development of assessment for undergraduate programs of information technology, and certification for program graduates
The Center for Computing Education Research (CCER), a division of the Institute for Certification of Computing Professionals (ICCP) Education Foundation, has developed a methodology for assessment for programs of Information Systems (2,7,8,9,10) that is general and can be applied to other computing programs. It is proposed that CCER technology be utilized for the Information Technology discipline. This can be accomplished through a sequence of meetings in cooperation with the IT Curriculum Committee to implement the necessary components. In addition, an appropriate certification for graduates can be instituted through the ICCP. CCER software will enable creation of the components that are compatible with the IT curriculum and the CCER exam question development and administration systems. The CCER will work with this IT task force to develop protocols for creating, administering and maintaining the assessment exam. Students who pass the assessment exam will be eligible to receive the ICCP certification. Participating universities will map the courses of their programs to the model curriculum. This mapping process (1) links the exam question objectives to the university courses, and enables a precise determination of relative success of students in achieving each objective within the university course as compared with the national population taking the exam. Weak performing areas can be addressed by university faculty, and addressed in future course planning. Also, since the curriculum units are mapped to ABET Accreditation Areas, a precise reporting of course coverage for each of the areas is immediately achieved, as well as performance against a national standard. Performance on program exit skills equivalent to job entry skills (3) will be a product of the exam. These results can be demonstrated to university industry advisory boards as part of a self improvement process.
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