Business Technology Education in the Early 21st Century: The Ongoing Quest for Relevance

The field of information technology is changing and those responsible for educating the next generation of technology professionals have responded with a new computing curriculum, which identifies five distinct technology majors: computer engineering, computer science, software engineering, information systems and information technology. Unfortunately, the new curricula fail to address the depth and speed of the changes in the practice of the field. In fact, the gap between “theory” and “practice” is widening. If relevance is a desired goal, alternative curricula can be developed that will satisfy the field’s emerging requirements designed around five layers and two flanks: business strategy, strategic business applications, enterprise architecture, technology infrastructure, technology support, technology acquisition and technology organization and management. There are also curriculum bridges that we can build between more traditional computer science and newly relevant information systems degrees.