Sandra Gorka

Defining the IT Curriculum: The Results of the Past 3 Years

Introduction In the first week of December of 2001 representatives from 15 undergraduate information technology (IT) programs from colleges/universities across the country gathered together near Provo, Utah, to develop a community and begin to establish academic standards for this rapidly growing discipline. This first Conference on Information Technology Curriculum (CITC-1) was also attended by representatives from two professional societies, the Association for Computing Machine (ACM) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE), and also the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc. (ABET). This invitational conference was the culmination of an effort begun several months earlier by five of these universities who had formed a steering committee to organize a response from existing IT programs to several initiatives to define the academic discipline of IT. The steering committee wanted to ensure that the input of existing programs played a significant role in the definition of the field. A formal society and three main committees were formed by the attendees of CITC-1. The society was the Society for Information Technology Education (SITE); one of the committees formed was the executive board for SITE, composed of a president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, regional representatives, and an activities chairperson. The other two committees formed were the IT Curriculum Committee, including subcommittees for 4-year and 2-year programs, and the IT Accreditation Committee, also including subcommittees for 4-year and 2-year programs. The development of IT as an academic discipline is similar to the process that computer science (CS) went through in the 70s and 80s. In fact, looking at the placement of CS programs in academic institutions around the U.S. illustrates the debate that swirled around the discipline as its core was being defined. Some CS programs are in departments of mathematics, others are in engineering schools, and many others have become mainstay programs within newly emerging colleges of computing. Information technology, as it is practiced at this moment in its evolution, reflects similar growing pains. IT programs exist in colleges of computing, in CS departments, in schools of technology, and in business schools. Professors of information technology possess degrees in information systems, electronics, communications, graphics arts, economics, mathematics, computer science, and other disciplines. Few to none of them have a degree in information technology. It should be acknowledged here that IT has two substantially different interpretations, and that these should be clarified. Information Technology (IT) in its broadest sense encompasses all aspects of computing technology. IT, as an academic discipline, focuses on meeting the needs of users within an organizational and societal context through the selection, creation, application, integration and administration of computing technologies. Procedure The participants of CITC-1 participated in a Delphi study. A Delphi study is characterized by questions being asked of experts, who then respond freely to them. Their responses to the questions are shared with other experts, who then may modify their previous responses as they feel necessary. This sharing repeats until the opinions of the experts appear to be converging. (Brown, 1968; Dalkey, 1967, 1969; Dalkey, & Helmer, 1951; Dalkey, Rourke, Lewis, & Snyder, 1972). The format of the Delphi study was chosen due to the fact that the relevant experts (the conference attendees) were all co-located. They were judged experts because all had worked in IT prior to teaching, and all were familiar with the closely related computing disciplines of Computer Science and Information Systems. Each participant was issued a pad of self-adhesive sticky notes and a blunt felt-tip marker. Then the entire group was given 20 minutes to generate as many topics as they could, one topic per sticky note. …

Implementing a living-learning community in information technology

Living-learning communities (LLCs) have been used as a recruiting and retention tool by colleges and universities since the 1960s. Recently, they have seen resurgence in popularity. In 2010, Pennsylvania College of Technology (Penn College) started developing academically themed residential learning communities and as part of that program, started a LLC for Information Technology in 2011. A fundamental part of these communities is a collection of common activities to engage students both academically and socially. This paper discusses some of the specific activities associated with the Information Technology Living-Learning Community (IT LLC) as well as the observed benefits to academic performance, student interaction and retention.

Improving the Pipeline: After-School Program for Preparing Information Assurance and Cyber Defense Professionals

Improving the Pipeline is an NSF funded grant to extend the pipeline into the high school environment offering an opportunity for high school students to explore cybersecurity careers while earning credit for an introductory cybersecurity course.

Hiring the IT Graduate: What’s in the Box?

An effort has recently concluded for developing recommended information technology (IT) curricula and accreditation standards. This paper addresses what industry can expect from graduates of programs utilizing these guidelines. It addresses the knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as the philosophy, of graduates of IT bachelor degree programs. It also provides industry with methods by which they can participate. In the educational process and provide feedback to help IT curricula evolve to meet the ever changing IT needs of industry

Improving the Pipeline: Modules for an After-School Program for Preparing Information Assurance and Cyber Defense Professionals

There is currently significant demand for information security professionals. Preparing students to enter the workforce in an information security career often begins in college. This poster provides an overview of the educational modules used in an after-high school for college credit program to push the pipeline into high schools.

Panel: capstone experiences for information technology

The goal of this panel is to discuss best practices for capstone experiences for BSIT degree programs. The panel will contrast varied implementations of IT integrative capstone experiences to provide a starting point for discussion. Each panelist will briefly describe their institutions capstone experience, discuss the benefits and drawbacks to their implementation, share issues and ideas they have for improving the capstone, and discuss student opinions of the capstone.

Improving the Pipeline: A First Look at the Data

Improving the Pipeline [1] is an NSF funded grant to extend the cybersecurity pipeline into the high school environment. High school students explore cybersecurity concepts while earning credit for an introductory cybersecurity course. This poster discusses a first look at the data collected during the first year of the program as preparation for the second year of the program begins for a new cohort of high school students.

Improving the Pipeline: Lessons Learned

Improving the Pipeline [1] is an NSF funded grant to extend the cybersecurity pipeline into the high school environment. High school students explore cybersecurity concepts while earning credit for an introductory cybersecurity course. This paper discusses several lessons learned after the first year of the program.

Revising the ABET Information Technology Criteria to Reflect the IT 2017 Curriculum Guidelines

Developing curriculum guidelines for high quality, rigorous degree programs in Information Technology (IT) requires broad engagement of international perspectives and critical input from the industry sector and computing professional societies. As the computing field rapidly evolves, ACM and IEEE Computer Society have partnered to regularly update curriculum reports, including curriculum guidelines for baccalaureate IT programs, also known as the IT2017 report. Released in December 2017, the report provides the framework for revising the ABET IT program criteria used to accredit undergraduate IT programs. The panelists will describe different perspectives and rationales for the proposed revisions, will address potential obstacles in formulating theses revisions, and will solicit feedback for both the impact and possible improvements for these revisions.

Using student professional development planning to inform program review

Development and modification of academic programs is enhanced by incorporating input from the stakeholders of the program. This paper discusses the process used by an Information Assurance and Security (IAS) program to obtain input from students during their final year of the program. Students evaluated job advertisements and information assurance curriculum recommendations and compared their findings to the IAS program. Students provided recommendations on how to better facilitate student learning. Faculty plans on using the student work and recommendations as input to the Academic Review Process during the upcoming year.