Title:  The (mis)alignment of IT education and IT workforce needs:  Challenges and opportunities in the North Florida region. 

Jonathan M. Hollister, PhD
Information Institute
Florida State University
jhollister@fsu.edu

Laura I. Spears, PhD
George A. Smathers Libraries
University of Florida
laura.spears@ufl.edu

Marcia A. Mardis, EdD
School of Information
Florida State University
marcia.mardis@cci.fsu.edu

Charles R. McClure, PhD
Information Institute
Florida State University
cmcclure@lis.fsu.edu

Jisue Lee, PhD
School of Information
Florida State University
jisue.lee@cci.fsu.edu

Abstract (250 words): 

Information Technology (IT) is one of the fastest growing industries and, as such, many colleges and universities, including many library and information studies (LIS) programs and iSchools, are now offering undergraduate and graduate level IT degrees to meet the need for skilled IT professionals.   Given the fast pace of change in the IT landscape as well as differences in regional needs, identifying the types of skills needed by IT graduates and new IT professionals, and those requested by employers, and incorporating them into IT curricula is beneficial to all parties involved.  This works in progress poster reports preliminary findings from an NSF Advanced Technological Education grant-funded project that explores the (mis)alignment of the IT skills needed by new professionals, requested by IT employers, and those taught in two-year IT degree programs in the Northwest Florida region.  Through a holistic, mixed methods approach, data was collected through interviews with new IT professionals and regional IT employers, classroom observations of IT courses, as well as data-mining of regional IT job postings and the syllabi and related curricular materials of two regional two-year IT degree programs.  Preliminary findings highlight the importance of soft skills, such as communication, problem-solving, learning, and self-management, in addition to knowledge of technical skills and identify experiential learning opportunities, such as internships, as highly valuable for the development of well-rounded and skilled IT professionals.  This study examines challenges and opportunities for IT industry, information professionals, and LIS educators and provides recommendations for IT curricula that serves these diverse stakeholders.  

Keywords:  IT Skills, IT Education, Curricula Assessment

Poster:  The .pdf file for the poster can be found here.

References

Association for Computing Machinery & IEEE Computer Society. (2008).  Information technology:  Curriculum guidelines for undergraduate degree programs in information technology.  Retrieved from http://www.acm.org/education/curricula/IT2008%20Curriculum.pdf/view

Denzin, N. K. (2012). Triangulation 2.0. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 6(2), 80-88. doi: 10.1177/1558689812437186. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ968447

Downey, J. P., McMurtrey, M. E., & Zeltmann, S. M. (2008). Mapping the MIS curriculum based on critical skills of new graduates: An empirical examination of IT professionals. Journal of Information Systems Education, 19(3), 351–364.

Florida Department of Education. (2013). Curriculum framework for information technology career cluster. Retrieved from http://www.fldoe.org/workforce/dwdframe/it_cluster_frame13.asp 

Gordon, E. E. (2013). Future jobs: Solving the employment and skills crisis: Solving the employment and skills crisis. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.

Hunt, C.S., Crews, T.B., Feather-Gannon, S., Hunt, D., & Smith, L.B. (2011). Perceptions and validation of key information technology competencies from an IT alumni viewpoint: Another stakeholder in the curriculum design process. The Review of Business Information Systems, 15(2), 1-14.

Hwang, D. & Soe, L.L. (2010). An analysis of career tracks in the design of IS curricula in the U.S. Information Systems Education Journal, (8)13.

Lee, C. K., & Han, H. (2008). Analysis of skills requirement for entry-level programmer/analysts in Fortune 500 corporations. Journal of Information Systems Education, 19(1), 17.

Lee, J., Spears, L., Ambavarapu, C., Ma, J., Hollister, J., Mardis, M., & McClure, C. (2014). Aligning Expectations and Reality about IT/Broadband Education: Perceptions of Job Competencies by Students, New Professionals and Employers. Paper presented at the 42nd Research Conference on Communication, Information, and Internet Policy (2014 TPRC), George Mason University, Arlington, VA, September 12-14, 2014.  Available at http://ssrn.com/abstract=2485678

Smith, M. K., Jones, F. H. M., Gilbert, S. L., & Wieman, C. E. (2013). The Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (COPUS): A New Instrument to Characterize University STEM Classroom Practices. CBE Life Sciences Education, 12(4), 618-627. doi: 10.1187/cbe.13-08-0154

U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). (2015). Computer and information technology occupations. Occupational outlook handbook, 2016-17. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/home.htm

U.S. Office of Personnel Management [US OPM]. (2011). Competency model for IT program management. Chief Human Capital Officers Council. Retrieved from  https://www.chcoc.gov/content/competency-model-it-program-management

Woodward, B., Imboden, T., & Martin, N.L. (2013). An undergraduate information security program: More than a curriculum. Journal of Information Systems Education, 24(1), 63-70.