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 ECIS 2010

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. 2 ECIS 2010

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 3 ECIS 2010

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. 4 ECIS 2010

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 5 ECIS 2010

Globalization of IS Studies Accreditation Trends: –The Seoul Accord –Bologna Process 6 ECIS 2010

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) 7 ECIS 2010

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. 8 ECIS 2010

The Seoul Accord 9 ECIS 2010

Bologna Process Over 60 countries have signed on to …. “world wide cooperation and partnership in higher education.” 10 ECIS 2010

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 11 ECIS 2010

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. 12 ECIS 2010

Bologna Process 13

Globalization of Computing Accreditation Bologna Accord Bologna and Seoul Accord Seoul Accord 14

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 15 ECIS 2010

Questions? 16 ECIS 2010