Degree-based It Certification Programs: a Comparative Analysis of Perceptions of Students from the United States and Nigeria

This paper examines students' perceptions towards information technology (IT) certification related undergraduate programs. Three such programs are focused on: degree-based IT certification programs (DBC), degree-based IT internships (DBI), and degree-based IT certification programs with internship (DBCI). Two sets of student data, one from a university in the U.S. and the other from a university in Nigeria, were collected and analyzed to determine if the students' views towards these three programs differ in terms of expected program benefits, program viability, and students’ employability. The results provide empirical evidence that in general, the students from the U.S. showed more enthusiasm for degree-based IT certification program with internship and more willingness to pay for such a program than did the Nigeria students. On the other hand, the students from Nigeria appeared to support more strongly the degree-based IT certification program, even though such a program would be less affordable to them than to the students from the U.S.