The Importance of Elective Courses for IT Students in the Function of Professional Guidance

Contemporary higher education is developing on the basis of Bologna declaration and the concept of „lifelong learning“. Characteristics of the previously mentioned are visible in the joint efforts of all the participants involved (teaching staff and students) to improve quality of education and create content adequate for the needs of the market. Burgeoning usage of technology in day-to-day life increased demand for Information Technology (IT) engineers, which resulted in many universities accrediting IT study programs. Versatile usage of technology initiated the development of multidisciplinary programs so that engineers could apply their field of studies to any area, moreover, they become competitive experts in the labor market. Provided numerous directions of business and diverse needs and aspirations of students, universities introduced elective courses. Not only do they enable students to further specialize in desired fields, but to acquire new skills from different branches of business as well. IT engineers should, beside their primary knowledge, acquire managing and organizational skills, learn basics of economy, law or other fields in regard to particular kind of job they do. Key question being asked when discussing students’ preference and elective classes is whether classes are being chosen based on the desired job specialization or there are other factors which influence final decision making. This paper analyzes elective courses of the Department of Applied Information Technology at the Faculty for Management, Economics and Finance, Belgrade, followed by the results obtained from survey taken by students in regard to their preference when choosing elective courses. Study shows that, besides personal interests for certain course, teachers also play an important role, as well as, passing rate of the very course, other students’ experience and if the course is centered around currently popular topics. Elective classes are of great importance for students, however, they are frequently being chosen based on other factors rather than personal interests. Through discussion with students and by taking their opinions and suggestions into account we could render such elective classes which students would be more interested in and significantly more motivated to take, whereas choice would be more often made on the grounds of very desires of the students rather than on their sympathy for the teachers or higher passing rate.