IS Studies Accreditation:Problems and Challenges

Janice C. Sipior, Ph.D.

Professor of MIS

Department of Accountancy & IS

Villanova School of Business

Villanova, PA USA

janice.sipior@villanova.edu

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USA: Why is Accreditation Important? Parents and Students . . .

Look to accreditation to choose the right study programs.

Employers Rely on accreditation to ensure that employees are qualified

to practice, e.g., US Patent Office, engineering firms, etc.

Licensing and Certification Boards Count on accreditation to screen applicants.

Colleges and Universities Use accreditation as a structured mechanism to assess,

evaluate, and improve the quality of their programs.

Graduate Schools Check accreditation to determine the eligibility of

applicants.

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USA

• ABET, Inc., formerly the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology

• Established in 1932• A federation of 30 technical and professional

societies• Responsible for accrediting 2,900 programs at

600 institutions, including all disciplines of engineering, computer science, and others

• Each program completes a self-study and undergoes a review, including an on-site visit every 6 years or sooner if needed

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USA: Who is Accredited?

• Examples:• MIT has 16 programs, 2 of which are computing

programs.

• Illinois has 13 programs, 2 of which are computing programs.

• Stanford has 5 programs.

• Berkeley has 9 programs accredited, 3 of which are computing programs.

• University of Pennsylvania has 8 programs, 2 of which are computing programs.

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IS Studies Accreditation

• Issues– Greater reliance on computing– Web has globalized computing– Computing seen as a driver of economic

and social change and harmony

• Initiatives– Need for global educational/practitioner

standards – harmonize education and/or license/certify practitioners

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Globalization of IS Studies Accreditation• Trends:

– The Seoul Accord– Bologna Process

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The Seoul Accord

• Australia Computer Society (ACS)• Canadian Information Processing Society

(CIPS)• Japan (JABEE)• South Korea (ABEEK)• British Computer Society (UK)• USA (ABET/CAC - IEEE-CS & ACM)

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The Seoul Accord

• A multi-lateral agreement among agencies responsible for accreditation or recognition of tertiary-level computing and IT-related qualifications. These agencies have chosen to work collectively to: – assist the mobility of computing and IT-related

professionals holding suitable qualifications and

– improve the quality of tertiary-level computing and IT-related education.

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The Seoul Accord

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Bologna Process

Over 60 countries have signed on to …. “world wide cooperation and partnership in higher education.”

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Bologna Process

• By 2007, 46 countries had signed the Bologna Accord: – Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan,

Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark,  Estonia,  Finland, Macedonia,  France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, the Holy See, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Rumania, the Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom

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Bologna Process

• Statement from the Bologna 2009 Meeting: – …we, the Ministers for Higher Education, heads of

delegation from the 46 European countries participating in the Bologna Process and from

Australia, Brazil, Canada, P.R. China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Tunisia, USA, along with the International Association of Universities and other international organizations and NGOs, have taken part in a constructive debate on world wide cooperation and partnership in higher education with a view to developing partnership between the 46 Bologna countries and countries from across the world.

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Bologna Process

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Globalization of Computing Accreditation

Bologna Accord

Bologna and Seoul AccordSeoul Accord

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Conclusion

• IS Studies Accreditation– Should be a globally unified approach

• To universally agree on what competencies graduates of our programs should be able to demonstrate

• To provide us with control over quality assurance for IS education

• To promote and develop best practices for improvement of IS education

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Questions?

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