The impact of the skills gap on the recruitment of MIS graduates

Enrollment in MIS degree programs has been dropping significantly since 2001. Some of the reasons for this decline include the perceived lack of jobs for MIS graduates, confusion over the variety of computing degree programs, disinterest in MIS careers, and MIS programs which fail to prepare students adequately for careers in MIS. This paper looks at each of these potential causes for the enrollment decline and offers suggestions to reverse this trend. Given the lack of material support for the first three potential causes of the decline in enrollment, the bulk of this research is devoted to investigating the deficiencies of the MIS program from the employer's perspective.