Abstract: The halcyon years of IS education are gone. IS educational units are now faced not only with issues of declining students and resources but with the question of survival. Entirely new approaches must be developed to ensure the viability of IS academia. A framework for improvement is the 4-Ps model of creativity (person, process, product and press). For aid in process, research has shown that the use of creativity enhancement techniques has produced substantive improvements in IS organizations. Those same techniques need to be applied to the field of IS education. A proven methodology is available: creative problem solving. Twenty creativity techniques have been transported over from other disciplines to the IS field. Five of the these techniques are illustrated on the problem of ensuring the viability of IS Education. The CPS methodology, taught within the framework of the 4-Ps model, should be provided to IS students as well, to enable them to meet the continuing challenges of the IS profession.

Keywords: Creativity, Innovation, IS education, Problem solving

Download this article: JISE - Volume 5 Number 4, Page 9.pdf

Recommended Citation: Couger, J. D. (1993). Essential Element for Viability of IS Education: Improving our Creativity. Journal of Information Systems Education, 5(4), pp. 9-13.