MBA Program Revision and the Impact on the CIS Option

Introduction California State University, East Bay is a mid-sized university located in the San Francisco Bay Area. It has enrollment of about 14000 (9000 full time equivalent) students. It was established in 1957 and the College of Business and Economics (CBE) shortly after that. By 1973 the CBE achieved AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) accreditation and has maintained it ever since, the most recent renewal being in February, 2009. The normal AACSB accreditation renewal cycle is every five years. As part of preparing for maintenance of accreditation, California State University, East Bay leadership decided in fall 2007 to evaluate and update its MBA program. Several people participated in the evaluation process including the new Dean of CBE, the five-member curriculum committee, the Director of MBA Programs and four Department Chairs. Feedback was also sought from faculty, students and employers. The revision of this part-time, evening MBA program that many of the more than 600 students enrolled are able to complete in two years was a major focus for an entire academic year, as shown in Figure 1. [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] The primary focus was on what topics should be included in the core requirements and how much emphasis should be placed on specialized options. Options that had small enrollment or that were experiencing declining enrollments, for example CIS, were also closely scrutinized as part of the MBA program review. Background and Literature Review We relied more on primary market research than on any review of the literature insofar as whether and how to modify the MBA Program at California State University, East Bay. Once the author undertook a literature review, she identified some insightful remarks about information systems as a discipline. A good starting point is to define terminology used. T. Grandon Gill, the Editor-in-Chief of the Informing Science Journal, in 2009 refers to Eli Cohen's definition of the informing process as: 1) providing a specific clientele with information, 2) in a form, format, and schedule, 3) that maximizes its effectiveness (Gill, 2009). Cohen describes "Informing Science" as an evolving transdiscipline that studies issues in informing clients (Cohen, 2009). In discussing his philosophy of informing science, Cohen addresses how terms that mean different things get used interchangeably, for example, "Computer Science", "Management Information Systems", "Information Science" as well as "Intelligent Services" (Cohen, 2009). Perhaps additional terms as "Computer Information Systems," "Information Technology Management" and "Business Information Systems" need to be added to this growing list. Cohen also distinguishes between broad "lantern" and focused "laser" forms of research. In the case of the MBA Program at California State University, East Bay, stakeholders include students, faculty, administrators, perhaps alumni and employers, and prospective stakeholders. The MBA is intended to be a general degree comprised of a broad range of business topics on management, marketing, accounting, finance, operations, supply chain, economics, governmental regulation, technology, globalization, etc. Compared with an MS in Information Technology Program, the MBA is more interdisciplinary and less specialized. Furthermore, the 2009 revised MBA places more emphasis on general business and interpersonal skills and less emphasis on the options/areas of specialization. Consistent with this broad focus is the revision of the CIS option to ITM which suggests a shift from adapting computer information systems technology to the user toward the management of the information technology function (hardware, software, networks, and data). Systems analysts and others who help adapt the technology to user needs normally work within the information technology department. The extent of discussion and debate regarding what courses to include or exclude in the required set of fundamental (prerequisite) or core courses varied substantially depending on the course/topic. …