CS Self-Study Questionnaire - UCSB Computer …cappello/cac/resources/CS-Self-Study.doc · Web viewCourse work in mathematics must include discrete mathematics, differential and integral

ABETComputing Accreditation Commission

SELF-STUDYQUESTIONNAIRE FOR REVIEW

of theCOMPUTER SCIENCE PROGRAM

submitted by

University of California, Santa BarbaraInstitution

June 21, 2008Date

to theComputing Accreditation Commission

Primary contact: Peter Cappello

Telephone number:______________________ FAX number: __________________

(805) 893-4383 FAX Number: (805) 893-8553

Electronic mail: [email protected]

ABETComputing Accreditation Commission

111 Market Place, Suite 1050Baltimore, Maryland 21202-4012

Phone: 410-347-7700Fax: 410-625-2238

E-mail: [email protected] 1 of 71

C3 CS 12/14/04

www: http://www.abet.org/

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Table of ContentsI. OBJECTIVES AND ASSESSMENTS.......................................................................................................................4

A. OBJECTIVES.................................................................................................................................................4B. IMPLEMENTATION OF OBJECTIVES...........................................................................................................8C. ASSESSMENTS...............................................................................................................................................8D. PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT..........................................................................................................................14E. PROGRAM EVOLUTION................................................................................................................................16F. PROGRAM CURRENT STATUS......................................................................................................................17

II. STUDENT SUPPORT...........................................................................................................................................20

A. FREQUENCY OF COURSE OFFERINGS..........................................................................................................20B. INTERACTION WITH FACULTY....................................................................................................................21C. STUDENT GUIDANCE.................................................................................................................................21D. STUDENT ADVISEMENT..............................................................................................................................22E. ACCESS TO QUALIFIED ADVISING..............................................................................................................22F. MEETING THE REQUIREMENTS....................................................................................................................22

III. FACULTY.............................................................................................................................................................24

A. FACULTY SIZE...........................................................................................................................................24B. FACULTY WITH PRIMARY COMMITMENT...............................................................................................24C. FACULTY OVERSIGHT..............................................................................................................................25D. INTERESTS, QUALIFICATIONS, SCHOLARLY CONTRIBUTIONS...............................................................25E. SCHOLARLY ACTIVITIES..........................................................................................................................26F. SUPPORT FOR ADVISING...........................................................................................................................26G. INFORMATION REGARDING FACULTY MEMBERS..................................................................................26

IV. CURRICULUM....................................................................................................................................................30

A. TITLE OF DEGREE PROGRAM..................................................................................................................30B. CREDIT HOUR DEFINITION......................................................................................................................30C. PREREQUISITE FLOW CHART..................................................................................................................30D. COURSE REQUIREMENTS OF CURRICULUM............................................................................................30E. COURSE DESCRIPTIONS............................................................................................................................39

V. LABORATORIES AND COMPUTING FACILITIES.....................................................................................43

A. COMPUTING FACILITIES.............................................................................................................................43B. STUDENT ACCESS......................................................................................................................................44C. DOCUMENTATION.....................................................................................................................................44D. FACULTY ACCESS.....................................................................................................................................45E. SUPPORT PERSONNEL...............................................................................................................................45F. INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANCE.....................................................................................................................46

VI. INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT AND FINANCIAL RESOURCES..................................................................47

A. FACULTY STABILITY..................................................................................................................................47B. FACULTY PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES.....................................................................................................48C. OFFICE SUPPORT......................................................................................................................................48D. TIME FOR ADMINISTRATION....................................................................................................................48E. ADEQUACY OF RESOURCES......................................................................................................................48F. LEADERSHIP...............................................................................................................................................49G. LABORATORY AND COMPUTING RESOURCES.........................................................................................49H. LIBRARY RESOURCES...............................................................................................................................49I. CONTINUITY OF INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT..............................................................................................50

VII. INSTITUTIONAL FACILITIES......................................................................................................................51

A. LIBRARY....................................................................................................................................................51

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B. CLASSROOM EQUIPMENT.........................................................................................................................52C. FACULTY OFFICES......................................................................................................................................52

APPENDIX I. INFORMATION RELATIVE TO THE ENTIRE INSTITUTION..............................................53

A. GENERAL INFORMATION..........................................................................................................................53B. TYPE OF CONTROL...................................................................................................................................53C. REGIONAL OR INSTITUTIONAL ACCREDITATION...................................................................................53D. ENROLLMENT............................................................................................................................................54E. FUNDING PROCESS......................................................................................................................................54F. PROMOTION AND FACULTY TENURE..........................................................................................................54

APPENDIX II. GENERAL INFORMATION ON THE UNIT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE COMPUTER SCIENCE PROGRAM...............................................................................................................................................55

A. COMPUTER SCIENCE PROGRAM UNIT.....................................................................................................55B. ADMINISTRATIVE HEAD...........................................................................................................................55C. ORGANIZATION CHART............................................................................................................................55E. COMPUTER-RELATED UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE PROGRAMS............................................................55

APPENDIX III. FINANCES......................................................................................................................................57

A. FINANCES RELATED TO THE COMPUTER SCIENCE PROGRAM(S).........................................................57B. OPERATING AND COMPUTING EXPENDITURES.......................................................................................58C. ADDITIONAL FUNDING..............................................................................................................................58

APPENDIX IV. COMPUTER SCIENCE PROGRAM PERSONNEL.................................................................59

A. TERM OF APPOINTMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEAD............................................................................59B. NUMBER OF PERSONNEL ASSOCIATED WITH PROGRAM........................................................................59C. POLICIES....................................................................................................................................................59

APPENDIX V. COMPUTER SCIENCE PROGRAM ENROLLMENT AND DEGREE DATA......................61

APPENDIX VI. ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS..................................................................................................63

A. Admission of Students.............................................................................................................................63

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Introduction

The Criteria for Accrediting Computer Science Programs are divided into seven major Categories, each Criterion containing a statement of Intent and Standards. An intent statement provides the underlying principles associated with a Criterion. In order for a program to be accredited, it must meet the intent statement of every Criterion.

Standards provide descriptions of how a program can minimally meet the statements of intent. The word “must” is used within each standard to convey the expectation that the condition of the standard will be satisfied in all cases. For a program to meet the intent of a Criterion, it must either satisfy all the standards associated with that Criterion or demonstrate an alternate approach to achieving the intent of the Criterion.

For each of the following seven sections, corresponding to each of the seven Categories of the Criteria, answer all of the questions associated with the standards. If one or more standards are not satisfied, it is incumbent upon the institution to demonstrate and document clearly and unequivocally how the intent is met in some alternate fashion.

If you are having more than one program evaluated, particularly if the programs are on separate campuses, the answers to these questions may vary from one program to another. If this is the case, please use separate copies of each section for each program, and clearly delineate which program is being described.

I. Objectives and Assessments

Intent: The program has documented, measurable objectives, including expected outcomes for graduates. The program regularly assesses its progress against its objectives and used the results of the assessments to identify program improvements and to modify the program’s objectives.

Standard I-1. The program must have documented, measurable objectives.

Standard I-2. The program’s objectives must include expected outcomes for graduating students.

A. Objectives

Please attach items that support or precede the measurable objectives, e.g., 1. Mission statements from institution, college, department, program2. Plans (institution, college, department, etc.)3. All objectives including expected outcomes for graduates (itemize)4. Process for assessments5. Who is involved in assessment and improvement?6. Data from assessments7. Inputs from any supporting Office of Assessment

1. Indicate below or attach to this document the program’s measurable objectives. These objectives must include expected outcomes for graduates.

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Program Educational Objectives for Undergraduate Programs

To prepare future generations of computer professionals for long-term careers in research, technical development, and applications. Baccalaureate graduates, ready for immediate employment, are eminently trainable for most Computer Science positions in government and a wide range of industries. Outstanding graduates interested in highly technical careers, research, and/or academia, should be fully prepared to further their education in graduate school.

The primary Computer Science departmental emphasis is on computer program design, analysis and implementation, with both a strong theoretical foundation, and a strong practical component, covering most aspects of computing and computer communications.

BS and BA computer science degrees are equivalent with a difference in emphasis. The BA program requires more general education courses and the BS program requires additional CS courses. (!! Should be omitted.)

Program Outcomes for Undergraduate Programs

The program enables students to achieve, by the time of graduation:

(a) An ability to apply knowledge of computing and mathematics appropriate to computer science

(b) An ability to analyze a problem, and identify and define the computing requirements appropriate to its solution

(c) An ability to design, implement, and evaluate a computer-based system, process, component, or program to meet desired needs

(d) An ability to function effectively on teams to accomplish a common goal

(e) An understanding of professional, ethical, and social responsibilities

(f) An ability to communicate effectively

(g) An ability to analyze the impact of computing on individuals, organizations, and society, including ethical, legal, security, and global policy issues

(h) Recognition of the need for and an ability to engage in continuing professional development

(i) An ability to use current techniques, skills, and tools necessary for computing practice

(j) An ability to apply mathematical foundations, algorithmic principles, and computer science theory in the modeling and design of computer-based systems in a way that demonstrates comprehension of the tradeoffs involved in design choices

(k) An ability to apply design and development principles in the construction of software

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systems of varying complexity.

2. Describe how the program's objectives align with your institution's mission.

The University, College of Engineering, and Computer Science Department have mutually consistent missions. We all seek an outstanding educational environment for our undergraduate students. We all are committed to teaching excellence, to a state-of-the-art curriculum, and to immersing our undergraduate students in current practice. To accomplish this, we have a first-rate faculty who conduct research and who actively participate in the education of our undergraduate students. We seek to give our students a solid background in computer science and related disciplines, and the computer science skills appropriate for a career in all applicable sectors of the economy.

Note: On the following page is a table that can be filled out with pertinent information relating to objectives, their measurement, and their effect on the implementation of program improvements.

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B. Implementation of Objectives

Please complete the following table with as many objectives as needed.

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Objective How measured When measured ImprovementsIdentified

ImprovementsImplemented

(a) Course evaluations and Faculty Course Reports (both are reviewed by the Curriculum Committee): For mathematics: CMPSC 130A, 130B, 138. For computer science: CMPSC 160, 170, 172/189A, 189B

Senior Focus Group Alumni survey Employer survey

Course evaluations occur whenever course is given.

Faculty course reports are collected about every 3 years.

Senior Focus Group is annual

When surveys are taken

(b) Course evaluations and Faculty Course Reports (both are reviewed by Curriculum Committee): CMPSC 50, 130A-B, 172/189A-B






(c) Course evaluations and Faculty Course Reports (both are reviewed by Curriculum Committee) for all upper division courses except: CMPSC 138, 186.


Faculty course reports are collected about

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Senior Focus Group Alumni survey

Employer survey

every 3 years. Senior Focus

Group is annual When surveys

are taken(d) Course evaluations and

Faculty Course Reports (both are reviewed by Curriculum Committee): CMPSC 50, 172/189A-B






(e) ENG 101 (we don’t evaluate this course)






(f) Course evaluations and Faculty Course Reports (both are reviewed by Curriculum Committee):


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CMPSC 50, 172/189A-B (add courses that have project reports and presentations)





(g) Course evaluations and Faculty Course Reports (both are reviewed by Curriculum Committee): ENG 101, CMPSC 177 (add courses that say they do this)






(h) Senior Focus Group Alumni survey Employer survey



(i) Course evaluations and Faculty Course Reports (both are reviewed by Curriculum Committee): CMPSC 160, 170, 172/189A-B




Senior Focus

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Group is annual When surveys

are taken(j) Course evaluations and

Faculty Course Reports (both are reviewed by Curriculum Committee): CMPSC 130A-B, 160, 170






(k) Course evaluations and Faculty Course Reports (both are reviewed by Curriculum Committee): CMPSC 50, 160, 170, 172/189A-B






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Standard I-3. Data relative to the objectives must be routinely collected and documented, and used in program assessments.

Standard I-4. The extent to which each program objective is being met must be periodically assessed.

Standard I-5. The results of the program’s periodic assessment must be used to help identify opportunities for program improvement.

C. Assessments

For each instrument used to assess the extent to which each of the objectives is being met by your program, provide the following information:

1. Frequency and timing of assessments2. What data are collected (should include information on initial student placement and

subsequent professional development)3. How data are collected4. From whom data are collected (should include students and computing professionals)5. How assessment results are used and by whom

Attach copies of the actual documentation that was generated by your data collection and assessment process since the last accreditation visit, or for the past three years if this is the first visit. Include survey instruments, data summaries, analysis results, etc.

We always have assessed our programs informally in several different ways.

Informal Assessment Procedures

(1) Students normally discuss issues with the CS student peer advisor, undergraduate advisor, undergraduate program assistant, and members of the faculty. The issues typically are related to course offerings, scheduling of courses, extracurricular activities, computer facilities, internships, and jobs. These issues, when needed, are forwarded to the appropriate committees for possible action.

(2)The Curriculum Committee, as well as the ad hoc committees it forms to study specific problems, routinely discusses academic and non-academic issues related to the undergraduate curriculum. In the past, the Curriculum Committee has recommended to the faculty substantial course revisions. For the most part, all of these recommendations have been implemented. Some issues are brought to the Curriculum Committee’s attention directly by the student representative to the Curriculum Committee (which we have had since 1992, except for the academic year 2001 - 2002) and others by CS faculty members. A multi-year curriculum investigation, primarily concerned with lower division courses, is currently underway.

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(3)External Influence.(a) The creation of other undergraduate programs also has prompted us to enrich our

curriculum by introducing new courses as well as to refine the existing curriculum. The best example of this effect was the creation of the Computer Engineering (CE) undergraduate program.

(b) Engineering programs at UCSB continually update their curriculum. All changes must be discussed and approved by the College of Engineering Executive Committee, which has representation from all the departments in the College. This committee acts as an independent reviewing agency to evaluate the effectiveness of possible program changes. Changes in one program often are subsequently considered as possible changes in other programs.

(c) All faculty members are in contact with faculty at other universities. We all discuss issues related to undergraduate education. For example, the capstone projects at the University of Washington, CMU, and Cornell have been brought to our attention this way. This was a determining factor for the faculty to support the capstone project for the CE program. Our experience with the capstone project for CE majors has resulted in a similar, but optional, project being offered to CS majors. This capstone design experience has been viewed very favorably. Further capstone project integration and refinements are ongoing.

Formal Assessment Procedures:

There are several formal assessment procedures that we have been using:

(1) Student ESCI instructor evaluations(2) Student course evaluations(3) Annual meetings with CS pre-major

(4) Senior Focus Group (5) Pivotal Course Reports

(7) Graduation ceremony employment survey(8) Alumni surveys (1 year and 2-4 years after graduation)(9) Employer surveys(10) Program Review

(1) Student ESCI Instructor Evaluations.

At the end of every quarter, every instructor and TA in every course is evaluated by the students. During the last week of the quarter, the students fill out for each course the ESCI Instructor evaluation and ESCI TA evaluation forms. The evaluation forms have been used for more than 20 years. They appear in Appendix VII-C.

The answers to the basic questions are processed by the university and the results (which compare numerical evaluations with all undergraduate courses in the department and all undergraduate courses taught in the university, for the current quarter and over time) are reported

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to the instructors and the department. Sample reports are given in Appendix VII-C. Written student comments are transcribed by the department staff and are given to the instructors after he/she turns in the course grades. Student teaching evaluations are an important part of every merit, promotion, and 5-year review case.

The results of the evaluations for lecturers are reviewed by the Vice Chair of the department every quarter. When significant concerns are raised by students in the written portion of the evaluation, the Vice Chair reports this to the Chair of the department for possible action.

(2) Course Evaluations

Since fall quarter 2001, the department has asked all students to evaluate the courses that they just completed. The form used has evolved. At present, we ask them to evaluate, via a web-based form, the level of preparation they had in the prerequisite topics for the course, the level of coverage for the most important topics covered in the course, and the achievement of individual course goals. We also give them an opportunity to elaborate on any of these topics. The Curriculum Committee reviews these surveys, typically at the beginning of the following quarter, and may make recommendations to the faculty. The surveys are available for instructors to review, so that they can take corrective actions, if needed, the next time they teach the course. The current surveys are available at http://www.cs.ucsb.edu/~csab/cev/s02/page.html. Sample forms and a summary of the conclusions from the winter 2008 course evaluations appear in Appendix VII-D.

(3) Meetings with CS Pre-major

The format of the meetings has evolved. We now have two meetings per year. The first meeting is with the incoming freshman and transfer students. It takes place the week before the fall quarter begins, immediately after the College of Engineering freshman and transfer student orientation. This CS orientation is organized and conducted by the CS Undergraduate Adviser and the CS Undergraduate Program Assistant. Its purpose is to welcome the new students as members in the UCSB CS family, and to generally familiarize them with the basic degree requirements structure, especially the pre-major requirements, the 2.75 GPA requirement to transfer from the CS pre-major to the CS major, add/drop deadlines, campus resources (e.g., advising opportunities and Campus Learning Assistance Services), standards of academic honesty, and the CS web site. We also discuss the difference between CMPSC 5JA and 10, and give general guidelines to help them decide whether their first computer science course at UCSB should be 5JA or 10.

In more recent years, we have provided some evidence that CS jobs are plentiful, salaries are competitive, and the work has a positive impact on society. Also recently, we have introduced the BA degree program and its emphases. Finally, we have had the president of the student chapter of the ACM briefly outline some planned activities and services for the year, and encourage students to avail themselves of these services and generally get involved with our local ACM chapter.

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The meeting lasts about 1 hour. Questions are encouraged. Refreshments (cookies and juice) are provided. Typically, approximately 50% of the incoming freshmen and transfer students attend the meeting.

The second meeting takes place in the winter quarter around the middle of February when the students are registering for spring quarter. All the pre-majors (freshmen and sophomores) are invited to this meeting. We again remind them of the GPA requirement of 2.75 to transition from the CS pre-major to the CS major. We explain the forms that they need to complete to make this transition, including the Major Area Elective form, through which the select which upper division major area electives they will take to fulfill that degree requirement. This discussion is accompanied by a presentation of the prerequisite relationships for all the upper division computer science courses. We also discuss information about employment internships, and the way that students who are so inclined typically establish research relationships with CS faculty members. Then, we solicit comments from the students about their experience of the CS program thus far. This has varied from an oral discussion to a written communication. We still are working to get the best quantity and quality of student feedback from them. One purpose of the meeting is to encourage communication from the students to the faculty and staff. A typical outcome of this meeting is for students to more readily avail themselves of the services provided by our undergraduate program staff (e.g., the Undergraduate Program Assistant). A summary of the comments and concerns raised by the students are circulated to the faculty, and reviewed by the Curriculum Committee for possible action. The summary from the last meeting appears in Appendix VII-E.

(4) Meeting with CS Majors

In the spring of 2008, we resumed meeting with the CS majors (juniors and seniors) in early May of the spring quarter. We talk about job internships and employment possibilities, graduate school, etc. Then, the students are given the opportunity to comment about their problems and concerns. We also announce the CS job openings for the next academic year. These normally include: CS Student Peer Advisor, CS Undergraduate Representative to the Curriculum Committee, and Java tutors. A summary of the students’ comments and concerns are distributed to the faculty. The summary from the last meeting appears in Appendix VII-G.

(5) Senior Focus Group

The senior focus group is a small group of students (e.g., 6 students) who will be graduating at the end of the year that they participate. The intention is to somewhat intensively seek information about their perception of our academic program, and their suggestions for improving it.

Mechanics

We e-mail an invitation to all students who had indicated that they would be graduating. The meeting is held at the Faculty Club. The meeting is recorded, and a transcript of the meeting is produced. Besides the students, the meeting generally is run by the Undergraduate Advisor and a facilitator from Instructional Consultation. The agenda for the meeting, an attachment to this

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document, summarily is a set of questions that fall into two categories. The first category asks students to comment on the extent to which they think that each of our Program Outcomes have been achieved. The second category asks more open-ended questions, such as “What advice would you give to future CS students?” We have found these meeting extremely helpful.

. The summary from the last Senior Focus Group appears in Appendix VII-H.

(6) Pivotal Course Reports

Since 2005, each year, we ask instructors to review a selected set of courses. While the format of the their report is not fixed, we do ask them to provide evidence concerning the extent to which course outcomes are being achieved, and well as reflecting on what, if anything, might be done differently to improve the course and/or its relationship with other courses. These reports are reviewed by the Curriculum Committee for possible program changes.

A Sample Pivotal Course Report appears in Appendix VII-I.

(7) Graduation Ceremony Employment Survey

In order to get a pass to enter the graduation ceremony, students need to complete a survey, where they mainly report their immediate employment plans. Copies of the graduation ceremony employment survey and a summary of the results appear in Appendix VII-I. The summary is discussed in Curriculum Committee meetings.

(8) Alumni Survey (1 year and 2-4 years after graduation)

The university distributes surveys every other year to all the 1-year alumni asking them about their experiences at UCSB. The College of Engineering has attached a section relevant for engineering. In 2008, the department initiated the practice of circulating a reduced survey to 2 - 4 year alumni that has questions relevant to CS graduates. A summary of the results are circulated to the faculty, and considered by the Curriculum Committee. A copy of the 1-year alumni survey and results appear in Appendix VII-J. The one for the 2-4 year alumni as well as a summary of the results are in Appendix VII-K.

(9) Employer Survey

The employer survey is circulated during the major recruiting events on campus. The first one is the “Job Fair'” which is organized by the College of Engineering and takes place in the fall quarter. The second event is called “Evening with Industry” and it is sponsored by the Society of Women Engineers. It takes place during the winter quarter. These surveys are also sent to the supervisors of our interns, as well as company recruiters who contact the department. We also send the surveys to the 2- and 4-year alumni to distribute to their supervisors. (We were told by supervisors that they are reluctant to respond to these surveys for legal reasons concerning the privacy of their employees who were our students.) A copy of the survey and the summary of the results are circulated to the faculty appear in Appendix VII-L.

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(10) Program Review

Every academic department at UCSB undergoes a program review every 7 years. The evaluation process is conducted by the Program Review Panel (PRP), a committee approved by the Executive Vice-Chancellor, composed of UCSB faculty. The PRP initiates this process by sending surveys to undergraduate and graduate students. This information is tabulated and a program review notebook is prepared with this information plus additional information about the pre-major, majors, graduate students, faculty, and the whole university. The department adds its own report to this notebook that describes the state of the department, undergraduate program, graduate program, and its vision. An External Review Committee, comprising distinguished computer scientists at top universities (e.g. MIT), visits the campus and meets with the department faculty, undergraduate students, graduate students, staff, and university administrators to evaluate the program. The External Review Committee submits its final report which includes recommendations to the Department, the College of Engineering, and the Campus for improving education and research at UCSB. A more complete description of the process appears in the Appendix VII-M.

The most recent CS program review started in 2001 and completed in 2002. The External Review Committee visited the campus in fall of 2001 and the department forwarded its final response on winter of 2002. The department had extensive discussions about the external report. The response from the CS department to the External Review Committee report, as it relates to the undergraduate programs, appears in Appendix N.

Standard I-6. The results of the program’s assessments and the actions taken based on the results must be documented.

D. Program Improvement

Describe your use of the results of the program’s assessments to identify program improvements and modifications to objectives.Include:

1. Any major program changes within the last five years2. Any significant future program improvement plans based upon recent assessments

We decided that our lower division course, CMPSC 50: Programming Projects, will cover the Ant build tool, partly to enhance this project course and partly to introduce the concepts of build tools to students before they see the Make tool in CMPSC 60.

The previous CSAB accreditation report indicated that the theory component of our curriculum was, if anything, a little heavy. In light of this, and student surveys, we decided to drop CMPSC 186: Theory of Computation from our list of required courses, moving it to our list of major area elective courses. This resulted in moving some material associated with Turing machines into CMPSC 138: Automata and Formal Languages, and an introduction to NP-completeness into the second of our two upper division algorithms courses, CMPSC 130B. The first year, we set the Automata and Formal Languages course as a prerequisite for CMPSC 130B, so that

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students were introduced to Turing machines before NP-completeness was introduced. However, the introduction to NP-completeness given in CMPSC 130B does not require prior knowledge of the Turing machine model, so we have dropped CMPSC 138 from the list of prerequisites for CMPSC 130B.

We appointed a faculty member and a hired a student to design and implement an improved, web-based tool for obtaining student feedback with respect to the achievement of course outcomes.

o To improve the response rate for the ABET Student Course Evaluations, we decided to send:

1. the survey at the beginning of the 9th week of the quarter2. a follow-up e-mail reminder at the end of the 9th week.

TA improvements: o Our Graduate Admissions Committee pays more attention to an applicant’s

skills in English communication. o Our Lead TA evaluates and monitors the performance of new TAs. o Faculty members who are our best teachers present teaching tips and provide

some mentoring to new TAs. o TA reviews are given more weight in the annual evaluation of each graduate

student, and students who receive poor reviews are put on probation and receive extra attention.

o Each quarter, we now recognize outstanding Teaching Assistants with a Teaching Assistant Award in a public ceremony.

Introduction of a Capstone Project elective, a 2-quarter sequence CMPSC 189A,B:o As a 1-year trial, we combined CMPSC 172 (software engineering) as a

substitute for CMPSC 189A. We assess its success after completing this experiment.

o This experiment was assessed as very successful. Part of the success is due to the industry representatives (including Google) who witnessed the project presentations. Consequently, we are did the same thing during the 2006-7 academic year, coordinating most projects with local industry (and Google). After three years experience, the course sequence has been judged very successful. We may look for ways to increase student participation in this sequence, perhaps selectively (e.g., require it of students who complete the degree requirements with honors).

We added a Computer-Human Interfaces course:o In the first year, this was taught as a CMPSC 190 course. After assessing this

trial, we determined that is was quite successful, and included it in the regular catalog under a new course number, in the academic year 2006-07.

o The special topics course on Human Computer Interfaces (HCI) was well received. Indeed, one of the members of the Senior Focus Group specifically praised this course. (She is entering a Ph.D. program at CMU next year, with HCI as her area.) We have included this HCI course in the regular catalog under a new course number, CMPSC 185.

The Curriculum Committee now officially allows CMPSC 196 to be a research-oriented individualized instruction course. It previously had been a listed as a

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seminar. We authored a new department-wide Ethics Policy, which clearly spells out what

constitutes unethical behavior, and what constitutes acceptable and normal collaboration.

Based on feedback we received from students during the Winter Pre-major meeting, we now enroll all new CS majors in both Departmental e-mail lists of interest to undergraduates: ugrads and jobs. Each e-mail message they receive from these lists contains an unsubscribe link.

We introduced a web page (http://www.cs.ucsb.edu/department/tech_support/software/) indicating that the:

– Department has a site license for Microsoft Software Developer Network - Academic Alliance

– College of Engineering has a site license for Mathematica– Campus has a web page that lists site licenses for other software products

(ftp://ftp.ucsb.edu/ucsb/software-depot/site_licenses/) Based on feedback from students and faculty, we now give computer accounts for our

computer science instructional laboratory to all students in computer science and computer engineering. Previously, such accounts were only given to students who progressed from the pre-major to the major. This was a major accomplishment of the Facilities Committee and departmental technical staff. Concomitant with that change, we introduce CMPSC 10 students to basic Unix commands. This introduction progresses in CMPSC 20, and then CMPSC 50. The intent is for students in CMPSC 60 to have had prior exposure to Unix, so that CMPSC 60 can spend more time on the C and C++ programming languages.

We introduced a 3-fold brochure that essentially is “CS degree requirements in a nutshell”, and give this to all admitted students.

Based on Senior Focus Group feedback, we now invite our Honors students to the Computer Science Department holiday party. We also are going to invite them to the Department Fall welcome barbecue (formerly for faculty and graduate students only).

Based on feedback from students, we introduced into the catalog a course CMPSC 95 Undergraduate Seminar. The idea is to provide a vehicle for courses that enrich students and show them, beyond their experience of our curriculum, that computer science is an exciting field.

– Chandra Krintz gave a CMPSC 95 course “It is an effort that we are interested in as part of our diversity efforts: outreach, improving the computer science image, and ensuring retention of our undergraduate students. My plan is to partner with local nonprofits to have the students investigate ways of helping these organizations with technology. My goal is to show students how computer science impacts society and how they can help contribute to that. I have buy-in from Microsoft – they are going to give us Vista (their new OS) for the nonprofits and money to give awards to students that excel. Their one stipulation is that the class be offered next quarter.” All reports are that this course was a great success.

In 2007, we replaced our Program Goals with ABET’s new Computing Programs Outcome criteria (a) - (i) plus the 2 particular Computer Science criteria.

The campus Instructional Improvement Grant titled “An Experiment and Assessment

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ftp://ftp.ucsb.edu/ucsb/software-depot/site_licenses/

to Improve Retention in the First-Year Computer Science Curriculum” was funded. Some assessment began in fall of 2007. Another proposal is still under review.

We reinstituted the Computer Science Peer Adviser. (This had been discontinued for financial reasons.)

E. Program Evolution

1. Describe in what respect, if at all, the philosophy and direction of the computer science program has changed at your institution during the last five years, or since the last accreditation visit, whichever is the more recent.

We expended a great deal of effort redesigning the BA program in CS program, with focused emphases. Our intention is to attract students who seek to integrate knowledge of computing with another discipline. We are not seeking ABET accreditation of the BA program at this time. Under this program, each emphasis combines a core CS curriculum with a concentration in another discipline. The curriculum include sufficient lower and upper division courses from that discipline to give the student significant exposure to inter-disciplinary education, with a clear focus. Initially, we added two emphases:

Computational Biology Computational Geography

We subsequently added a new emphasis: Computational Economics. Another emphasis, Computational Mathematics, is in the pipeline.

2. Describe any major developments and/or progress made in connection with the program in the last five years, or since the last accreditation visit, whichever is the more recent, that is not included in your response to Question I.C.

The student chapter of the ACM started a tutoring group, focused primarily on lower division students to improve retention. At this point, this effort is considered an experiment. Even if successful, the student tutors donate their time. It is an open question as to the sustainability of this student-led effort.

ACM Programming Contest: efforts and results? We recently hired two lecturers, one with Security of Employment, and the other with

Potential Security of Employment. They improve our undergraduate profile, and will help us evaluate the effectiveness of our undergraduate programs.

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F. Program Current Status

1. List the strengths of the unit offering the computer science program.

UCSB has one of the top research programs in Computer Science, ranked #21 in federal funding for academic research. Here are the most recent statistics from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

U.S. News and World Report ranks UCSB #34 in top Computer Science programs (2006), and #21 in top engineering schools (2005). Our ranking of #34 is an improvement of 15 points higher than our ranking in 2002, representing the biggest jump of any school in the rankings.

U.S. News and World Report’s guide, "America's Best Colleges" named UCSB as the 13th best public university, and ranked #45 in its list of top US universities.

Shanghai Jiaotong University's Academic Ranking of World Universities ranks UCSB as #34 in the world, and #26 in the USA.

Our faculty members regularly organize top conferences and workshops in their respective research areas. These conferences are regularly held in the Santa Barbara area. Last year alone, UCSB hosted the following international conferences and workshops:

o IPTPS 2006: 5th International Workshop on Peer-to-Peer Systems o ICNP 2006 : 14th International Conference on Networking Protocolso DLT 2006 : 10th International Conference on Developments in Language

Theory o ISMAR 2006 : 5th IEEE/ACM International Symposium on Mixed and

Augmented Realityo ACM Multimedia 2006 : The 8th ACM Multimedia Conference o CRYPTO 2006 : The 26th Annual International Cryptology Conferenceo Hash Workshop 2006 : The Second Crytographic Hash Workshop

Among our faculty are a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation.

Many faculty members are winners of the National Science Foundation's Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) awards, and numerous others serve as editors-in-chief or associate editors of computer science journals and chairs or vice chairs for national and international conferences and workshops.

Our faculty members routinely give keynote addresses and invited lectures worldwide.

Endowed chairs: At UC Santa Barbara, private philanthropic support is central to maintaining the quality of teaching, research, and public service. One of the most important types of gifts to higher education is an endowed chair, for an endowed chair ensures faculty excellence. Created by a philanthropic gift, these highly prized academic positions are supported by earnings from invested funds that are important to the recruitment and retention of the world's greatest scholars. We have three endowed chairs:

o A Senior Faculty Chair: Page 10 of 71

C3 CS 12/14/04

http://www.csrc.nist.gov/pki/HashWorkshop/index.html

http://www.iacr.org/conferences/crypto2006/index.html

http://www.mmdb.ece.ucsb.edu/acmmm06

http://www.ismar06.org/

http://dlt2006.cs.ucsb.edu/

http://www.ieee-icnp.org/2006/

http://iptps06.cs.ucsb.edu/

http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf05320/htmstart.htm

o The Leadership Chair Donors: Anonymous

o Two Junior Faculty Chairs:

The Venkatesh "Venky" Narayanamurti Chair Donors: Karl and Pamela Lopker and the Lopker Family Foundation

The Eugene Aas Chair Donors: Mark and Susan Bertelsen

Our (University of California) Education Abroad Program (EAP) offers a variety of choices for students to gain international education experiences while completing a Bachelor's program. An international experience can prepare students to better adjust to the global economy and, in particular, the global IT industry. EAP provides a rare and high quality combination of an education experience of UC quality with an international experience.

Several faculty members have received campus teaching awards. The department’s average ESCI instructor score has improved over the last six

years. (From what to what) Explain that the campus average has not (or what has happened to the campus average? Has our average score improved faster?)

The department’s average ESCI course score has improved over the last six years. (From what to what)

2. List any weaknesses or limitations of the institution or unit offering the computer science program.

3. List any significant plans for future development of the program.

We are in the process of systematically evaluating our lower division curriculum. We are hoping to:

integrate best practices into the curriculum at the earliest stages (e.g., pair programming);

increase the appeal of computer science (e.g., its applicability to societal improvement) to beginning students, thereby improving retention, by modifying the presentations and/or projects of early courses.

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http://www.cs.ucsb.edu/department/endowed_chairs/aas/

http://www.cs.ucsb.edu/department/endowed_chairs/venky/

http://www.cs.ucsb.edu/department/endowed_chairs/leadership/

II. Student Support

Intent: Students can complete the program in a reasonable amount of time. Students have ample opportunity to interact with their instructors. Students are offered timely guidance and advice about the program’s requirements and their career alternatives. Students who graduate the program meet all program requirements.

Standard II-1. Courses must be offered with sufficient frequency for students to complete the program in a timely manner.

Frequency of Course Offerings

1. List below the course numbers, titles, and semester hours of courses required for the major that are offered less frequently than once per year.

Dept Course # Title of course Semester hrs

2. Explain how it is determined when they will be offered, e.g., rotation, odd-numbered years, or whatever.

3. List below the course numbers, titles, and semester hours of courses allowed for the major but not required (i.e., either free electives or lists of courses from which students must choose a certain number), that are offered less frequently than once per year.

Dept Course # Title of course Semester hrs

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4.Explain how it is determined when they will be offered, e.g., rotation, odd-numbered years, or whatever.

Standard II-2. Computer science courses must be structured to ensure effective interaction between faculty/teaching assistants and students in lower division courses and between faculty and students in upper division courses.

B. Interaction with Faculty

1. Describe how you achieve effective interaction between students and faculty or teaching assistants in lower-division courses, particularly in large sections.

2. Describe how you achieve effective interaction between students and faculty in upper-division courses. Give detailed explanation and/or documentation how you do this for sections with more than thirty students, if applicable.

Standard II-3. Guidance on how to complete the program must be available to all students.

C. Student Guidance

Describe what determines the requirements that a student will follow and how the student is informed of these requirements.

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Standard II-4. Students must have access to qualified advising when they need to make course decisions and career choices.

D. Student Advisement

Describe your system of advisement for students on how to complete the program. Indicate how you ensure that such advisement is available to all students.

E. Access to Qualified Advising

When students need to make course decisions and career choices, what is their procedure for obtaining advising? Do they have adequate access to qualified professionals when necessary?

Standard II-5. There must be established standards and procedures to ensure that graduates meet the requirements of the program.

F. Meeting the Requirements Describe your standards and procedures for ensuring that graduates have met all of the requirements of the program.

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III. Faculty

Intent: Faculty members are current and active in the discipline and have the necessary technical breadth and depth to support a modern computer science program. There are enough faculty members to provide continuity and stability, to cover the curriculum reasonably, and to allow an appropriate mix of teaching and scholarly activity.

If different programs have different faculty members, please identify which faculty members are associated with which program(s), and the percentage of time allotted, if they are associated with more than one.

Standard III-1. There must be enough full-time faculty members with primary commitment to the program to provide continuity and stability.

A. Faculty Size

The purpose of this section is to determine whether you have sufficient faculty to offer courses often enough for students to complete the program in a timely manner.

In Section II you gave the course numbers of courses required for the major which are offered less frequently than once per year, and those allowed for the major but not required, and explained how it is determined when they will be offered. Explain (if applicable) any difficulties you have offering required or optional courses frequently enough, particularly as they might be affected by faculty size.

B. Faculty with Primary Commitment

1. Indicate the number of faculty with primary commitment to the program, that is, who regularly teach courses in the computer science segment of the program: _____.

The purpose of the next question is to ascertain the continuity and stability provided by the faculty with primary commitment to the program.

2. Please list below the number (FTE) of faculty with primary commitment to the program in each academic rank, broken down within rank by tenure status.

Full Professor

Associate Professor

Assistant Professor

Instructor orLecturer

OtherFaculty

TenuredUntenured

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Standard III-2. Full-time faculty members must oversee all course work.

Standard III-3. Full-time faculty members must cover most of the total classroom instruction.

C. Faculty Oversight

Full-time faculty must oversee all computer science course work allowed towards the major. That means each course must be either taught or coordinated by a full-time faculty member with primary commitment to the program. For those courses with sections not taught by full-time faculty during the last or current academic year, list the course numbers below and the name of the full-time faculty coordinator. (The last academic year is the academic year prior to the year in which this report is prepared.)

Dept Course # Full-time Faculty Coordinator

Standard III-4. The interests and qualifications of the faculty members must be sufficient to teach the courses and to plan and modify the courses and curriculum.

Standard III-5. All faculty members must remain current in the discipline.

Standard III-6. All faculty members must have a level of competence that would normally be obtained through graduate work in computer science.

Standard III-7. Some full-time faculty members must have a PhD in Computer Science.

D. Interests, Qualifications, and Scholarly Contributions

The Criteria states that the interests, qualifications, and scholarly contributions of the faculty must be sufficient to teach the courses, plan and modify the courses and curriculum, and to remain abreast of current developments in computer science. This information should be contained in the faculty vitas attached to this report and need not be repeated here. A sample vita questionnaire is attached in Section G below. Although it is not necessary to follow this format, it is important that whatever format is followed contain all the information asked for. And, to make things easier for the visiting team, please see that all faculty vitas are in the same format, whichever format is used.

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This is an appropriate place to insert a description of general departmental or institutional activities that promote faculty currency, if such exist.

Standard III-8. All full-time faculty members must have sufficient time for scholarly activities and professional development.

E. Scholarly Activities

Describe the means for ensuring that all full-time faculty members have sufficient time for scholarly activities and professional development.

Standard III-9. Advising duties must be a recognized part of faculty members’ workloads.

F. Support for Advising

Advising duties must be a recognized part of faculty members’ workloads, which means that faculty with large numbers of advisees must be granted released time. Explain your advising system and how the time for these duties is credited.

G. Information Regarding Faculty Members

On separate pages, please furnish the following information for all faculty members that teach courses allowed for the major, including those who have administrative positions in the department (chair, associate chair, etc.). Use the form given below as guidance. This form need not be followed exactly, but all requested information should be supplied. Please use a common format for all vitas. Please limit information to no more than three pages per person, if at all possible. Please place the form(s) for administrator(s) first, followed by the others in alphabetical order.

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1. Name, current academic rank, and tenure status

2. Date of original appointment to this faculty, followed by dates and ranks of advancement

3. Degrees with fields, institutions, and dates

Degree Field Institution Date

4. If you do not have a formal degree in computer science, describe any course work you may have taken, or other ways in which you have achieved competence in computer science; there is no necessity to repeat information here which is contained in later sections of this document.

5. Conferences, workshops, and professional development programs in which you have participated in the last 5 years to improve teaching and professional competence in computer science

6. Other related computing experience including teaching, industrial, governmental, etc. (Where, when, description and scope of duties)

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7. Consulting—list agencies and dates, and briefly describe each project

8. Principal publications during the last five years. Give in standard bibliographic format.

9. Other scholarly activity during the last 5 years: grants, sabbaticals, software development, etc.\

10. Courses taught this and last academic year term-by-term. This year is the academic year in which this Self-Study report is prepared; the last year was the year prior to this. If you were on sabbatical leave, please enter the information for the previous year. Please list each section of the same course separately.

Term/yearCourse number Course title

Semester hrs

Class size

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11. Other assigned duties performed during the academic year, with average hours per week. Indicate which, if any, carry extra compensation. If you are course coordinator for courses taught by other than full-time faculty, please indicate here which courses.

12. Number of students for which you serve as academic advisor: ____

13. Estimate the percentage of your time devoted to scholarly and/or research activities: _____%. Please give a brief description of your major research and scholarly activities:

14. If you are not a full-time faculty member, state what percentage of full-time you work: _____%. Percentage of this time allocated to the computer science program being evaluated: _____%.

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IV. Curriculum

Intent: The curriculum is consistent with the program's documented objectives. It combines technical requirements with general education requirements and electives to prepare students for a professional career in the computer field, for further study in computer science, and for functioning in modern society. The technical requirements include up-to-date coverage of basic and advanced topics in computer science as well as an emphasis on science and mathematics.

(Curriculum standards are specified in terms of semester hours of study. Thirty semester hours generally constitutes one year of full-time study and is equivalent to 45 quarter-hours. A course or a specific part of a course can only be applied toward one standard.)

A. Title of Degree Program

Give the title of the degree program under review, as specified on the transcript and diploma.

Transcript:Diploma:

B. Credit Hour Definition

One semester hour normally means one hour of lecture or three hours of laboratory per week. One academic year normally represents from twenty-eight to thirty weeks of classes, exclusive of final examinations. Please describe below if your definitions differ from these.

C. Prerequisite Flow Chart

Attach a flow chart showing the prerequisite structure of computer science courses required or allowed towards the major.

D. Course Requirements of Curriculum (term by term and year by year)

1. Required and elective courses. In the tables on the following pages, list the courses in the order in which they are normally taken in the curriculum, classified in the appropriate categories. The data should clearly indicate how the program meets the Intent of the Curriculum Category of the Criteria for Accrediting Computer Science Programs. These tables are designed for a semester calendar; they may be easily altered for a quarter calendar.

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2. Required courses. List courses by department abbreviation (Math, Chem, CS, etc.), number, title, and number of semester hours. Apportion the semester hours for each course by category.

3. Elective courses. Designate these courses “elective.” If an elective is restricted to a particular category, then tabulate the semester hours in that category and indicate the category in the listing, e.g. “elective—science.” In addition, be sure that you have supplied information elsewhere in this document indicating how you ensure that students take the course in the specified category (e. g. advisement, graduation check sheets, etc.). For free electives (i.e., those not restricted to a particular category), list the semester hours under the heading “Other.” Use footnotes for any listings that require further elaboration.

4. Individual courses may be split between or among curriculum areas if the course content justifies the split. For example, a discrete mathematics course may have some of its semester hours under mathematics and some under computer science. In such cases, assign semester hours to categories in multiples of one-half semester hour.

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Category (semester hours)

YearSemester

Course(Dept., Number,

Title) Com

pute

rSc

ienc

eC

ore

Com

pute

rSc

ienc

eA

dvan

ced.

Mat

hem

atic

s

Scie

nce

Gen

eral

Educ

atio

n

Oth

er

FirstSemesterFreshman

Year

SecondSemesterFreshman

Year

FirstSemester

SophomoreYear

SecondSemester

SophomoreYear

SUBTOTALS

Page 24 of 71C3 CS 12/14/04

Category (semester hours)

YearSemester

Course(Dept., Number,

Title) Com

pute

rSc

ienc

eC

ore

Com

pute

rSc

ienc

eA

dvan

ced

Mat

hem

atic

s

Scie

nce

Gen

eral

Educ

atio

n

Oth

er

FirstSemester

JuniorYear

SecondSemester

JuniorYear

FirstSemester

SeniorYear

SecondSemester

SeniorYear

SUBTOTALSTOTALS

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General

Standard IV-1. The curriculum must include at least 40 semester hours of up-to-date study in computer science topics.

1. If it is not obvious from the above tables that the curriculum includes at least 40 semester hours (60 quarter hours) of computer science topics, please explain.

Standard IV-2. The curriculum must contain at least 30 semester hours of study in mathematics and science as specified below under Mathematics and Science.

2. If it is not obvious from the above tables that the curriculum includes at least 30 semester hours (45 quarter hours) of study in mathematics and science, please explain.

Standard IV-3. The curriculum must include at least 30 semester hours of study in humanities, social sciences, arts and other disciplines that serve to broaden the background of the student.

3. If it is not obvious from the above tables that the curriculum includes at least 30 semester hours (45 quarter hours) of study in humanities, social sciences, arts, and other disciplines that serve to broaden the background of the student, please explain.

Standard IV-4. The curriculum must be consistent with the documented objectives of the program.

Describe the consistency between the documented objectives of the program and the curriculum. How does the curriculum contribute to the achievement of the documented objectives?

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Computer Science

Standard IV-5. All students must take a broad-based core of fundamental computer science material consisting of at least 16 semester hours.

4. If it is not obvious from the above tables that the curriculum includes a broad-based core of fundamental computer science material consisting of at least 16 semester hours (24 quarter hours), please explain.

Standard IV-6. The core materials must provide basic coverage of algorithms, data structures, software design, concepts of programming languages and computer organization and architecture.

5. The core materials must provide basic coverage of the following five areas. Please indicate below the approximate number of semester hours in the core devoted to each topic. (This material can be gathered from your course descriptions, but it will ease the job for the visiting team if you do this in advance.)

Area Semester hours Area Semester hoursAlgorithms Data structuresSoftware Design

Concepts of Programming Languages

Computer Organization and Architecture

Standard IV-7. Theoretical foundations, problem analysis, and solution design must be stressed within the program’s core materials.

6. The following areas must be stressed within the program’s core materials. Indicate the course numbers of courses embodying a significant portion of these areas.

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Area Courses (Dept., Number)Theoretical FoundationsProblem AnalysisSolution Design

Standard IV-8. Students must be exposed to a variety of programming languages and systems and must become proficient in at least one higher-level language.

7. To what programming languages and operating systems are students exposed?

8. In what higher-level language(s) do students become proficient?

Standard IV-9. All students must take at least 16 semester hours of advanced course work in computer science that provides breadth and builds on the core to provide depth.

9. If it is not obvious from the tables above that students take at least 16 semester hours (24 quarter hours) of advanced computer science, please explain.

10. List below the advanced areas in which your students may study. Make clear by the use of “and”, “or”, and parentheses which areas are required and which may be chosen from (e. g., A and two of (B or C or D)).

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Mathematics and Science

Standard IV-10. The curriculum must include at least 15 semester hours of mathematics.

11. If it is not obvious from the tables above that students take at least 15 semester hours (23 quarter hours) of mathematics beyond pre-calculus, please explain.

Standard IV-11. Course work in mathematics must include discrete mathematics, differential and integral calculus, and probability and statistics.

12. If it is not obvious from course titles in the above tables, then explain below which required courses contain discrete mathematics, differential and integral calculus, and probability and statistics.

Standard IV-12. The curriculum must include at least 12 semester hours of science.

13. If it is not obvious from the tables above that students take at least 12 semester hours (18 quarter hours) of science, please explain.

Standard IV-13. Course work in science must include the equivalent of a two-semester sequence in a laboratory science for science or engineering majors.

14. If it is not obvious from the tables above and from course descriptions and/or your catalog that the science requirement includes a full year (two-semester or three-quarter) sequence in a laboratory science for science and engineering majors, please explain.

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Standard IV-14. Science course work additional to that specified in Standard IV-13 must be in science courses or courses that enhance the student's ability to apply the scientific method.

Additional Areas of Study

15. If it is not obvious from the tables above and from course descriptions and/or your catalog that the remainder of the science requirement is met with science courses or courses that enhance the student’s abilities in the application of the scientific method, please explain. (Mathematics, statistics, and courses normally considered part of the computer science discipline should not be included here).

Standard IV-15. The oral communications skills of the student must be developed and applied in the program.

Standard IV-16. The written communications skills of the student must be developed and applied in the program.

16. Each student’s oral and written communications skills must be developed and applied in the program, i.e., in courses required for the major. This information should be included in course descriptions; please give course numbers below.

Communications skills Developed in Applied inOral Written

Standard IV-17. There must be sufficient coverage of social and ethical implications of computing to give students an understanding of a broad range of issues in this area.

17. Social and ethical implications of computing must be covered in the program. This information should be included in course descriptions; please give course numbers below.

Covered in Course(s) (Dept., Number)Social and Ethical Implications

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E. Course Descriptions

1. For each required or elective computer science course that can be counted in the curriculum being reviewed for accreditation, include a two-page or three-page course outline at this point in the Self-Study. If your documentation does not exactly follow this format, be sure that all of the requested information (if applicable) is present, and please in any case adhere to a common format for all course descriptions.

Note that the outline format calls for information on the content of the course in the areas of algorithms, data structures, software design, concepts of programming languages, computer organization and architecture. This is not intended to suggest that every course must have some coverage of each of these topics. For a given course, please include the information from a listed area only if the course has significant content in that specific area.

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COURSE DESCRIPTION

Dept., Number Course Title

Semester hours

Course CoordinatorURL (if any):

Current Catalog Description

Textbook

References

Course Goals

Prerequisites by Topic

Major Topics Covered in the CoursePage 32 of 71

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Laboratory projects (specify number of weeks on each)

Estimate Curriculum Category Content (Semester hours)

Area Core Advanced Area Core AdvancedAlgorithms Data StructuresSoftware Design Prog. LanguagesComp. Arch.

Oral and Written Communications

Every student is required to submit at least _____ written reports (not including exams, tests, quizzes, or commented programs) of typically _____ pages and to make _____ oral presentations of typically _____ minute’s duration. Include only material that is graded for grammar, spelling, style, and so forth, as well as for technical content, completeness, and accuracy.

Social and Ethical Issues

Please list the topics that address the social and ethical implications of computing covered in all course sections. Estimate the class time spent on each topic. In what ways are the students in this course graded on their understanding of these topics (e.g., test questions, essays, oral presentations, and so forth)?

Theoretical Content

Please list the types of theoretical material covered, and estimate the time devoted to such coverage.

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Problem Analysis

Please describe the analysis experiences common to all course sections.

Solution Design

Please describe the design experiences common to all course sections.

2. Course display for the visit. The course outline for each required or elective computer science course must also be included in a display of course materials that is available for study at all times during the evaluation visit. The course material display must include at least the following for each course that can be counted in the computer science segment of the curriculum being evaluated.

Course name and number, number of credits, meeting times, etc. Textbook and other required material (e.g. manuals, reference booklets, standards and

documents) Instructor’s name and contacts Syllabus/schedule (provide hardcopy and URL if only available on-line) Introductory pages that include course objectives, pedagogical approach, assessment

methods (and how these relate to the program objectives if appropriate) Course policies Introductory sheet that indicates course locations or sites that show evidence of writing,

presentations, ethics etc. as appropriate Assignments and projects, tests, exams and important handouts Student work (examples of graded high/medium/low quality work as well as tests/exams

etc.) Any feedback mechanisms/examples to students that might be on-line

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Any substantive electronically posted communication, threaded discussion, or teamwork etc.

Course evaluations (measures of success that include, for example, the results of student surveys and the achievements of students in current or subsequent courses)

Proposed or changes as a result of formative surveys

If a course is taught wholly on-line by a non-resident faculty member then data about that faculty member must be included in the Self-Study or provided in separate documents for credentialing purposes. In addition, for wholly on-line courses or a complete degree program, the results of an electronic CAC survey to that group of students regarding their experiences in the program (comparative to the usual on-site class visit) should be made available to the visiting team.

If available, please provide the location of URL’s on a CAC-visit Website or site containing a set of URL links that would allow an evaluator to retrieve specific data directly (if not provided in hardcopy) as indicated above. These should be available before the time of the visit.

Note: In addition to the display materials, it would be very helpful to the visiting team if all assessment documentation could be available in the same location as the display materials. It is also very helpful if the display room contains computers with network connections.

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V. Laboratories and Computing Facilities

Intent: Laboratories and computing facilities are available, accessible, and adequately supported to enable students to complete their course work and to support faculty teaching needs and scholarly activities.

In Section VI you will be asked to describe the planning and acquisition processes for laboratory equipment. Please do not repeat any of that information here; simply refer to that section, if necessary, to avoid duplication.

A. Computing Facilities

1. Describe the computing facilities used by students in the program. Indicate the types of software available in each category. Specify any limitations that impact the quality of the educational experience.

Institutional computing facilities:

Program computing facilities:

Other computing facilities:

2. Describe the computing facilities planning, acquisition, and maintenance processes and their adequacy. Include discussion of these topics for university-wide computing facilities available to all students (if used by your majors), your own laboratories and equipment (if applicable), and facilities controlled by other departments and/or schools (if used by your majors).

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3. Discuss how you assess the adequacy of your laboratory and computing support.

4. Please attach any equipment replacement plans to this report.

Standard V-1. Each student must have adequate and reasonable access to the systems needed for each course.

B. Student Access

State the hours the various facilities are open. State whether students have access from dormitories or off campus by direct access, modem, etc., and describe this access quantitatively.

Standard V-2. Documentation for hardware and software must be readily accessible to faculty and students.

C. Documentation

Describe documentation for hardware and software systems available to students and faculty in the computer science program. Explain how students and faculty have adequate and timely access to the documentation.

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Standard V-3. All faculty members must have access to adequate computing facilities for class preparation and for scholarly activities.

D. Faculty Access

Describe the computing facilities available to faculty for class preparation and for scholarly activities. Include specifics regarding resources in faculty offices.

Standard V-4. There must be adequate support personnel to install and maintain the laboratories and computing facilities.

E. Support Personnel

1. What support personnel are available to install, maintain, and manage departmental hardware, software, and networks?

2. Describe any limitations due to this level of support?

3. Are any faculty members expected to provide hardware, network, or software support? If so, describe this expectation including how such expectations are addressed in evaluation, tenure, promotion, and merit pay decisions, and indicate what, if any, released time is awarded for this effort.

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Standard V-5. Instructional assistance must be provided for the laboratories and computing facilities.

F. Instructional Assistance

Describe the nature and extent of instructional assistance available to students in the laboratories.

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VI. Institutional Support and Financial Resources

Intent: The institution’s support for the program and the financial resources available to the program are sufficient to provide an environment in which the program can achieve its objectives. Support and resources are sufficient to provide assurance that an accredited program will retain its strength throughout the period of accreditation.

Standard VI-1. Support for faculty must be sufficient to enable the program to attract and retain high-quality faculty capable of supporting the program’s objectives.

Standard VI-2. There must be sufficient support and financial resources to allow all faculty members to attend national technical meetings with sufficient frequency to maintain competence as teachers and scholars.

Standard VI-3. There must be support and recognition of scholarly activities.

A. Faculty Stability

1. Evidence of the long-term stability of a program is provided by its ability to both attract and retain high quality faculty. Describe how your program does this. Some topics the description might address are sabbatical and other leave programs, salaries, benefits, teaching loads, support for and recognition of scholarly activity (including financial support for attendance at professional meetings), departmental and institutional ambiance, etc.

2. Give counts of the total number of faculty and the number of resignations, retirements, and new hires for each of the last five years. Indicate whether there are significant problems attracting and retaining faculty, and if so, the causes.

Year Total Faculty Resignations Retirements New Hires2000-20012001-20022002-20032003-20042004-2005

B. Faculty Professional Activities

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Summarize the professional activities of your faculty, attendance at meetings, university and professional honors won by individuals, etc. Just summarize here; details should appear in individual faculty vitas.

Standard VI-4. There must be office support consistent with the type of program, level of scholarly activity, and needs of the faculty members.

C. Office Support

Describe the level and adequacy of office support. The description should address secretarial support, office equipment, and the total group supported by this equipment and staff.

Standard VI-5. Adequate time must be assigned for the administration of the program.

D. Time for Administration

Describe the adequacy of the time assigned for the administration of the program.

Standard VI-6. Upper levels of administration must provide the program with the resources and atmosphere to function effectively with the rest of the institution.

E. Adequacy of Resources

Describe the adequacy of the resources and the atmosphere provided by the upper administration for the program to function effectively with the rest of the institution.

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F. Leadership

Positive and constructive leadership at the college/school level and within the program's department are especially important to the program's quality. Evaluate this leadership and the interaction between these levels of administration.

Standard VI-7. Resources must be provided to acquire and maintain laboratory facilities that meet the needs of the program.

G. Laboratory and Computing Resources

Briefly describe the resources available for the program to acquire and maintain laboratory facilities. Include information on how the institution determines the adequacy of these resources.

Standard VI-8. Resources must be provided to support library and related information retrieval facilities that meet the needs of the program.

H. Library Resources

Briefly describe the resources available for the support of the library and related information retrieval facilities. Include information on how the institution determines the adequacy of these resources.

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Standard VI-9. There must be evidence that the institutional support and financial resources will remain in place throughout the period of accreditation.

I. Continuity of Institutional Support

Discuss and show evidence of continuity of institutional support for the program in the past, and problems that have existed or are anticipated in this area, if any.

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VII. Institutional Facilities

Intent: Institutional facilities, including the library, other electronic information retrieval systems, computer networks, classrooms, and offices, are adequate to support the objectives of the program.

Standard VII-1. The library that serves the computer science program must be adequately staffed with professional librarians and support personnel.

A. Library

1. Library Staffing.

Assess the staffing of the library (or libraries) that serves the computer science program. Is the number of professional librarians and support personnel adequate to support the program?

Supply documentation if possible.

Standard VII-2. The library’s technical collection must include up-to-date textbooks, reference works, and publications of professional and research organizations such as the ACM and the IEEE Computer Society.

2. Library Technical Collection

Assess the adequacy of the library’s technical collection and of the budget for subscriptions, as well as new acquisitions. The library must contain up-to-date textbooks, reference works, and publications of professional and research organizations, such as the ACM and the IEEE Computer Society. It should also contain representative trade journals. Supply documentation, if possible. Assess the process by which faculty may request the library to order books or subscriptions.

Standard VII-3. Systems for locating and obtaining electronic information must be available.

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3. Library Electronic Access

Assess the library’s systems for locating and obtaining electronic information.

Standard VII-4. Classrooms must be adequately equipped for the courses taught.

B. Classroom Equipment

Describe the equipment typically available in classrooms where you teach your courses. Assess its adequacy for the purpose.

Standard VII-5. Faculty offices must be adequate to enable faculty members to meet their responsibilities to students and for their professional needs.

C. Faculty Offices

Discuss and assess the adequacy of faculty offices.

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Appendix I. Information Relative to the Entire Institution

A. General Information

InstitutionDepartmentStreetCityStateZipURL

Name and Title of Chief Executive Officer of Campus (President, Chancellor, etc.)

(Name) (Title)

B. Type of Control

Private, non-profitPrivate, otherFederalStateMunicipalOther (specify)Affiliation, if private

Check more than one, if necessary. If the above classifications do not properly apply to the institution, please describe its type of control.

C. Regional or Institutional Accreditation

Name the organizations by which the institution is now accredited, give dates of most recent accreditation. Attach a copy of the most recent accreditation action by any organization accrediting the institution or any of its computer-related programs.

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D. Enrollment

Total enrollment for the entire institution (FTE)Total faculty for the entire institution (FTE)

E. Funding Process

Describe the process for allocating institutional funds to the computer science program.

F. Promotion and Faculty Tenure

Summarize the promotion and tenure system and the system for merit salary adjustments. (Give an overview of actual practice; do not reproduce an entire section from the faculty handbook.)

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Appendix II. General Information on the Unit Responsible for the Computer Science Program

If you are having more than one program evaluated, particularly if the programs are on separate campuses, the answers to these questions may vary from one program to another. If this is the case, please use separate copies of this section for each program, and clearly delineate which program is being described.

A. Computer Science Program Unit

NameURL

If the computer science program unit is not a department reporting to an administrative officer (e.g., Dean of College of Arts and Sciences) who in turn reports to president, provost, or equivalent executive officer, describe the unit.

B. Administrative Head of Computer Science Program Unit

(Name) (Title)

C. Organization Chart

Attach an organization chart showing how the unit fits into the administrative structure of the institution.

D. Computer-Related Undergraduate Degree Programs

List all undergraduate computer-related degree programs offered by the institution, beginning with the program(s) being evaluated.

Program TitleYears

RequiredDegree

AwardedAdministrative

UnitIf accredited, by

whom

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Are these programs adequately differentiated in all university information? Explain how.

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Appendix III. Finances

A. Finances Related to the Computer Science Program(s)

For the computer science program, indicate below the funds expended during the fiscal year immediately preceding the visit 1.

InstitutionalFunds

Non-recurring or Outside Funds

Administrative SalariesFaculty SalariesNon-teaching Professionals' Salaries2

Support Personnel Salaries & Wages Secretarial Technician Other (specify)Graduate StudentsOperating Expenditures(Excluding research operations and travel)Capital Equipment Expenditure:(Including value of allocated time for teaching and research): Teaching ResearchComputer Expenditures: (total, including value of allocated computer time for teaching and research) Hardware Software Allocated timeTravel Expenditures (non-research funds)Scholarship Awards (if administered by the Computer Science Program Unit)Library (if administered by Computer Science Program Unit) Research (if separately budgeted)Other (specify)Total

1 It is understood that some of the data may have to be estimated to cover the entire fiscal year. In such case, unless the differences are insignificant, an updated report should be provided for the evaluation team at the time of the visit.

2 Non-teaching professionals would include research professors, faculty members on paid sabbatical leave, post-doctoral research associates, and other degreed professionals.

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B. Operating and Computing Expenditures for the Five Fiscal Years Immediately Preceding that Reported in III A

1. Operating expenses for the computer science program unit.

Fiscal YearInstitutional FundsOutside Funds

2. Computer hardware/software capital expenditures (excluding equipment used primarily for research) for the computer science program unit.

Fiscal YearInstitutional FundsOutside Funds

C. Additional Funding

If additional funds, other than those listed in Table A above, are available to faculty to support scholarly activities such as travel to technical meetings, e.g., consulting support, give the number of faculty for whom this type of support is appropriate and an estimate of the amount of support available.

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Appendix IV. Computer Science Program Personnel and Policies Towards Consulting, Professional Development, and Recruiting

A. Term of Appointment of Administrative Head

9 month 12 Month Other (specify)

B. Number of Personnel Associated with Program

Full-timeNumber

Part TimeTotalFTENumber FTE

FacultyNon-teaching ProfessionalsAdministrativeComputer Lab Personnel: Professionals TechniciansSecretarial, Accounting, etc.Graduate Teaching AssistantsGraduate Research AssistantsGraduate StudentsUndergraduate Students

C. Policies

Provide a brief description to give an overview.

1. Describe policy toward private consulting work, sponsored research projects, and extra compensation.

2. State the standard teaching, administrative, research, and other loads on the faculty, in general terms.

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3. Describe policies and procedures for recruiting faculty for the computer science program. Describe any barriers to hiring the appropriate faculty.

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Appendix V. Computer Science Program Enrollment and Degree Data

If you are having more than one program evaluated, particularly if the programs are on separate campuses, the answers to these questions may vary from one program to another. If this is the case, please use separate copies of this section for each program, and clearly delineate which program is being described.

Give below enrollment figures for the first term of the current and five previous academic years and the number of undergraduate and graduate degrees conferred. (The current year is the year in which this report is being prepared.) List data beginning with the most recent year first. If part-time students are involved, give the number as FTE/actual number, e.g., 10/40.

Institution as a Whole

AYEnrollment Total

UGTotalGrad

Degree1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th BS MS PhD

Unit offering Computer Science Program(s)—give total enrollment even if not all students are in the program for which accreditation is requested.

AYEnrollment Total

UGTotalGrad


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If the unit offering the Computer Science Program(s) offers more than one degree, please complete an additional table for each program for which accreditation is requested:

Program

AYEnrollment Total

UGTotalGrad


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Appendix VI. Admission Requirements

A. Admission of Students

1. Describe the criteria and procedures used for admitting students to the computer science program(s).

2. Describe procedures, including the evaluation of transfer credits, for students admitted to the program as transfer students.

a. From within the institution

b. From another institution

3. Explain the policy of the institution in admitting students with conditions and state how the conditions must be made up.

4. Describe the general policy and methods of the unit offering computer science program(s) in regard to admission with advanced standing.

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5. Describe any special admission requirements for entry into the "upper division" in the computer science program(s).

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Appendix VII. Items that Support or Precede Measurable Objectives

1. Mission statementsA. InstitutionB. CollegeC. Department

The Computer Science Department seeks to prepare undergraduate and graduate students for productive careers in industry, academia, and government, by providing an outstanding environment for teaching and research in the core and emerging areas of the discipline. The Department places high priority on establishing and maintaining innovative research programs that enhance the educational opportunity and encourage a broad base of extramural support. (!! Reword: The Department places high priority on establishing and maintaining innovative research programs that enhance educational opportunity, and encourages a broad base of extramural support.)

5. Plans (institution, college, department, etc.)

6. All objectives including expected outcomes for graduates

Program Educational Objectives for Undergraduate Programs

To prepare future generations of computer professionals for long-term careers in research, technical development, and applications. Baccalaureate graduates, ready for immediate employment, are eminently trainable for most Computer Science positions in government and a wide range of industries. Outstanding graduates interested in highly technical careers, research, and/or academia, should be fully prepared to further their education in graduate school.

The primary Computer Science departmental emphasis is on computer program design, analysis and implementation, with both a strong theoretical foundation, and a strong practical component, covering most aspects of computing and computer communications.

BS and BA computer science degrees are equivalent with a difference in emphasis. The BA program requires more general education courses and the BS program requires additional CS courses. (!! Should be omitted)

Program Outcomes for Undergraduate Programs

The program enables students to achieve, by the time of graduation:

(a) An ability to apply knowledge of computing and mathematics appropriate to computer science

(b) An ability to analyze a problem, and identify and define the computing requirements appropriate to its solution

(c) An ability to design, implement, and evaluate a computer-based system, process, component, or program to meet desired needs

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(d) An ability to function effectively on teams to accomplish a common goal

(e) An understanding of professional, ethical, and social responsibilities

(f) An ability to communicate effectively

(g) An ability to analyze the impact of computing on individuals, organizations, and society, including ethical, legal, security, and global policy issues

(h) Recognition of the need for and an ability to engage in continuing professional development

(i) An ability to use current techniques, skills, and tools necessary for computing practice

(j) An ability to apply mathematical foundations, algorithmic principles, and computer science theory in the modeling and design of computer-based systems in a way that demonstrates comprehension of the tradeoffs involved in design choices

(k) An ability to apply design and development principles in the construction of software systems of varying complexity.

7. Process for assessments8. Who is involved in assessment and improvement9. Data from assessments

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Documents

CS Self-Study Questionnaire - UCSB Computer …cappello/cac/resources/CS-Self-Study.doc · Web viewCourse work in mathematics must include discrete mathematics, differential and integral