DEVELOPMENT OF AN INSTRUMENT FOR THE EVALUATION OF THE TWO MODEL DEGREE PROGRAMS WITH BUSINESS OPTION IN COMPUTER EDUCATION (MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS (MIS)

Information Systems programs are rapidly emerging in colleges and universities in response to the intense demand by organizations for information systems professionals. Two different curriculum recommendations have been introduced by the Association for Computer Machinery (ACM), called MIS, and by the Data Processing Management Association (DPMA), called CIS. In developing information systems curriculum at an institution, the question arises concerning which of the two curriculum recommendations stated above should be followed to correctly meet the demand of the industry. A valid and reliable instrument is needed to evaluate the two model degree programs in information systems.;Development of the Instrument. The instrument was developed with the help of six experts in the field of information systems, three representing the ACM and the other three representing the DPMA.;Validity of the Instrument. The content validity of the instrument was obtained by critical analysis of each item of the instrument by these six experts. Two sequential evaluations of the instrument were performed, and consensus of agreement was reached on the items to be included in the instrument.;Reliability of the Instrument. The instrument was evaluated for interevaluator reliability by four educators in the field of information systems, two representing the ACM, and the other two representing the DPMA.;Purpose of the Study. The purpose of the study was to develop an instrument for the evaluation of the two model degree programs as stated above.;Conclusions. The instrument developed in this study is a major step in the evaluation of the degrees curriculum of the colleges and universities offering degree in information systems. Further refinement of the instrument may be needed.