A framework for designing information technology programmes using ACM/IEEE curriculum guidelines

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present a framework for the design of Information Technology (IT) curriculum programmes. This aim is achieved by identifying key models for curriculum design in general. The identification of these models was the result of a systematic literature review of existing work on designing and renewing curricula in various disciplines. The main result of this paper was obtained by merging the above mentioned curriculum models, and by incorporating ACM/IEEE-IT curriculum guidelines into the merged model. The resulting model includes the following six key phases for IT curriculum design: Information Collection, Goal Identification, Design, Model Testing, Implementation, and Evaluation. These key phases were finally designed in terms of the core aspects of ACM/IEEE-IT curriculum guidelines, the various options presented by these guidelines, and their ability to be customized. The novelty of this study can be credited to its use of systematic review of existing literature to achieve its aim.