Measuring The Effectiveness Of Course Content And Learning Goals Of The Core Undergraduate Information Systems Course

Abstract

The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), text books, and the IS 2002 Model Curriculum and Guidelines for Undergraduate Degree Programs in Information Systems (IS 2002) recommend standards and provide guidelines for course content and learning goals for the core undergraduate Information Systems (IS) course. However course content and learning goals often need to be revised due to high pressure on academic institutions from a rapidly changing Information Technology (IT) market. In order to constantly refine the IS course curricula to meet the needs of industry and government, it is imperative that there be proven methods to measure the effectiveness of course content and learning goals. Analysis of such data should ultimately feed into designing the curriculum of the core undergraduate IS course.

This paper focuses on the role of surveys as a tool for measuring the effectiveness of course content and learning goals for the core undergraduate IS course. First, the role of IS 2002 is reviewed in setting standards for the course content and learning goals for this course. Next, data from three surveys conducted to measure the effectiveness of course content and learning goals is analyzed. The paper then assesses surveys’ implications for refining course content and learning goals of the core undergraduate IS course. Finally, recommendations along with a framework for conducting future surveys are presented.