A Practical Information Technology Program

INTRODUCTION The business challenges of the 21st century are different than those of the 1960s or 1970s, as are the needs of employers. For many years, the Information Systems and Computer Science programs in the United States have been viewed as a model for the rest of the world. However, dramatic technological advancements, growth of technological awareness, as well as program innovations in other countries may impact both the quality and the popularity of the American model. The dramatic changes and expansion in computer application as well as the changes in the nature of the work requirement for American companies indicate a need for redesigning computer education curriculum in higher education. In designing the curriculum, the needs of the organizations which hire graduates to solve their work force problems should be carefully considered. There have been significant trends in the use of technology, application development process, and the employment of IT professionals. Digital technology, telecommunication, globalization and outsourcing have shifted employment and industry infrastructure. Technology has even created a new sector of industry--the Information Service industry. CHALLENGES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY Successful development of curriculum must include provisions for adapting and adjusting to changes while being responsive to needs for future updating. One of the challenges in the process and development of curriculum is the provision for the detection of changes and trends while providing the safeguards necessary for detection and inclusion in the programs. The most important challenge that influences curriculum development involves business challenges of the 21st century. The Trends of Applications in Business The development of applications in static form, using console interface and the legacy languages with the lengthy System Life Cycle methodology are not economically feasible anymore. Actually, the maintenance of legacy systems is becoming very expensive (News Briefs, 2007). A survey of IT decision makers in 2006 indicated that the majority of them (75%) were planning to migrate away, if they can, from their legacy system within three years (Robb, 2007.) Anthes (2006) reports that out of 352 companies, 62% indicated that they are using COBOL; but 77% of them said they will replace it and gradually migrate away from it "every chance we get" (Anthes, 2006). Eventually, all the legacy systems have to be replaced with the web-intermingled, attractive window oriented interface. Already the demand is high for such integrated systems with an enterprise database that can handle all functions of business. The use of a database management system is critical to all projects (Post, 2005.) As organizational data are abundant, and decisions are becoming more complex to handle exclusively by human beings, managers need intelligent applications that use AI for converting mass data into useful decision support systems to facilitate decision making (News Briefs, 2007). Globalization and Outsourcing Expanding operations, outsourcing, and off-shoring, are part of globalization's optimization forces. Companies are expanding operations to any part of the world where they can be operated more economically. IBM, a U.S. based company, is reducing its workforce in the U.S. while expanding its operations elsewhere. An unofficial report indicates that IBM will increase operations in India from 20,000 employees to 100,000 in the next few years (NewsBrief, 2007). Regardless of the firms' locations, outsourcing has been and will be the norm, particularly in the specialized areas such as IT--services and infrastructure. Per IBM's Global Business report of 2008, Bharti Airtel, a major Indian leading mobile telecom service provider, has outsourced its IT and network management for greater operational efficiencies (IBM Global Business, 2008). Fraihat's study has identified the critical success factors for outsourcing the information Technology services (Fraihat, 2006. …