IS accreditation in AACSB colleges via ABET

The development of ABET/CAC accreditation standards for IS programs presents an excellent opportunity for IS programs in AACSB-accredited business schools to improve their perceived quality and credibility. We argue that neglect by AACSB of IS/IT content has prompted this preemptive move on the part of ABET/CAC. A comparison of AACSB and ABET/CAC accreditation standards finds them to be generally quite compatible. Ironically, our survey of IS program leaders in AACSB-accredited business schools found familiarity with and interest in ABET/CAC standards to be just emerging. Although compliance with the ABET/CAC standards is evidently relatively high among most programs, understanding of potential benefits of accreditation is quite low. Also quite low is understanding of how colleagues might react to accreditation efforts

An Analysis of IS Programs Accredited by ABET

As of April 2008 there were 30 Information Systems (IS) programs at 23 universities accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). This paper compares these ABET accredited IS programs to a sample of 20 IS programs randomly chosen from 251 IS programs in the United States listed by ISWorld. The data was collected by visiting the web pages of the selected IS programs. This paper includes a study of the required IS courses, elective IS courses, required programming courses, required business courses, the title of the IS program (IS/MIS/CIS), the department and college where the IS program was located and the year of ABET accreditation. It is interesting to notice that only two of the ABET accredited IS degrees are BBA degrees. This study points out several significant differences between the ABET accredited IS programs and the typical BBA IS programs at the sample universities

Professional Accreditation of Information Systems Programs

Although accreditation is over 100 years old, the accreditation of information systems programs is a new experience for information systems programs. This paper describes the important aspects of accreditation as a process of excellence and shows how information systems faculty members can now employ that process to improve the overall quality of their programs for the benefit of their students, their institutions, and their profession

ABET Accreditation of IS and IT Programs in 2013

The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) has been accrediting engineering and computer science for many years. In recent years ABET has been accrediting Information Systems and Information Technology programs. ABET first accredited IS in 2000 and IT in 2003. ABET appears to have become the standard accreditation for IT and in the spring of 2014 there are 25 IT programs accredited by ABET. There are 38 IS programs accredited by ABET since 2000. This paper looks at the IS and IT ABET accredited programs and examines the common features and differences of these related accredited programs

AMCIS 2010 Panel Report: External Benchmarks in Information Systems Program Assessment

Accrediting bodies and other external constituencies are placing increased emphasis on the assessment of academic degree programs for continuous improvement. Most assessment plans are focused on determining how well program outcomes or goals are being met. However, benchmarking a degree program across institutions is rarely considered. This article provides general principles for assessing information systems programs and presents quantitative and qualitative methodologies and tools for benchmarking student learning in Information Systems programs

Preparing Information Systems Graduates for a Complex Society: Aligning IS Curricula with Liberal Education Learning Outcomes

The purpose of this paper is to encourage Information Systems (IS) faculty to intentionally revise their curriculum to address (and assess) higher-order learning skills which are demanded by industry and society and are representative of a liberal arts based education. We substantiated the need for this proposed curriculum revision by first examining the extent to which learning outcomes of U.S. Information Systems (IS) programs are aligned with college learning outcomes, university liberal education learning outcomes and with those of the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). Most IS programs focus on discipline-specific, course-level learning outcomes rather than considering ways IS courses could be integrated into a holistic academic package. We suggest that learning outcomes at the course level be aligned through the program and college levels to align with university-defined learning outcomes. Our hope is that this proposed design, coupled with a call from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools in Business (AACSB) to prepare liberal arts educated business students, will increase awareness of the need for a liberal arts educated IS graduate and facilitate intentional curriculum revisions to address that need

IS 2010 and ABET Accreditation: An Analysis of ABET-Accredited Information Systems Programs

Many strong forces are converging on information systems academic departments. Among these forces are quality considerations, accreditation, curriculum models, declining/steady student enrollments, and keeping current with respect to emerging technologies and trends. ABET, formerly the Accrediting Board for Engineering and Technology, is at present the only accrediting agency for Information Systems programs. This paper examines the influence of the release of the “IS 2010 Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Degree Programs in Information Systems” on ABET accredited Information Systems programs. It begins with an historical overview of past information systems curriculum development efforts, and then follows with an overview of accreditation, both in higher education in general and of information systems programs in particular. The results of a survey of all ABET accredited Information Systems programs are then reported. The survey focused on two distinct yet interrelated issues that emerged with the release of IS 2010: (1) How does the absence of AITP input into the initial formulation of IS 2010 coupled with the lack of programming as a requirement in IS 2010 affect the attitude of ABET accredited Information Systems programs regarding seeking re-accreditation?; and (2) Does AIS discontinuing their financial support for ABET affect the attitude of ABET accredited Information Systems programs regarding seeking re-accreditation? The paper concludes with an overview of the effect of the release of IS 2010 on reaccreditation decisions of ABET accredited information systems programs

A Comparison of Information Systems Programs at AACSB and ACBSP Schools in Relation to IS 2002 Model Curricula

Given the downturn in Information Systems (IS) program enrollments, IS departments housed within schools of business are justifiably concerned about attracting more students into their programs. While some reasons for the downturn may be beyond the control of the academic community, it has been argued that IS programs are suffering, in part, because many of their curricula are out-of-date. To help address this problem, the current study offers guidance to support IS departments involved in revising their IS curricula. To accomplish this, catalogs from fifty randomly selected AACSB schools and fifty randomly selected ACBSP schools were accessed via the Internet to determine the most commonly required courses for an undergraduate IS major. Findings were then compared to previous research in order to identify changes and trends, as well as to determine compliance with model curricula

Implementing Direct and Indirect Assessment in the MIS Curriculum

Assessment and continuous improvement have become focus areas for accrediting agencies. The process used to develop assessment plans within a sequence of MIS courses at a major midwestern university is described. The process includes establishing student outcomes, developing assignments that tap into these outcomes, and utilizing both direct and indirect assessment measures. Actionable insights that can be gleaned to improve pedagogy from the use of both direct and indirect measures are described