A Methodology for Validating Entry Level Value versus Career Value of Courses in an MIS Program

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine which entry-level course evaluations are drivers of an attitude of approval toward an MIS program, which career-level course evaluations are drivers of an attitude of approval toward an MIS program and whether alumni evaluations coincide with the beliefs of faculty who designed the curriculum. Alumni were asked to indicate the value of the content of each required course of the program during their first year on the job, then in their current position and then asked to evaluate the entire MIS program yielding a factor score for one’s overall attitude toward the MIS program. The resulting factor score for each alumnus was related to the scores for the value of courses during one’s first year on the job and the scores for the value of courses in one’s current position. The plans of the faculty who designed the MIS curriculum as to what point in time, entry-level position, later in one’s career, or a combination of the two, each course would be of value is reviewed. The perceptions of the alumni are compared to the beliefs of the faculty.