IT educators and learners are continually challenged to adapt to software changes and remain current in software applications. This study researched if it is necessary for IT educators to prepare IT students in the most current software releases--i.e., at the highest software currency preparation level and in the same software application that the majority of businesses in a similar field are using--i.e., at the same software specificity preparation level. The objective of the study was accomplished by determining the software currency and specificity that small-business IT decision-makers and Brigham Young University-Idaho (BYU-I) Computer Information Technology (CIT) faculty perceived as most important for new IT graduates to have upon entering the workforce. The questions for this research were constructed in a survey format to identify software currency and specificity importance rankings in the Database, Programming, Spreadsheet, Word-processing, Graphics, and Presentation applications. Software currency and specificity preparation levels were determined for adequate preparation of IT students by utilizing the importance rankings and a theoretical framework called TAM. Statistical analysis was conducted to determine the statistically significant differences between the small-business IT decision-makers and BYU-I CIT instructor's responses regarding the importance of students' preparation in high and same software currency and specificity. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]