Global Trends in Computing Accreditation

The accreditation of ICT degree programs in South Africa

“…The academic accreditation of programs has evolved from a prescriptive set of courses and course content requirements to a set of mission-driven requirements and is uniquely shaped by each institution through a process that involves alumni, industry advisory boards, faculty and students [19]. Becerra-Fernandez, et al [3] discussed in an article entitled "Reversing the Landslide in Computer-Related Degree Programs" that the first response to the decline in ICT student enrolment must be the introduction of an Industry Advisory Board (IAB).…”

“…In the U.S.A., the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) formulates accreditation criteria in association with professional societies, such as the Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the CSAB. The Computing Sciences Accreditation Board (CSAB) is an umbrella organisation for the Association for Computing M achinery (ACM ), the Association for Information Systems (AIS) and the IEEEComputer Society [19].…”

“…Computing accreditation increases global mobility of ICT graduates and Reif and M athieu [19] identify the following three emerging trends:…”

“…IT-related professionals are becoming increasingly mobile and the importance of the recognition of equivalency of accredited programs is an important criterion for ICT graduates [19]. Accreditation of academic programs in Computer Science, Information Systems, Information Technology, Computer Engineering and Software Engineering and other related programs is increasing annually.…”

“…Accredited programs have increased from 140 in 1996 to 621 ABET accredited programs in 2008 [19]. ABET currently accredits over 3, 100 programs at more than 600 colleges and universities worldwide.…”