Information systems curriculum: some concerns

The information systems (IS) discipline faces greater challenges now than at any time; the main challenge is low enrolment. The college curriculum in IS is revisited and often changed in institutions of higher education to reflect the changes in the field. Many programmes are closely following the curriculum guidelines of a widely recognised IS model. However, the decrease in enrolment in IS programmes has motivated many institutions to be innovative in the design of their curricula in order to attract more students to their programmes. Therefore, it is important to study how to redesign the curriculum for survival in the current economic environment. An understanding of these programmes will help us create a more consistent CIS/MIS curriculum that will be challenging and yet attractive to more students. One hundred four IS programmes are evaluated in the USA. The main purpose is to compare these programmes with the 2009-IS model and show the differences that exist between these programmes regarding core and elective courses credit hours. The results show a significant difference between institutions of higher education with respect to core and elective course credit hour offerings in their IS programmes.