IS 2010: Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Degree Programs in Information Systems

Abstract

IS 2010 is the latest in a series of model curricula for undergraduate degrees in Information Systems. It builds on the foundation formed by this earlier work, but it is a major revision of the curriculum and incorporates several significant new characteristics. IS 2010 is the third collaborative effort by ACM and AIS. Both organizations have worldwide membership, and, therefore, IS 2010 includes elements that make it more universally adaptable than its predecessors. IS 2010 is not directly linked to a degree structure in any specific environment but it provides guidance regarding the core content of the curriculum that should be present everywhere and suggestions regarding possible electives and career tracks based on those. ENDORSING ORGANIZATIONSAfter receiving the approvals from the sponsoring organizations, the committee is pursuing endorsements from other computing organizations. Once the endorsements have been finalized, this document will be updated. Volume 26Article 18 361 FOREWORDThe IS 2010 report is the latest output from model curriculum work for Information Systems (IS) that began in the early 1970s. Prior to this current effort, the most recent version of the IS undergraduate model curriculum is IS 2002, published in early 2003. IS 2002 was a relatively minor update of IS '97 [Davis et al., 1997]. Both IS 2002 and IS '97 were joint efforts by ACM, AIS, and DPMA/AITP (Data Processing Management Association/Association of Information Technology Professionals). IS '97 was preceded by DPMA '90 [Longenecker and ACM Curriculum Recommendations 1983 [ACM, 1983. IS 2002 has been widely accepted and it has also been the basis for accreditation of undergraduate programs of Information Systems. This report represents the combined effort of numerous individuals and reflects the interests of thousands of faculty and practitioners. It is grounded in the expected requirements of industry, represents the views of organizations employing the graduates, and is supported by other IS-related organizations.This report is one of the undergraduate curriculum volumes that have been produced for the core computing disciplines [see the CC2005 Overview Report;Shackelford, 2005]. In addition to IS 2010, curriculum recommendations exist for computer science [CS 2008], computer engineering [CE 2004], software engineering [SE 2004], and information technology [IT 2008] (see www.acm.org/education/curricula-recommendations). All of these reports are under the control of separate committees; updates are published as they are completed.All aspects of the global computing field continue to face rapid and frequent change. As a result, university-level Information Systems curricula need frequent updating to remain effective. Since most academic units have mechanisms to maintain currency of curricula, what is the role of professional society curriculum committees? If an IS academic unit were providing graduates solely to local business and government, the input on program contents could be derived from representatives of local organizat...

The core curricula of information systems undergraduate programs: A survey of AACSB-accredited colleges in the United States

“…This study's research framework is the IS 2010 curriculum model (Topi et al, 2010), which provides the courses for data collection and data analysis. The IS 2010 curriculum model includes two parts: the core and the electives.…”

“…This study uses the IS 2010 course of application development, which IS 2010 also describes as a programming course (Topi et al, 2010), for the categorization of a school's programming requirements.…”

“…Therefore it is important to examine the curriculums offered by institutions for two reasons: (a) to assess what they view as important topics (Longenecker & Feinstein, 1991) and body of knowledge for the IS field and (b) to examine the changes in what the institutions offered over time. In addition, instead of an exploratory study, in this research project I used an existing curriculum model (i.e., Topi et al, 2010) to guide the investigations. Based on this study of a broad spectrum of IS degreegranting institutions, its results can be utilized not only by IS programs to help offer innovative IS curriculums, but also by organizations to examine their skill set needs to be met by new IS graduates.…”

“…First, it is now time for a study to examine how U.S. institutions have adopted the latest IS 2010 curriculum model (Topi et al, 2010) several years after the model's introduction in 2010, from when enough time has passed (Bell, Mills, & Fadel, 2013) for the institutions to initiate updates to their curriculums and complete their adoptions. Second, assessing what our peer institutions are offering and how they are structuring their IS curriculums will help generate insights into programs' new courses, curriculum, and sequencing, especially in such a dynamic field as IS.…”

Research in Information Systems Education: Scope and Productivity

“…In 2008, an ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) Joint Task Force for Computing Curricula in the 21st Century identified a widening gap between theory and practice, and that "21st century IS programs should focus on business analytics, supply chain optimization, technology performance management, business process modeling, full-view business intelligence, sourcing, and large amounts of technology management skills" [3]. The 2010 IS Model Curriculum [22] specifies seven newly defined high-level outcome expectations: improving organizational processes; exploiting opportunities created by technology innovations; understanding and addressing information requirements; designing and managing enterprise architecture; identifying and evaluating solution and sourcing alternatives; securing data and infrastructure, and understanding, managing and controlling IT risks. Prat [16] argues that the case method, which is widely used in management education, is an effective pedagogical approach in IS education, particularly when adopted to specific student learning styles.…”