Reviewing the Relevance of the Management Information Systems (MIS) Curriculum: Perspectives from Alumni

Reviewing the Relevance of the Management Information Systems (MIS) Curriculum: Perspectives from Alumni Salvatore Ferraro, Montclair State University Richard Peterson, Montclair State University Abstract Input from alumni is critical to the successful redesign of curriculum. Alumni success provides a gauge of how successful (or not) the current curriculum has been and what additional changes need to be made. In this study, we surveyed alumni of a management information systems program. The focus of the survey was on determining what skills, attitudes, and knowledge were/were not important in securing both the first post-graduate employment position and subsequent positions. Results indicate that Microsoft Office is an important tool used by alumni throughout their careers. This is evident in the classes the alumni took and the technical skills needed and is in line with other studies noted in the literature. In addition, soft skills were essential for both their first career and throughout the rest of their career. As the alumni moved within their career the importance of soft skills became more significant. The two most important soft skills were; communication and problem solving. Again, these finding are similar to other studies conducted. Microsoft Office is frequently taught in college courses and should be evaluated to see if more in-depth classes would be more beneficial to students. Soft skills should be incorporated into all classes for the MIS degree. 1

Introduction The skill set for Management Information Systems (MIS) professionals require both technical and non-technical skills (soft skills). As MIS bridges the gap between the technical (computer related) and business functions within corporations, professionals must have both a basic understanding of business processes and knowledge of information technology operations. These skills are constantly evolving and changing; requiring students, schools and professionals to continue updating their skill levels. Over the past decade -- since the internet bubble burst in 2001 -- there has been a decline in the number of students enrolling in MIS programs (Saunders, G. & Lockridge, T. M., 2011). From 2003-04 to 2006 07, for example, the number of students in computer related programs dropped by 57% (Becerra-Fernandez, I., Elam, J., Clemmons, S., 2010). There are many reasons for this decline; softness in the job market, information technology (IT) jobs being outsourced, and lack of knowledge of the industry. The IT environment is in a constant state of flux, always changing and advancing. It is important to continue the updating the MIS curriculum to stay current with the latest technology. The objective of this study is to identify the important skills and knowledge needs of future graduates of MIS programs. With this input schools will be able to redesign curricula to be more aligned with employer needs. We will use the careers of alumni as the proxy for what employers want in terms of first time and more experienced MIS professionals. The study will consist of polling MIS alumni from a large public university in the northeast. Alumni will be sent a questionnaire about which classes were helpful and 2

which classes were not helpful. Information will also be collected on what classes and skills were not offered and what classes and skills should be added to the curriculum. These questions will be asked in terms of both the respondent s first post-graduation position and her/his current position. While many studies indicate soft skills are more important than technical skills, it is our assumption that both are required for MIS job success. Without the technical skills, a student would not have the ability to perform within the MIS environment. Students must incorporate a balance between both technical and non-technical skills. Literature Review Several studies have been conducted to determine how MIS students have done in the workforce. The views in these studies have come from: alumni, student s expectation, industries expectations, professors expectations and literature review. All have provided insight into what is important for the students to succeed in the workforce. The majority of the studies were conducted using survey data.. Results from most of the studies indicated both soft skills (non-technical) and technical skills are required. As stated by Wilkerson (2012) soft skills are more important to MIS professional s career success than technical skills. Soft skills are non-technical skills that deal with personality, attitude and behavior, managing time effectively, communication, dependability, and critical thinking. Technical skills are the understanding of the mechanics of the information system and relating them to a company's business goal, the understanding of programming, network administrations and databases as an example. 3

In addition to these two types of skills students need general knowledge. This general knowledge includes what all students should process before graduating from college. Examples of general knowledge include the use of Microsoft Office (Excel and Word), an understanding of the business workflow in a company, and the basic awareness of project management tools. An important part of every MIS program is to ensure that students are learning and understanding the material being taught for future positions in the workforce. Merhout et. al (2008) indicates that an assessment of the courses being taught is vital to the success of the student in understanding the material. The assessment should be constantly reviewed and the classes should be changed accordingly. The assessment process must be supported by the upper management of the school to ensure success of the program. Looking at the job success of former MIS students is an appropriate way to assess courses and curricula. There have been several studies in which the alumni were contacted to provide information about the skill needs for employment. Alumni studies help provide information on skills that were learned in school and what is needed in the work force. Alumni can provide insight into the gap that exists between the academic and business world. As stated by Wilkerson (2012), studies including alumni provide a useful insight into the applications required to do the job they were trained to perform. Alumni can provide details about what is important and what was not as significant to work in a position. Results of these studies have indicated that soft skills are the most needed skills for graduating students (Woodward, 2006). Soft skills consist of the following; 4

communication, critical thinking and collaboration, motivation and problem solving (Wilkerson (2012), Silva et. al. (2005)). Technical skills are more specific to the IT world and include topics such as; Windows, SQL Server, Windows, databases, and networks. The technical skills provide student with a basic understanding of how all these elements come together to form the IT world. Business expectations studies: In these types of studies surveys are sent to companies to gather information about what skills they require of college graduates. With an increase of qualified job applicants and fewer jobs available, graduating students should expect a more challenging employment environment (Miller & Slocombe, 2012). Areas that management were looking for included critical thinking, communication, and reasoning (Henscheid, 2008). When graduating students possessed these attributes their work was better. Many employers are expecting a well-rounded student who has a basic understanding of the many different aspects of the MIS program (Kesner, 2008). Student s studies pre-graduation: In these studies surveys were sent to students questioning what they thought they would need to enter the work force with an MIS degree. The studies identified both soft and technical skills that would be needed. Many students felt that the soft skills would be needed for the first job and technical skills would be needed as they moved further into their careers (Yaghi & Hamdan, 2011). Literature review studies: 5

Literature review studies consist of studies that reviewed other research papers on the topics of preparing MIS students for the work force. These studies indicate that there have been many studies working on the best classes for MIS students to take to prepare them for the workforce. Ehie, (2002), indicates that both technical and non-technical skills are needed for students to succeed. General findings: A summary of the literature indicates that soft skills are the most important to attaining a job in the MIS work force. Soft skills are more important than technical skills (Wilkerson, 2012). Much of the research also suggests that Microsoft Office has been an essential part of the requirements for MIS students. Plice (2009) found that MIS students need three basic areas of knowledge, a) interpersonal communication skills, b) a broad range of technical skills, c) core competency in project management, managerial and business skills. Yew's (2008) conclusion was, employers are looking for future employees to have a basic understanding of: information systems, working in teams, and communication and analytical skills. Students should understand Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM). While several studies have indicated that soft skills are the most important for graduates entering the work force, without the technical skills the graduate would not have the knowledge to perform the job. The understanding of MIS and how it works in conjunction in business is vital to the success of the graduate in the workplace. Our report will evaluate the importance of both skills. Methodology 6

Alumni of the MIS program that attended the university between 1995-2013 were sent an email requesting that they participate in an online survey. While the program has about 1,000 graduates for the period, alumni do change email addresses so correct contact information was not available for all graduates. Rather, approximately 400 email addresses were valid and a request and survey link could be sent. Once the survey was sent, approximately 75 additional emails were found to be inactive. The total number of surveys sent out to alumni was 337. The survey was placed on Survey Monkey. Respondents were assured that all data would be kept confidential and that the names of the students would not be collected. There were three sections on the questionnaire: demographics, skills needed (soft and technical), and classes taken. Basic demographics included year graduated, positions held, etc. The skills section was divided into two parts; soft skills and technical skills. Soft skills are skills that are not taught, but developed through the learning process. Technical skills are the skills that are used in the IT industry. The alumni were asked to rate each skill using a Likert scale of 1 to 5. The last section focused on discovering which classes at MSU were useful. A list of all classes required for a MIS degree was provided for the alumni to evaluate. The alumni were asked to rate each class they took using a Likert scale of 1 to 5. A pilot study was conducted of the questionnaire. The questionnaire was sent to 10 alumni. The alumni were asked to take the questionnaire and provide feedback. This information was used to help refine the questionnaire. The responses indicated minor issues with the questionnaire, which was then updated. 7

The survey link was sent to 337 alumni with valid email addresses. The response to the survey was a little over 28% of the emails sent; a total of 93 alumni completed the questionnaire. The initial response to the first request to take the survey resulted in about 30 alumni taking the survey. Two follow-up emails were sent requesting the alumni to take the survey, this resulted in a total of 93 alumni completing the survey. Results Demographics: A summary of the demographics provide basic information about the alumni group. By gender 63% of the respondents were male (37% female).this is similar to other studies where the industry is dominated by males. (Wilkerson, 2012). Approximately 50% of the alumni graduated before they were 24 years old. Over 97% of the alumni are working, within that group 98% are working in the fields they wanted at the time of graduation. Overall, 67% of the alumni group has switched jobs, some having had 2-4 jobs in their working career. The summarized data of the technical skills, soft skills and the classes taken at Montclair. The tables list the data by order of the most useful and somewhat useful skills for the first job. The current job's data is then presented in the table for comparison. The delta column provides information if the skill was more useful or less useful as the alumni moved further into their career path. The classes table is a summary of ranking for the useful or somewhat useful. Technical skills: 8

Table 1 shows the results for the use of technical skills for the alumni s first job after graduation from college and then the skills required for the current job. The delta column indicates the difference between the two jobs. The most important technical skill used by the alumni was Microsoft Office for both their first and current job. For their first job, 84% of the alumni indicated that Microsoft Office was the most important factor in getting a job. This trend continued for second jobs when the number jumped up to 92%. The next four important tools needed for the work force were web tools 56% for first job, 60% for current job), project management (55%/81%), database (54%/67%), and business management (52%/69%). In reviewing all the data, there is an increase in the importance of all the technical skills needed. Within each discipline of technical skills indicated that those skills needed were the most needed. The alumni that went into the database field as a career determined that the database skills were most useful. Alumni that indicated working the network field 9

selected the networking skills were most important. The same holds true for all the technical skills, with the expectation of one skill; Microsoft office. Microsoft ranked the most useful technical skill by the alumni, approximately 92% of all alumni ranked The database discipline would rank database tools and Microsoft as the most important; the network discipline would rank networking tools and Microsoft as the most important, this trend continues throughout all the reviewing of the data. Microsoft was the only technical tool that was used by all discipline, creating the high ranking. The second reason for the high ranking of Microsoft, small to mid-size companies utilize all of their resources, many companies by the Microsoft suite and take advantages of the tools that were within the application. Large companies tend to buy applications that are more specific. Alumni comments on technical skills needed in the workforce. "Project Management, Hands on Tech Repair, Networking" "Networking technical repair" "Business - Management/Accounting, MS office" "Databases, Networking, and MS Office." "Hands on/technical/repair, MS Office, Networking" Soft Skills: Table 2 provides the summary of data for the soft skills needed for the alumni at their first job and their current job. The delta column indicated the difference between the first jobs and the current jobs the alumni have had. The analysis of the soft skills did 10

indicate that most of the soft skills were important in attaining a job. The spread between the number one ranking (92%) and the lowest ranking (81%) only indicted an 11 percent difference. The top soft skills remained the same between the first job and current job, however the order differed slightly. Communication and problem solving being the top two soft skills needed for the alumni's current job. The average of the skills increased as the alumni switched jobs, indicating as the alumni moved up in position the use of soft skills became more important. The first job had an average of 88 while the current job had an average of 95. Quotes from alumni about soft skills needed in the workforce. "Soft people skills- being able to explain technical stuff to non-technical people are key." "Knowing a little bit about everything helped me understand how IT organizations operate and helped me speak to IT folks. I focused on learning the business and married the two skill sets together which has helped me succeed." Classes taken: 11

Table 3 is a summary of the data of how the students felt about the classes they took at the university and how useful they were for preparing them for the work force. The classes that the alumni took are following the same trends as the technical skills, Microsoft Office was one of the most useful classes the alumni took. 91% indicated this. The other top useful classes were as follows: Database 80%, Application Programming 75%, SDLC 73%. The results indicated that Microsoft Office was one of the most important classes taken by all the alumni. One explanation for this outcome the Micorsoft office class is a required class and every student must take this class. The other classes, Database, SDLC, Applications, etc. are electives. This means fewer students have taken these classes, but every student has taken the required classes. Quotes from alumni on classes taken. "SDLC - these are the steps I most use for my current job" 12

"Programming, Database, and Excel: All three of these classes were key in helping land my first job and in helping me move my career forward." "Project Management & SDLC - I want to become a project manager and these classes will help tie my MBA and current experience with my career aspirations SDLC, MS Office" "Databases because I use them all the time" "Web Development - I know what to ask for and what to look for" "The excel is a big plus in all my positions and employers are looking for advanced excel knowledge." Discussion The results indicate that the most important classes taught in the MIS program was Microsoft Office specifically Excel. The majority of the students felt that the knowledge of Microsoft Excel helped them to get their first job. Excel also helped them get any sequential jobs. This was indicated in three sections of the results, the skills need for first position, skills needed for current positions and which class was the most important. Excel had the highest ranking in all three categories. The top five technical skills that were important to the alumni were: Microsoft Office, Web tools, Project management, Database and Business Management. As alumni moved through their career the technical skills adjusted to their jobs. Microsoft still remained as the most important. Project management and database tool had the biggest jump, over 25% higher than their first job. These technical skills were important for both first job and current jobs. There was a slight shift in the order of the top five skills between first job and current job, however all five remainder at the top. 13

The soft skill results indicated the top five skills needed: Attention to Details, Communication, Problem Solving, Attitude and Adaptability. The top five of the soft skills did rearrange slight between first job and current job, but the top five remained the same. The results of the soft skills indicate that all were important as they moved through their career, Over 90% of athe alumni indicated that all the soft skills were used once they moved within their career. The two most important soft skills with a total of 98% each; communication and problem solving skills. Classes being offered at the college level should incorportate more of the soft skills that are used, the top two are communication and problem solving, these skills can be added to most classes. The top classes are Microsoft Office and project management. Most colleges offer Microsoft Office as a class. However, what is being taught in these classes should be reviewed. Besides introducing students to basic course, which is important, they should offer advance classes prior to students graduating. A basic Microsoft course during freshman year and an advance course during their senior year. Project management is taught as part as one class, these technical skill should be incorporated into other required classes. In both the technical skills and soft skills, there was a job in the skills needed between the first job and current job. This indicated that has the alumni worked the skills became more important to succeeding in the work force. As indicated by the technical skills needed, Microsoft Office was one the most useful classes the alumni took at the university. This class has helped to attain their first job and became more important to get their current position. 14

Future studies: The results of this study indicted Microsoft Office was an important part of employments. This study should be expanded to include other disciplines (accounting, business, and marketing) of graduating students to determine if Microsoft Office is as important in other areas. 15

Table 1. Technical Skills Summary. (note: All table data is represented in presents) For First Job Current Job Delta Microsoft office 84 92 Up 8 Web Tools 56 60 Up 4 Project Management 55 81 Up 26 Database 54 67 Up 13 Business 52 69 Up 17 management Operational 44 60 Up 16 Management Networking 43 39 Down 4 Hands on 40 25 Down 15 Programming 34 31 Down 3 Security 27 42 Up 15 Average 48 57 Table 2. Soft Skills Summary. First job Current job Delta Attention to detail 92 96 Up 4 Communication 92 98 Up 6 Problem solving 92 98 Up 6 Attitude 90 93 Up 3 Adaptability 88 97 Up 9 16

Work ethic 88 95 Up 7 Flexibility 87 93 Up 6 Time management 87 95 Up 8 Team player 86 95 Up 9 Learn from mistakes 84 94 Up 10 Self confidence 81 96 Up 15 Average 88 95 Table 3. Classes Taken. Microsoft Office 91 Database 80 Applications 75 SDLC 73 Web development 68 Networking 66 Decision support 59 Programing 55 Electronic commerce 44 17

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