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ABSTRACT
Management information systems (MIS) programs were developed to prepare graduates to create innovative solutions to problems where business and technology intersect. As such, the curricula must change rapidly to stay current with industry standards, an accelerating moving target. This research presents the findings of a systematic literature review to identify and present trends in the scholarly literature on MIS education. The purpose of this approach was to understand how academia ensures students are prepared for industry and keeps pace with changing industry needs. Key findings from the literature are presented, as well as a compilation of areas for future research. Overwhelmingly, a lack of international perspective was identified as the vast majority of articles collected data in the US. Further, the direction of future research and exploration revolved around five themes of innovative pedagogical approaches, industry partnerships, subtopics of MIS education, new methods and metrics for measuring success in MIS education, and cross-disciplinary opportunities in fields such as mathematics, traditional business disciplines, and the hard sciences.
Keywords: Management information systems (MIS), Higher education, Student preparedness, Curriculum design & development, Literature review, Pedagogy
1.INTRODUCTION
College students have been defined as consumers of higher education and, as such, they derive value from the increased marketability they possess as a result of their college experience as well as the knowledge gained in classes (Levin, 2005; Woodall et al., 2014). Further, it can be easily argued that hiring organizations are also a key customer of higher education as they expect graduates to be prepared for the workforce based on their college education. Despite this, research suggests that management information systems (MIS) curricula is not always aligned with industry needs. According to Downey et al. (2008, p. 361), an MIS degree is a "highly technical major that incorporates business fundamentals and prepares graduates for the key roles of managing people and technology in business organizations." However, Lee et al. (1995) found that educators and business executives alike have raised key concerns over the future of Information Technology (IT) education as the needs of the Information Systems (IS) profession evolve. Further, Hunt et al. (2010) stated that organizations recruit MIS students that can adapt to changing technologies and business structures while contributing their technical expertise to improve the organization....