀courses฀(e.g.,฀
Java฀programming฀for฀business฀applications;฀ see฀ Figure฀ 2)฀ and฀ be฀ less฀ informative฀ of฀ the฀ overall฀ mix฀ of฀ courses.฀
The฀required฀courses฀were฀rated฀significantly฀ higher—in฀ terms฀ of฀ their฀ rank฀
order฀ with฀ regard฀ to฀ recommendations฀
for฀ required฀ curriculum—than฀ were฀
the฀ elective฀ courses฀ (Wilcoxon-MannWhitney฀ =฀ 33,฀ p฀ =฀ .015).฀ Overall,฀ the฀
existing฀ designations฀ of฀ required฀ and฀
elective฀courses฀seem฀to฀be฀well฀aligned฀
with฀ the฀ perceptions฀ of฀ the฀ business฀
community.฀
In฀ Figure฀ 2,฀ the฀ three฀ courses฀ with฀
the฀ highest฀ percentages฀ of฀ respondents฀
recommending฀ the฀ course฀ as฀ required฀
curriculum฀ are฀ shown฀ to฀ be฀ systems฀
analysis฀ (95.8%),฀ reporting฀ techniques฀
(90.3%),฀ and฀ systems฀ design฀ (90.1%).฀
The฀ reporting-techniques฀ course฀ is฀ a฀
purely฀communications-oriented฀part฀of฀
the฀curriculum,฀and฀its฀prominent฀posi-

tion฀in฀the฀figure฀reinforces฀the฀finding฀
from฀ RQ1฀ that฀ experienced฀ graduates฀
perceive฀a฀need฀for฀strong฀interpersonal฀
and฀communications฀skills.฀The฀analysis฀
and฀ design฀ courses฀ deal฀ primarily฀ with฀
analysis฀ of฀ business฀ IS฀ requirements฀
and฀mapping฀technical฀solutions฀to฀business฀ problems.฀ Thus,฀ they฀ align฀ more฀
with฀ the฀ managerial฀ and฀ system-development฀skills฀category฀in฀the฀Appendix฀
than฀with฀the฀technical฀skills฀category.
The฀three฀courses฀with฀the฀lowest฀percentages฀of฀respondents฀recommending฀
the฀ course฀ as฀ required฀ curriculum฀ fall฀
into฀the฀technical฀skills฀category฀in฀the฀
Appendix:฀ Web฀ development฀ (43.1%),฀
advanced฀ programming฀ (29.2%),฀ and฀
Java฀ programming฀ (16.7%).฀ On฀ the฀
whole,฀Figure฀2฀supports฀the฀ideas฀that฀
experienced฀ graduates฀ tend฀ to฀ favor฀
emphasizing฀ managerial฀ and฀ systemsdevelopment฀topics฀over฀technical฀material฀ and฀ that฀ communications฀ skills฀ are฀
perceived฀as฀important.
Two฀courses฀stand฀out฀in฀Figure฀2฀as฀
being฀out฀of฀alignment฀with฀the฀respondents’฀ perceptions฀ of฀ what฀ should฀ be฀
required฀in฀the฀curriculum.฀IS฀technology฀ is฀ presently฀ an฀ elective฀ course,฀
and฀ networking฀ and฀ data฀ communications฀ are฀ required.฀ However,฀ the฀ share฀
of฀ respondents฀ who฀ perceived฀ that฀ IS฀฀

Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 22:49 11 January 2016

technology฀ should฀ be฀ required฀ was฀
greater฀ than฀ that฀ of฀ those฀ who฀ perceived฀ that฀ networking฀ and฀ data฀ communications฀should฀be฀required.฀Interpreting฀this฀result฀would฀be฀especially฀
difficult฀ if฀ the฀ sampling฀ frame฀ were฀
the฀ general฀ population฀ of฀ the฀ business฀
constituency.฀ However,฀ because฀ the฀
respondents฀ were฀ each฀ familiar฀ with฀
the฀ actual฀ content฀ of฀ the฀ courses฀ as฀
they฀ are฀ currently฀ offered,฀ this฀ can฀ be฀
recognized฀ as฀ entirely฀ consistent฀ with฀
the฀ perception฀ that฀ technical฀ material฀
should฀be฀covered฀broadly,฀rather฀than฀
deeply,฀as฀noted฀in฀the฀analysis฀of฀RQ1.฀
IS฀ technology฀ covers฀ a฀ broad฀ array฀
of฀ computer฀ and฀ communications฀ topics,฀with฀an฀emphasis฀on฀developing฀a฀
vocabulary฀and฀background฀that฀enables฀
students฀ to฀ evaluate฀ the฀ significance฀
of฀ future฀ developments฀ in฀ technology.฀
Networking฀and฀data฀communications,฀
however,฀delve฀deeply฀into฀a฀particular฀
facet฀of฀technology:฀networking.
Analysis฀of฀RQ4:฀Value฀Added฀of฀
Course฀Content
To฀analyze฀RQ4,฀the฀respondents฀were฀
presented฀with฀a฀list฀of฀courses฀that฀are฀
presently฀ included฀ in฀ the฀ undergraduate฀ IS฀ program,฀ and฀ the฀ respondents฀
were฀asked฀to฀rate฀the฀value฀of฀each฀to฀
themselves฀and฀their฀career฀on฀a฀5-point฀
Likert-type฀ scale฀ ranging฀ from฀ 1฀ (low฀
value)฀to฀5฀(high฀value).฀The฀results฀are฀
summarized฀ in฀ Figure฀ 3.฀ The฀ required฀
courses฀were฀rated฀significantly฀higher,฀
in฀terms฀of฀their฀rank฀order฀with฀regard฀
to฀ career฀ value,฀ than฀ were฀ the฀ elective฀
courses฀ (Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney฀ =฀
34,฀p฀=฀.022).฀Thus,฀the฀designations฀of฀
required฀and฀elective฀courses฀seem฀to฀be฀
well฀aligned฀with฀the฀value฀perceptions฀
of฀the฀business฀community.฀
Again,฀ it฀ can฀ be฀ seen฀ that฀ the฀ communications฀ course฀ and฀ the฀ system฀
analysis฀ and฀ design฀ courses฀ have฀ the฀
highest฀ mean฀ value฀ ratings฀ and฀ that฀
the฀ programming฀ and฀ Web-development฀ courses฀ have฀ mean฀ value฀ ratings฀among฀the฀lowest.฀In฀general,฀this฀
comports฀ with฀ the฀ findings฀ from฀ RQ3฀
that฀ experienced฀ graduates฀ perceive฀
managerial฀ and฀ systems-development฀
course฀content฀to฀be฀especially฀important฀ to฀ them.฀ Two฀ courses,฀ Management฀ of฀ IS฀ and฀ Business฀ Application฀
฀

฀

Elective฀courses฀

Required฀courses

Reporting฀techniques฀for฀business฀professionals
IS฀analysis
IS฀design
Data฀management฀systems
Business฀application฀programming
Project฀management
IS฀technology
Information฀technology฀projects
Networking฀and฀data฀communications
Management฀of฀IS
E-business฀and฀web฀development
Advanced฀programming฀for฀business
Java฀programming฀for฀business฀applications
Statitistical฀analysis฀for฀business

฀1฀

2฀

3฀

4฀

5

FIGURE฀3.฀Mean฀value฀assigned฀to฀information฀systems฀(IS)฀major฀courses฀according฀to฀alumni.฀Alumni฀were฀asked฀to฀evaluate฀the฀“value฀of฀the฀
course฀to฀you฀and฀your฀career”฀on฀a฀5-point฀Likert-type฀scale฀ranging฀
from฀1฀(low฀value)฀to฀5฀(high฀value).

Programming,฀ appear฀ to฀ be฀ out฀ of฀
place฀in฀the฀rankings฀under฀this฀interpretation.฀Management฀of฀IS฀is฀nominally฀ a฀ management-oriented฀ course,฀
but฀ it฀ is฀ ranked฀ toward฀ the฀ bottom฀
of฀ the฀ list,฀ whereas฀ Business฀ Application฀ Programming฀ is฀ a฀ technically฀
oriented฀ course฀ that฀ is฀ ranked฀ in฀ the฀
top฀ half.฀ Again,฀ there฀ is฀ less฀ dissonance฀ in฀ this฀ result฀ than฀ is฀ suggested฀
by฀ the฀ names฀ and฀ simple฀ descriptions฀
of฀ the฀ courses.฀ For฀ respondents฀ who฀
have฀knowledge฀of฀the฀courses฀as฀they฀
have฀ actually฀ been฀ taught฀ and฀ delivered,฀ Management฀ of฀ IS฀ is฀ viewed฀
as฀ mostly฀ containing฀ technical฀ content฀dealing฀with฀administration฀issues฀
related฀ to฀ IT฀ infrastructure.฀ Business฀
Application฀ Programming,฀ however,฀
is฀ a฀ course฀ that฀ emphasizes฀ general฀
programming฀ concepts฀ and฀ how฀ they฀
apply฀to฀business฀systems,฀and฀it฀uses฀
a฀ particular฀ programming฀ language฀ to฀
illustrate฀ those฀ issues.฀ In฀ general,฀ the฀
results฀summarized฀in฀Figure฀3฀support฀
the฀ same฀ themes฀ that฀ emerged฀ from฀
the฀analysis฀of฀the฀RQ1,฀RQ2,฀RQ3:฀(a)฀
Communications฀ skills฀ are฀ perceived฀
to฀ be฀ important,฀ (b)฀ it฀ is฀ more฀ important฀ to฀ give฀ students฀ a฀ broad฀ understanding฀ of฀ technology฀ concepts฀ than฀
to฀delve฀deeply฀into฀particular฀technol-

ogies,฀ and฀ (c)฀ it฀ is฀ perceived฀ that฀ the฀
systems-development฀ content฀ of฀ the฀
curriculum฀ has฀ a฀ great฀ deal฀ of฀ value฀
to฀experienced฀graduates฀in฀sustaining฀
their฀careers.
Conclusion
The฀IS฀component฀of฀business฀school฀
education฀is฀facing฀unique฀circumstances,฀ and฀ the฀ need฀ for฀ alignment฀ among฀
the฀ objectives฀ of฀ the฀ business฀ constituency฀ and฀ the฀ content฀ of฀ the฀ curriculum฀ has฀ been฀ articulated฀ by฀ many.฀ In฀
the฀ present฀ research,฀ we฀ sought฀ insight฀
from฀ alumni฀ in฀ the฀ business฀ community฀ to฀ assess฀ the฀ program฀ and฀ courses฀
offered฀by฀the฀IS฀department฀that฀served฀
as฀the฀research฀setting.฀The฀results฀presented฀ in฀ this฀ article฀ provide฀ guidance฀
toward฀ achieving฀ alignment฀ between฀
the฀IS฀curriculum฀and฀needs฀of฀the฀business฀community.
The฀main฀conclusions฀from฀the฀analysis฀are฀the฀following:฀(a)฀The฀IS฀program฀
should฀ have฀ opportunities฀ built฀ in฀ for฀
the฀ development฀ of฀ interpersonal฀ communications฀ skills;฀ (b)฀ a฀ broad฀ range฀
of฀ technical฀ topics฀ should฀ be฀ covered฀
in฀ the฀ curriculum,฀ rather฀ than฀ a฀ focus฀
on฀ in-depth฀ coverage฀ of฀ a฀ few฀ specific฀
hardware฀ or฀ software฀ environments฀ or฀
January/February฀2009฀

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programming฀languages;฀and฀(c)฀a฀core฀
competency฀ in฀ systems฀ development,฀
project฀ management,฀ and฀ business฀ and฀
managerial฀skills฀should฀be฀acquired฀by฀
students฀in฀the฀IS฀program.
฀If฀an฀IS฀faculty฀succeeds฀in฀achieving฀
these฀ objectives,฀ the฀ resulting฀ curriculum฀will฀be฀distinct฀from฀what฀is฀taught฀
in฀related฀disciplines,฀such฀as฀computer฀
science.฀Students฀who฀are฀mainly฀interested฀ in฀ specializing฀ in฀ one฀ or฀ more฀
specific฀ areas฀ of฀ technology฀ may฀ be฀
better฀ served฀ by฀ a฀ computer฀ science฀
or฀ engineering฀ degree.฀ The฀ responses฀
to฀ the฀ survey฀ questions฀ are฀ persuasive:฀
Business฀ constituency฀ needs฀ graduates฀
who฀can฀help฀them฀to฀implement฀strategic฀IT฀initiatives฀in฀their฀organizations.฀
There฀ are฀ a฀ number฀ of฀ limitations฀
and฀ boundaries฀ that฀ may฀ reduce฀ the฀
degree฀ to฀ which฀ these฀ findings฀ can฀ be฀
generalized.฀ The฀ scope฀ of฀ the฀ research฀
was฀a฀specific฀curriculum฀for฀graduates฀
working฀predominantly฀in฀one฀region฀in฀
the฀ western฀ United฀ States.฀ The฀ results฀
may฀ differ฀ for฀ graduates฀ of฀ other฀ universities฀ with฀ their฀ own฀ unique฀ curricula฀ or฀ even฀ for฀ similar฀ students฀ and฀
curricula฀in฀other฀regions฀of฀the฀country฀
with฀different฀economies฀and฀industries.฀
Even฀in฀the฀context฀of฀the฀participating฀
university’s฀ program฀ and฀ its฀ regional฀
economy,฀ the฀ IS฀ field฀ is฀ continually฀
changing.฀ Thus,฀ the฀ views฀ of฀ experienced฀graduates฀may฀change฀over฀time,฀
and฀ the฀ research฀ presented฀ here฀ should฀
be฀ repeated฀ periodically฀ as฀ part฀ of฀ an฀
ongoing฀assessment฀process.
The฀ responses฀ to฀ the฀ curriculumassessment฀ portion฀ of฀ the฀ survey฀ (i.e.,฀
rating฀ the฀ value฀ of฀ each฀ course฀ and฀
whether฀ the฀ course฀ should฀ be฀ required฀
or฀ elective฀ in฀ the฀ curriculum)฀ has฀ at฀
least฀ two฀ limitations.฀ First,฀ the฀ value฀
construct฀ was฀ measured฀ with฀ a฀ single฀
item฀ to฀ keep฀ the฀ length฀ of฀ the฀ survey฀
manageable,฀even฀though฀it฀would฀have฀
been฀ preferable฀ to฀ capture฀ this฀ rating฀
using฀multiple฀items.฀Second,฀responses฀

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Journal฀of฀Education฀for฀Business

to฀ these฀ items฀ may฀ be฀ influenced฀ by฀
which฀instructor฀taught฀the฀course฀when฀
the฀respondent฀was฀in฀school฀and,฀in฀the฀
case฀ of฀ elective฀ courses,฀ whether฀ the฀
respondent฀had฀taken฀the฀course.
Because฀IS฀departments฀have฀recently฀
been฀challenged฀by฀declining฀enrollments,฀
they฀ need฀ a฀ framework฀ for฀ evaluating฀฀
their฀ curricula฀ and฀ making฀ adjustments฀
that฀ improve฀ alignment฀ with฀ the฀ needs฀
of฀ their฀ stakeholders.฀ Ongoing฀ assessment฀ through฀ interaction฀ with฀ the฀ business฀community฀can฀help฀to฀ensure฀that฀
the฀ needs฀ of฀ the฀ stakeholders฀ are฀ being฀
met฀by฀determining฀if฀those฀needs฀have฀
changed฀ or฀ are฀ no฀ longer฀ being฀ met฀
by฀ the฀ curriculum.฀ Graduates฀ from฀ the฀
preceding฀10-year฀period฀are฀in฀a฀unique฀
position฀ to฀ inform฀ this฀ process฀ because฀
they฀ are฀ knowledgeable฀ of฀ the฀ curriculum฀ and฀ the฀ requirements฀ of฀ industry.฀
By฀ drawing฀ on฀ their฀ knowledge฀ of฀ the฀
kinds฀of฀work฀responsibilities฀the฀graduates฀ are฀ likely฀ to฀ confront฀ over฀ time,฀
skills฀ can฀ be฀ identified฀ that฀ help฀ sustain฀ successful฀ careers.฀Also,฀ a฀ courseby-course฀ evaluation฀ of฀ the฀ curriculum฀
helps฀ to฀ avoid฀ unwarranted฀ assumptions฀about฀the฀value฀of฀that฀curriculum.฀
Although฀ the฀ importance฀ of฀ the฀ findings฀ may฀ vary฀ from฀ one฀ university฀ to฀
the฀ next,฀ depending฀ on฀ its฀ unique฀ local฀
situation,฀universities฀are฀encouraged฀to฀
use฀ these฀ results฀ for฀ guidance฀ and฀ to฀
adapt฀and฀improve฀the฀methodology฀previously฀ described฀ as฀ they฀ conduct฀ their฀฀
individual฀assessments.฀
NOTES
฀1.฀ Co