FDRE Ministry of Education (MOE)

Identified Competencies and Core Courses for

National Exit Examination

Program: B.Sc. Degree in Information Technology

Prepared by:
1. Amin Tuni (Asst. Professor) ---------------------------- Arba Minch University
2. Mr. Zerihun Olana ---------------------------------------- Jimma University

Bishoftu, Ethiopia

July 19, 2022

Table of Contents
1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1

2. Expected Graduate profiles .................................................................................................. 2

2.1 Cognitive skill ................................................................................................................. 2

2.2 Technical skill ................................................................................................................. 2

2.3 Attitude skill.................................................................................................................... 3

3. Competency and learning outcomes .................................................................................... 3

4. Courses included for exit examination ................................................................................ 4

5. Courses Thematic Categories ............................................................................................... 5

6. Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 6

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Table 1: List of selected Courses ............................................................................................................... 4
Table 2: List of course and course themes ................................................................................................ 5

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 1. Introduction
Information Technology involves the design, implementation and maintenance of technology
solutions and support for users of such systems. Information Technology curricula focus on
crafting hardware and software solutions as applied to networks, security, client-server and, web
applications, multimedia resources, communications systems, and the planning and management
of the technology lifecycle. According to this some of curriculum was developed for B.Sc. in
Information Technology based on international experiences with some professionals at different
university level. In Ethiopia, the first Information Technology harmonized curriculum was started in
2004 EC and the new roadmap harmonized curriculum were designed and implemented in 2012 EC.

In education system, the main purpose is to produce high competent students with high quality
and competence that acquired knowledge and skills on their professions. The output of this
competent man power will be useful for solving the community problems as well as involving in
the economic development of the country. One of the best tools to assure the quality of education
is exit exam for graduate students, where its results provide a trust on Higher Education Institutes
outcomes. This is because it aims to measure the competencies and learning outcomes of each of
the academic programs for a Bachelor's of Science degree in Information Technology. By
recognizing this, the guideline is very important for the proper administration of the national exit
examination for all undergraduate of Information Technology students in Ethiopian Higher
Education Institutes.

Ministry Of Education (MOE) has proceeded according to some existing experiences in Health
and Law programs done so far. This was represented in a set of procedures, including the stages
of building question banks and linking them to learning outcomes in the curricula. By
considering the current job opportunity of graduating students this guideline is designed to
implement the National Exit Examination to be held in the 2015 EC. Therefore, this guideline is
focusing on the graduate profile, competencies, learning outcomes and industry demands of the
professionals. Based on this, the courses were listed and categorized for the exit exam.

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 2. Expected Graduate profiles
The expected graduate profile of Information Technology should acquire the basic knowledge
and skills in adapting and utilization of new technology with minimum effort and resources.
Accordingly, the B.Sc. in Information Technology graduates will have the following graduate
profiles:

2.1Cognitive skill
• Analyse, identify and define the IT requirements that must be satisfied to address
problems or opportunities faced by organizations or individuals.
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of essential facts, concepts, principles and
theories relating to Information Technology.
• Identify and evaluate current and emerging technologies and assess their applicability to
address the user’ s needs.
• analyse, adopt and demonstrate IT best practices, standards and their application.
• analyse the impact of technology on individuals, organizations and society, including
ethical, legal and policy issues;
• Identify and analyse user needs and take them into account in the selection, creation,
evaluation and administration of computer-based systems.
• Demonstrate an understanding of best practices and standards and their application;

2.2Technical skill
• Use and apply current technical concepts and practice in the core area of Information
Technology.
• Design effective and usable IT-based solutions and integrate them into the user
environment.
• Assist in the creation of an effective project plan.
• Demonstrate independent critical thinking and problem-solving skills
• Use current techniques, skills, and tools necessary to maintain and administer computer-
based systems.

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 2.3Attitude skill
• Collaborate in teams to accomplish a common goal by integrating personal initiatives
• Communicate effectively and efficiently with clients, users and peers both verbally and
in writing, using appropriate terminology.
• Understand and explain the quantitative dimensions of a problem.
• Manage one’ s own learning and development, including time management and
organizational skills
• Keep abreast of current developments in the discipline to continue one’ s own
professional development.
• Recognize and be guided by the social, professional, and ethical issues involved in the
use of computer technology

3. Competency and learning outcomes

This guideline incorporates the ideas of Competence Based Education (CBE) on the Bachelor of
Science in Information Technology national harmonized curriculum in 2013 EC. The
competencies are identified according to the graduate professional profiles, measurable and
achievable.

 Understand the basic Components of computer Organization and Architecture, Operating

system and technical support system
 Develop skills in designing, coding, debugging and documenting large programs using
programming languages and Rapid Application Development for immediate problem
solving.
 Identify problems, apply approaches and techniques in SDLC to support software project
management and the production of high-quality software.
 They will design, develop databases, and write SQL queries and database programs used
for transaction management, distributed database and database administration
 Acquire the skills of developing static and dynamic websites, in creating Server/client-
side scripts for commercial and scientific programs.
 Have knowledge on data communication, transmission media, protocols and networking
standards, network configuration, Network administrations and security management

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  They will properly identify threats, Risks and vulnerabilities, data Security
Policies/Admin Security, information Systems Security concepts, and designing secure
systems.

4. Courses included for exit examination

According to the competencies and learning outcomes correlated with graduate profiles, the
following courses are selected for the national exit examination. The exit examination focuses on
the key knowledge and skill of undergraduate Information Technology graduates.

Table 1: List of selected Courses

SN Courses Course code

1. Operating System ITec2022
2. Computer Maintenance and Technical Support ITec3031
3. Fundamentals of Programming ITec2041
4. Advanced Programming ITec3056
5. Event driven programming ITec3054
6. System Analysis and Design ITec3061
7. Database System (Fundamentals and Advanced) ITec2071, ITec3071
8. Internet Programming (I, II) ITec2092, ITec3093
9. Data communications and Computer Networks ITec2102
10. System & Network Administration ITec4112
11. Network Device & configuration ITec4111
12. Multimedia System ITec3121
13. Information Assurance and Security ITec4133
Total Cr. hrs./ECTS 45/74

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 5. Courses Thematic Categories
The courses selected for the exit examination are thematized according to their relatedness. The
four thematic areas are formed and listed as follows.

Table 2: List of course and course themes

SN Course Thematic List of Courses

1. Computer System 1. Operating System
2. Computer Maintenance and
Technical Support
2. Programming/Software 1. Fundamentals of Programming
Development 2. Advanced Programming
3. Event driven programming
4. Internet Programming
5. System Analysis and Design
6. Multimedia System
3. Database System 1. Database System (Fundamentals
and Advanced)
4. Computer Networking 1. Data communications and CN
2. System & Network Administration
3. Network Device & configuration
4. Information Assurance and Security

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 6. Conclusion
This guideline is designed to implement the National Exit Examination for B.Sc. in Information
Technology undergraduate programs throughout Ethiopian Higher Education Institutes. To
prepare this guideline the following criteria were considered into account.

 Professional graduate profiles,

 Competency and learning outcomes of the programs
 Correlation of graduate profiles and competency of the program
 Selection of core competency courses

The key competencies of the program are selected and the courses which matches the
competency areas are selected for exit exam. The exam contents will focus on key knowledge of
the program from each course and the courses which match the exit exam types. Accordingly, 13
courses are selected for exit exam which are grouped into different four thematic areas. The
selected courses are thematized to groups according to their similarities.

The exit exam focuses on fundamental knowledge and skill of Information Technology. This
guideline will be modified and change the categorized courses based on the adaptability and
customization techniques when the curriculum is revised.

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