In the ever-changing world of information technology (IT), one of the major changes was from the mainframe to client-server paradigm. With that changing paradigm, computer and information science (CIS) curricula had to change as well.

The old Data Processing Management Association (DPMA) curriculum had an advanced common business-oriented language (COBOL) course (CIS-3) that tackled a list of common data processing techniques. Whitson is concerned that many of these still valuable techniques have become lost in the shuffle to a more modern paradigm. He reports that the new course, IS 2002.5, is taught inconsistently and is not thorough. Whitson goes back to the core aims of the old CIS-3 course, and revamps the IS 2002.5 course to reflect these aims. The result is a very good mix of problems, projects, and subjects that should be carefully considered by any university CIS faculty.

While some of the proposed projects could be tweaked a little, this course outline provides a great starting point. The list of concepts is another great tool, which can be used to further modernize the IS 2002.5 course as the need arises. In our rapidly changing field, we can use all the tools we can find.