An Australian view of generic attributes coverage in undergraduate programs of study: An information systems case study

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Research and Development in Higher Education Vol. 25: Quality Conversations

July, 2002, 794 pages
Published by
Tony Herrington
ISBN
0 908557 54 X
Abstract 

This paper describes the generic attributes coverage in QUT's information systems undergraduate curriculum, as compared with the perceived requirements of industry and the stated requirements of curriculum documents developed by professional associations. The investigative techniques used to make these comparisons possible involved mapping the generic attributes against the objectives of the courses. Findings reveal a strong correlation between QUT's curriculum documentation for information systems and the requirements of professional associations for some attributes, and identify other attributes where there is only minor coverage in the QUT curriculum. They also reveal some disparity between curriculum requirements and the perceived needs of industry stakeholders. The investigation also revealed a need for university unit outline writers to be more explicit in identifying the generic attributes of IS graduates to be developed within a program of study. The methodology of this study is likely to be of interest to curriculum evaluators in a range of disciplines.

Keywords: Generic Capabilities, Curriculum Evaluation, Industry Requirements