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The graduate of an IS program should be equipped to function in an entry level position and should have a basis for continued career growth (Lee, Trauth and Farwell 1995). In Table 2, the exit characteristics are related to objectives of the curriculum in terms of "ability to" and "using the knowledge of." Overarching objectives for IS professionals are to support organizational needs and have a customer service orientation.
 
 
 
 

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There are general academic requirements that should be met prior to formal information systems courses (prerequisites) or concurrent with IS courses (corequisites). Students are expected, as a prerequisite, to have basic proficiency in the fundamental tools of personal computing such as Internet and e-mail, spreadsheets, word processing, databases, presentation graphics, statistical analysis, and external database retrieval. As a basis for lifetime learning, it is also recommended that students have an introduction to the behavioral, social and natural sciences.

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All Information Systems students should be able to communicate effectively both orally and in writing. They should be able to apply both quantitative and qualitative techniques. IS students should have acquired interpersonal skills. They should have a basic understanding of the functions of an organization and should have been exposed to concepts of international business. Some of the topics should be prerequisite but others may be interleaved with information system courses.

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Prerequisite or interleaved topics directly applicable to the IS curriculum therefore include:

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Communications. This should cover general and technical writing, oral communications, and listening skills.

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Quantitative and qualitative analysis. This includes such topics as discrete mathematics, introduction to calculus, and statistics.

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Organization functions. Students should be exposed to economics and organization functions such as accounting, distribution, finance, human resources, marketing, and production. They should also be introduced to international aspects of business.
 
 
 
 

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Characteristic	With the ability to...	Using the knowledge of...
Communication	accurately observe, note, and explain observations of events  actively listen and express complex ideas in simple terminology  organize and make presentations  write memos, reports, and documentation	listening, observing and documenting  interviewing and speaking  negotiating and facilitation  presentation and interpretation of data  multimedia development and utilization  computer and video conferencing techniques
Computer Applications Systems	apply IS solutions to functional, inter-organizational, operational, managerial, and executive problems and opportunities  describe characteristics of various information systems	organizational theory, structure, and functions  characteristics and capabilities of systems and technologies
Information Technology and Tools	describe the functions and components of computers and networks  select and apply software tools for organizational solutions  install and integrate purchased solutions  develop and manage distributed systems with high-level tools and methodologies	computer and networking concepts  distributed systems  database implementation and management  programming languages and environments  security and privacy management
Interpersonal Relationships	effectively work with people of diverse backgrounds  effectively work with people at all corporate levels  lead and facilitate teams in a collaborative environment  develop win-win approaches  empathetically listen and seek synergistic solutions	leadership, management, and organizations  small group communications and motivation  organization, team and individual goal setting  shared vision and responsibility  cultural diversity
Management	establish project goals consistent with organizational goals  specify, gather, deploy, monitor, and direct resources and activities  observe the need for paradigm shifts  apply concepts of continuous quality improvement	mission, planning, goal setting and tracking  project and steering team operation  planning and resource management  leadership, motivation, and team building  measurement and benchmarking
Problem Solving	recognize the need for the application of analytic methods  devise questions that will identify problems  apply systems concepts to definition and solution of problems  formulate creative solutions to simple and complex problems	technical observation and writing  problem solving models  life cycle stages  creativity techniques  methods to collect, summarize, and interpret data  statistical and mathematical methods
Systems Development Methodologies	select and utilize appropriate methodologies  use tools and techniques to analyze, design, and construct an information system  assess feasibility and risk assessment for projects  apply design methodologies compatible with organizational settings	systems development life cycle  prototyping, purchasing, and outsourcing  feasibility and risk analysis  standards
Systems Theory and Concepts	apply systems representations and life cycle concepts  represent organizational processes and data using formal methods  identify interfaces, boundaries, and components of problems  apply solution checking and reality testing mechanisms	general systems theory  control systems concepts  quality, effectiveness and efficiency concepts  business process modeling and re-engineering  business process data, logic, and event modeling
Professionalism	apply personal goal setting and time management concepts  apply personal decision making skills  articulate a personal position and respect the opinions of others  adhere to ethical standards  assess organizational and societal impacts of an IS  actively seek and employ current practice standards	codes of conduct  ethical theory  legal and regulatory standards  generally accepted practice standards  record keeping and reporting  international standards, culture, and practices  stakeholder needs

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The IS'97 curriculum is organized at the highest level as a set of curriculum presentation areas. Each of these areas has one or more courses. Each course is built from IS learning units (also termed knowledge units in other curriculum reports). The learning units are derived from the IS body of knowledge.

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Each of the elements will be explained in this section starting with the curriculum presentation areas.

Curriculum Presentation Areas

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A view of the curriculum depicting the IS curriculum presentation areas is given in Figure 2. The dotted box indicates that part of the program taught by faculty in other functional areas or other academic units. The other five boxes show the part of the program generally taught by the IS faculty. The figure also depicts the general sequence in which the material is acquired by students in the IS program. A description of the content for the five areas is presented in Table 3.

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Curriculum  Presentation Area	Description
Prerequisite Computer Skills	Basic skill in use of a personal computer and introductory skills in a set of PC software packages commonly used in organizations.
Information Systems  Fundamentals	Information systems fundamentals include a broad introduction to the field of information systems and information technology plus instruction designed to improve personal productivity through effective and efficient use of information technology.  Students are introduced to the use of information systems and information technology in organizations. The way these add value to organizations as part of new and enhanced products and services, in support of decision making, and as elements in organization processes are explained. Information technology is surveyed. The processes and methods employed by the information systems function are presented.  Fundamentals in information systems include both theory and practice in applying information technology to knowledge work of the type most graduates will perform. Students will learn how to analyze personal requirements, define an information system to support their work, use productivity features of personal computer software, and develop custom solutions to enhance individual performance. The emphasis is on doing systems in the small but relating them to processes for large systems to be studied later in the curriculum.
Information Systems Theory and Practice	After obtaining broad survey knowledge of information systems and information technology and having experienced requirements analysis and system development for small productivity-oriented personal systems, students will be introduced to concepts and theories that explain or motivate methods and practices in the development and use of information systems. The concepts and theories will include systems, management and organization, information, quality, and decision making. The relationship of information systems to corporate planning and strategy and concepts relating information technology to comparative advantage and productivity are explained. The concepts and practices underlying the use of information technology and systems in improving organizational performance are presented.
Information Technology	This curriculum area provides students an opportunity to gain breadth and depth in the technical aspects of the discipline. Computing system architectures, operating systems software, and interconnection of information resources through telecommunications are major components of presentation and discussion. Students will be expected to develop significant skills by participating in installation, configuration, and operation of the technologies.
Information Systems	Students will work in teams to learn to analyze problems and design and implement information systems. Systems analysis provides experience determining system requirements and developing a logical design. It includes process re-engineering.
Development	Instruction in physical design of information systems will ensure that the students can use a logical design to implement information systems. Two approaches will be used. One involves design and implementation using development tools; the other applies DBMS tools.
Information System  Development and  Management	Students engage in a significant project. Management of the information systems function, systems integration, and project management to ensure project quality are integral components of this curriculum area.

Courses
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Courses (see Figure 3) in IS'97 are the building blocks that implement the broad curriculum presentation areas diagramed in Figure 2. The courses are labeled IS'97.P0 through IS'97.10. IS'97.P0 is considered to be a prerequisite to the program. Courses are described later in the report with course title, scope and topics. They are further defined by a catalog description, outcome expectations, and a set of learning units in Appendix 8. Courses are based on a semester calendar of 16 weeks with 48 lecture hours.

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The set of courses represents a complete model that includes all of the learning units. As a model, they are presented to provide guidance. Institutions may develop their own courses based on learning units to accommodate unique individual missions. The set of courses can be mapped to the IS curriculum requirements for all students, IS minors, and IS majors (Figure 4) and to the IS curriculum presentation areas (Figure 5).

Notes:

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1. It is assumed that most students have completed IS'97.P0 in high school. If this is not true, courses which synthesize the objectives for IS'97.P0 and IS'97.1 may be combined into a one year sequence with IS'97.2. Some programs may combine IS'97.3 with IS'97.1 and IS'97.2 into a one year sequence including laboratory components. Other programs may rearrange the learning units of IS'97.3 into IS'97.2 and IS'97.7. Programs building alternate course sequences can map the learning units defined in Appendix 8 into their own sequences.

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2. Many IS programs work closely with Computer Science units. Programs wishing to produce graduates with more in-depth programming skills may require CS1 and CS2 (two courses in the model Computer Science curriculum) as prerequisites to IS'97.5. Another alternative is to extend IS'97.5 to a one year sequence.

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3. IS'97.8 and IS'97.9 form a one year sequence. The project course can be considered as the lab component of IS'97.8 and IS'97.9; many programs may have a project as an additional course of at least one semester.

Learning Units

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A learning unit (also termed a knowledge unit; Bruner 1966) describes a set of material to be learned by students. A course is a group of learning units. The material to be covered by a learning unit consists of a set of topics or elements from the IS body of knowledge with competency specified for each element. The learning units are stated in terms of a goal, objectives, and elements of the IS body of knowledge along with competency or depth of knowledge levels.

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Each learning unit is specified by a goal statement that explains the purpose of the learning unit. For example, a learning unit goal might be "to present top-down implementation strategies."

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The learning unit goal statement is elaborated by one or more learning unit objectives. These are stated as behavioral objectives defining what a student should be able to do after learning the material in the unit. The student should be able to explain, discuss, use, apply, and demonstrate central concepts. For example, a behavioral objective for a learning unit might be "apply system software functions to analyze resource use and performance characteristics for an application." The learning objectives can be used by faculty to assess student achievement relative to the learning unit or by students in evaluating their knowledge.

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Each learning unit has a set of topics that define the coverage for the unit. These topics consist of elements from the IS body of knowledge. The depth of coverage for each topic in a learning unit is specified by a depth of knowledge level ranging from 1 to 5 (with 4 being the highest competency level specified for an undergraduate program). A topic may be covered at a low depth of knowledge level as part of an introductory course and in more depth (higher competency) in a subsequent course. The sequencing of learning units is based on instructional design methodology derived from Gagne, Briggs and Wager (1988).

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The learning units provide the basis for detailed course design. The objective is to present elements of the IS body of knowledge to willing learners through pedagogical techniques associated with desired levels of learning. The pedagogy differs for desired depth of knowledge levels. A low level of competency may be achieved with lectures and exercises; the highest level of knowledge is achieved by active learning techniques such as projects.
 
 

Body of Knowledge

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The IS body of knowledge consists of the topics to be taught at some level of competency in an IS curriculum. The IS'97 body of knowledge is a reorganization and extension of an earlier DPMA sponsored IS'90 body of knowledge. The body of knowledge was derived from surveys of practitioners and academics and mapping of relevant topics from curricula for Computer Science and other computer related disciplines.

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The elements or topics in the IS body of knowledge form the lowest level building blocks for the curriculum. The elements, with desired competency levels, are grouped under learning units and learning units are grouped into courses.