Computer Science

Program Review

May 2006

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1. How does your department carry out the mission of Union University? a) Excellence Driven:

The department is staffed with skilled faculty possessing strong educational backgrounds. Since the last accreditation visit, the percentage of faculty with terminal degrees has increased from 25% to 75%. The faculty maintains high expectations of students and upholds strict academic standards in the classroom. In 2000-01, the major was revised to introduce more mathematical rigor. Student and program outcomes are measured each year against national standards using the Major Field Achievement Test, and the senior with the best scores receives an award. The top score was in the 95th percentile last year, and in the 80th percentile both years before that. Student achievement is also recognized through a First Year Programming Award (since 1999-00). Every other year, the department also grants the Joe Tucker Scholarship to an upper-classman chosen for their academic record, leadership, need and character.

b) Christ Centered: Faculty display integrity and Christian character when interacting with students. Students are invited to a weekly prayer time in one of the professor’s offices. Faculty are encouraged to introduce faith-related topics in the classroom as appropriate, in particular in the Computer Ethics class which is required of all majors. In addition, students enroll in a Senior Seminar course where they are strongly encouraged to select projects which benefit the community. The department is also exploring summer internships (such as with the Boys and Girls Club) and study-abroad opportunities which have a missions focus (Dr Kirk is working with the Delhi Language Institute in India and the Yanbian University of Science & Technology in China).

c) People Focused: The department has a dedicated lab, which helps foster relationships among students in the major. It allows for a maximum of 16 students per class, but the average student-faculty ratio is closer to 8:1. This ratio allows faculty to work directly with students in the classroom and on individual projects (independent studies or through undergraduate research grants). Community is also developed through participation in the Association of Computing Machinery Student Chapter, which is led by student officers. On Remembrance Day, students have freely applied their talents to community projects such as computer setup at the Boys and Girls Club and training at an elementary school. The department also offers a computer camp in the summer for middle schoolers, as an outreach program (and a potential recruiting tool).

d) Future Directed: The Computer Science discipline by its very nature is future directed. Faculty regularly participate in training conferences and independent research (including a sabbatical) to stay abreast of the latest technological trends. Since 2001-02 the department has received additional professional development funds to enable faculty to attend workshops. The department continually evaluates and updates course content, course offerings, and curriculum requirements within the degree programs offered – in the last 10 years, the catalogue has been modified 7 times with updated offerings. In response to market demands, Union University was

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one of the first schools to introduce an interdisciplinary Digital Media Studies major. Computer Science was also one of the early adopters in the university of blended course management systems and student response systems.

2. How well has your department achieved your Student and Program Expected

Outcomes? Vision & Values 2005 (updates are listed at the end)

SUMMATIVE EVALUATION EXPECTED PROGRAM OUTCOMES

Goal Assessment Findings 1. Reduce full-time faculty to a 24-hour

workload while maintaining current programming.

Accomplished for full professors (02-03), associate profs (03-04) and assistant profs (04-05). Occasionally faculty are 1 hour under/over because of 2 & 4hr courses.

2. Academic Preparation a. The department will graduate students

who are well-prepared for graduate school.

• Small minority for CS, and often MBA. No requests for new CSC465 class. Students applying to Graduate school have all been accepted and have been successful.

b. The department will graduate students who are well-prepared for the job market.

• Most CS majors seeking employment found a job within a few months of graduation, though not all in the discipline.

• Students continue to indicate insufficient resources / assistance in obtaining a job.

• Too early to assess DMS – CS track; first major will graduate in December 2005.

3. Academic Resources a. Provide the faculty and students with

appropriate and sufficient resources related to the field of computer science, i.e. journals, up-to-date software equipment, and funds for professional development, travel, and speakers.

• Chair serves on ARIS council. • Line item for Student Travel and

Professional Membership has been helpful, however needs to be increased.

• $1,500 added to professional development line item for attending CS conferences

b. Provide the department with appropriate and sufficient physical resources as needed for the discipline.

• The CS department has a dedicated departmental lab/lecture room with projection capabilities. The department also has a mobile data projector with laptop. The demand

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for the use of technology in the classroom is still increasing, so the need for additional IT equipped classrooms is ongoing.

• Master Plan now calls for Science Building – ongoing.

4. The department will provide the engineering students with service courses which conform to ABET 2000 guidelines.

Engineering curriculum was adopted Fall 2001

EXPECTED STUDENT OUTCOMES

Goal Assessment Findings 1. Be able to analyze problems and apply

appropriate algorithms from the literature or design a solution from first principles in order to complete a structured program.

2. Be proficient in major industry-used languages and in system administration tasks.

3. Have oral and written skills in computer science, including the ability to work as a team member.

4. Have the necessary vocabulary and concepts to adapt to the usage of other languages and platforms.

• MFAT indicator of theory / math up because of increased math prerequisites for majors.

• Top student scores in 80-86th percentile.

• MFAT indicator of Organization / Architecture lower because of new format.

• Fewer CS majors because of increased rigor in program and defections to new DMS program.

• Some students still have poor writing / communication skills in CSC498

Update: • For the graduates of the past 5 years that we have records on, 66.7% are working

in the field of IT, 22.2% are pursuing a master’s, and 11.1% are either employed in an unrelated field or are stay-at-home parents. See [4] below for further analysis.

• The first DMS-CS student graduated in December 2005 and secured a job sometimes during the Fall semester.

• While the Chair still serves on the ARIS Council, its role is somewhat changed now that a new Information Services Committee has been formed (on which he also serves).

• Although the Math & Computer Science departments have split starting with the 05-06 year, they continue to share certain resources such as the laptop and projector.

• In order to serve Engineering better, CSC255 is now taught as a first language course (and Engineering will incorporate the expected CSC115 skillset into their own courses).

• Major Field Achievement Test (for the past 3 years – scores for prior years are incompatible):

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o Top student for the last 3 years scored in the 83rd, 80th, and 95th percentile. o Institution score is around 57th percentile (65% in the most recent year). o The strongest area (indicator) was Organization & Architecture and

Operating Systems (steady increase from 58th percentile in 02-03 to 90th most recently), perhaps in part due to the introduction of CSC220.

o The weakest area appears to be Algorithms/Theory/Computational Mathematics. Perhaps our efforts should concentrate on improving CSC205 (Algorithms & Data Structures), because Theory & Math showed a strong increase starting in 99-00, before the new test format lumped Algorithms in the indicator.

• The decline in CS enrollment follows a national trend: “According to UCLA/HERI, the percentage of incoming undergraduates among all degree-granting institutions who indicated they would major in CS declined by 70 percent between fall 2000 and 2005. […] [T]he total number of bachelor's degrees granted in CS fell 17 percent between AY 2003/2004 and 2004/2005.”1

See [5] and [9] below for further analysis. • Because of the growth in DMS majors, the department decided to create

separate sections for CSC321 and CSC365, in order to continue to keep the faculty-student ratio low, but also to tweak the content of these courses to fit the target audience (DMS vs. CS).

3. How have you used assessment results to improve your program?

Vision & Values 2005 (updates are listed at the end) Use of Findings to Improve Your Program

• Surveys of graduates indicate that most of the majors tend to enter the job market directly (rather than pursuing graduate school), hence curriculum emphasis focus for CS should emphasize practical skills.

• As The Chronicle of Higher Education documents (May 27, 2005), IT positions are harder to find because of the dot com bust and outsourcing. Improve job placement through encouraging internships and certification.

• Instructional technology line item combined with built-in replacement cycle of the dedicated lab through leasing gives the CS department ready access to the necessary software / hardware resources, as evidenced by the satisfactory ranking on recent Exit Questionnaires. Students have privileged network access through Union’s only wireless access point, and can obtain free copies of development software through the MSDN AA licensing program.

• The CS curriculum was updated in response to student and alumni comments, and changes in the industry: CSC115, CSC 220, CSC 255, CSC 360

Update: • Several classes now incorporate industry certification objectives to make the

students more marketable, and to focus on skills that are in demand.

1 Jay Vegso: “Drop in CS Bachelor’s Degree Production” - March 2006 edition of Computing Research News, Vol. 18/No. 2.

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• A formal internship (CSC485) was introduced in 2004-05. Since then 3 students have taken advantage of it, with more scheduled to enroll summer 06.

• Wireless access points controlled by Computing Services are deployed in central locations like the library and Harvey lecture hall.

4. What are the post-graduate experiences of your graduates?

Graduates of the past 5 years

non-IT11%

IT67%

Graduate school22%

• 33% of students attending graduate school have chosen Computer Science. MBA

is the most popular choice (66%), often after one or more years of employment. • The reasons given for not pursuing IT employment were:

o Limited opportunities for those wanting to stay in the Jackson area. o A calling to work in a church or mission setting o Choosing to stay at home to be a full-time parent (often after some initial

years of employment). 5. Describe the current societal demand for your majors.

• Nationwide drop in declared majors and degrees awarded. “An analysis of survey results from the Higher Education

Research Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles (HERI/UCLA) indicates that the popularity of computer science (CS) as a major among incoming freshmen at all undergraduate institutions has dropped significantly in the past four years.”2 “After peaking in 1999 and 2000, interest in CS as a major has fallen in each of the past five years. All in all, interest has dropped 70 percent over this period. In the Fall of 2005, 1.1 percent of incoming freshmen indicated CS as their probable major, down slightly from 1.4 percent in 2004. The last time that interest in CS dropped this rapidly,

2 Jay Vegso: “Interest in CS as a Major Drops Among Incoming Freshmen” - May 2005 edition of Computing Research News, Vol. 17/No. 3

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during the early 1980s, CS degree production dropped by a third in five years.”3

“The number of high school students who took Advanced

Placement (AP) exams in computer science (CS) declined [by 19 percent] between 2000/2001 and 2004/2005, even as the number and portion of students who took AP exams grew […]50 percent, climbing to 23 percent of all high school students.”4

“The impact of these declines is now being felt among enrollments, which have decreased by 7 percent in each of the past two years (Figure 3). The greatest decline in the past few years has occurred among the top 36 departments, which saw enrollments fall by 19 percent between 1999/2000 and 2003/2004. In comparison, enrollments for those ranked 37 and above dropped 13 percent between their peak in 2001/2002 and last year.” 5

3 Jay Vegso: “Interest in CS as a Major Drops Among Incoming Freshmen” - May 2005 edition of Computing Research News, Vol. 17/No. 3 4 Jay Vegso: “Fewer Students Take AP Exams in CS” - http://www.cra.org/wp/index.php?p=76; Posted 2/10/2006, accessed March 12, 2006. 5 Jay Vegso: “CS Bachelor’s Degree Production Grows in 2004; Poised for Decline” - March 2005 edition of Computing Research News, Vol. 17/No. 2

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“Freshmen interest levels at any given point have been an

accurate predictor of trends in the number of degrees granted four to five years later. It therefore seems likely that there will be a sharp decline in the number of bachelor's degrees granted in CS in the coming decade.”6

“Results from CRA’s most recent Taulbee Survey of PhD-granting departments show that the total number of bachelor’s degrees granted in CS by US departments fell 17 percent between AY 2003/2004 and 2004/2005.”7

6 Jay Vegso: “Interest in CS as a Major Drops Among Incoming Freshmen” - May 2005 edition of Computing Research News, Vol. 17/No. 3 7 Jay Vegso: “US CS Bachelor’s Degree Production Drops in 2004/2005” - http://www.cra.org/wp/index.php?p=79; Posted 3/7/2006, accessed March 12, 2006.

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“It is important to note that a steep drop in degree production

among CS departments has happened before. According to NSF, between 1980 and 1986 undergraduate CS production nearly quadrupled to more than 42,000 degrees. This period was followed by a swift decline and leveling off during the 1990s, with several years in which the number of degrees granted hovered at around 25,000. During the late 1990s, CS degree production again surged to more than 43,000 in 2001. In light of the economic downturn and slow job growth during the early 2000s, another decline in CS degree production was foreseeable.”8

• (Selected) Employment Opportunities Growth: “Computer scientists and undergraduates blame the field's anemia

mostly on news-media reports of technology jobs moving to developing countries, and on the bursting of the dot-com bubble. […] Some computer-science professors say that much of the news coverage is exaggerated, and that jobs in information technology remain plentiful. They point to a Commerce Department study that projects that 70.2 percent of all vacant positions in science and engineering between 2002 and 2012, or 1.6 million jobs, will be in information technology.”9

“Every two years, [the] B[ureau of] L[abor] S[tatistics] releases workforce projections covering a 10-year period.[…] [The] BLS

8 Jay Vegso: “US CS Bachelor’s Degree Production Drops in 2004/2005” - http://www.cra.org/wp/index.php?p=79; Posted 3/7/2006, accessed March 12, 2006. 9 Andrea Foster: “Student Interest in Computer Science Plummets - Technology companies struggle to fill vacant positions” – The Chronicle of Higher Education May 27, 2005

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estimates that the professional-level IT workforce will grow at more than twice the rate of the overall workforce between 2004 and 2014, creating 1 in 19 new jobs. In addition, many of these jobs will pay well. […] The professional IT workforce is projected to add a little over a million new jobs between 2004 and 2014, an increase of about 30 percent. In 2004, there were 3.4 million IT professionals out of a total workforce of 145.6 million. The total workforce is expected to add 18.9 million jobs between 2004 and 2014. Six of the 30 occupations that are projected to grow the fastest (i.e., percent gain) between 2004 and 2014 are in the IT profession. Among the 30 fastest-growing occupations, 17 have median salary earnings of $43,605 or above, including all six IT occupations. Two of the six IT occupations listed as the fastest growing also rank among the 30 that are projected to have the largest numeric growth. Only seven of these 30 have median salary earnings of $43,605 or more, including both IT occupations.” 10

11 “But while high-end technology jobs in the United States may be

abundant, the outsourcing of "low-end, routinized" informationtechnology jobs, including some low-level programming

10 Jay Vegso: “BLS Projects IT Workforce to Add a Million New Jobs between 2004 and 2014” - http://www.cra.org/wp/index.php?p=70; Posted 1/11/2006, accessed March 11, 2006. 11 Daniel Hecker: “Employment outlook: 2004–14 - Occupational employment projections to 2014” - http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2005/11/art5full.pdf; Accessed March 17, 2006.

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positions, is on the rise, according to John F. Sargent, a senior policy analyst at the Commerce Department's technology administration. He says the encouraging job figures that some scholars cite may be too sanguine. The Commerce Department data was released in March 2004 but collected in 2002 as companies were just starting to farm out much of their information-technology work overseas. What's more, the department's projected number of newly created information-technology jobs for the period from 2002 and 2012, 1.15-million, is about a million fewer than the department had projected three years earlier for roughly the same period.”12

“Although the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the professional-level IT workforce will grow about 30 percent between 2004 and 2014, there is significant variation between specific IT occupations, which highlights how difficult it is to generalize about “IT".13

• Information Technology:

“In some cases, computer-savvy students are turning to more glamorous fields like bioinformatics and molecular biology, […] Still others say the image of computer nerds turns off many students. […] Professors say the creation in the last five years of new degrees in information technology or information systems may also be offering more attractive alternatives to computer science. Computer science focuses on how networks are engineered -- the theoretical aspects of computing -- and on writing software, while information technology focuses on applied work, such as building Web sites, adapting systems to a business's needs,

12 Andrea Foster: “Student Interest in Computer Science Plummets - Technology companies struggle to fill vacant positions” – The Chronicle of Higher Education May 27, 2005 13 Jay Vegso: “BLS Current and Projected IT Employment Figures by Detailed Occupation” - http://www.cra.org/wp/index.php?p=71 1/13/06; Accessed March 11, 2006.

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and maintaining networks. […] Anne Marchant, an information-technology instructor at [George Mason] University […] blames the shift partly on what she sees as students’ deteriorating mathematics aptitude. ‘Information technology is the right home for an awful lot of students who do not have the math skills and do not really have the interest in becoming programmers,’ she says. […] Marjorie C. Bynum, a vice president of the [Information Technology] Association [of America], says member companies are having trouble filling positions not only because fewer students are going into computer science, but also because many graduates lack ‘soft skills.’ ‘Many information-technology companies put a huge emphasis on skills like project management, interpersonal communication, and just overall business acumen,’ says Ms. Bynum. ‘Colleges and universities need to put more emphasis around that.’14

6. Describe departmental initiatives to ensure effective student learning.

• Programming Competitions – given the importance of solid programming skills and teamwork to the CS major, for the past 5 years or so the department has been meeting regularly with students to practice and train for an annual programming competition.

• Dr Kirk received a Teaching and Learning grant called “The Computing Belvedere”

• Drs Li & Wilms were awarded Undergraduate Research Program grants to support student research.

• The department is one of the early adopters in using a course management system for blended instruction, and currently uses WebCT and Train & Assess IT.

• Dr Wilms uses an in-house developed Student Response System to assess student understanding and increase student participation.

• Where possible, instructors schedule field trips or invite subject experts to enhance the classroom instruction.

• The department hosted a Microsoft Night for Launch Tour 2005 which introduced the latest technology available from Microsoft.

• Lego Mindstorms have been adopted in several courses to gently introduce algorithm development and programming through fun robotics projects.

• Industry Certification objectives have been adopted in several courses (CSC220, CSC365, CSC425) to increase the marketability of the majors.

• Students are encouraged to sign up for an internship program during which a field supervisor mentors them and they receive some real-world experience.

• In CSC498 students are encouraged to choose an IT project that addresses a need in the community.

• The department has adopted a communication component (paper or presentation) in almost all courses.

• Majors are eligible for free Microsoft development software through the MSDN AA program.

14 Andrea Foster: “Student Interest in Computer Science Plummets - Technology companies struggle to fill vacant positions” – The Chronicle of Higher Education May 27, 2005

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• The department is in the process of applying for a Cisco equipment grant to allow for more hands-on experience in the networking class with state of the art equipment.

• Dr Wilms is working on a Linux networking lab textbook. • To encourage early commitment more courses are being moved to the Freshmen

Fall semester. • The DMS curriculum may be revised to include a second semester web design

class with an emphasis on programming. • The networking class is being revised to include a section on Information

Security. 7. What resources are needed to ensure effective student learning?

Vision & Values 2005 (updates are listed at the end) Program and Financial Implications for Union 2010

• Recruiting and retention are 2 major goals; the number of majors has decreased by 35% since 2000. This is due to outside factors (the recent shift from a shortage to a surplus of IT personnel) and because of attrition (to the DMS program, which is much less rigorous). One idea is to do a retreat with students to build community, which will require financial support. A summer computer camp may also help attract prospective students.

• The number of DMS majors on the other hand has grown to the point where we need to offer separate sections of CSC321 and CSC365 – this has load implications (6 additional hours per year that need covering). Combined with the growth in the other 2 DMS tracks, we will soon need an additional faculty member who can teach in at least 2 DMS areas.

• Furniture: the chairs in C13 are falling apart and will need replacing soon; C59 will need to be equipped as a meeting room in addition to serving as the CS chair’s office.

• Use of WebCT for blended classes and online classes (e.g. to replace the accelerated section of CSC105); may require release time for developing such courses.

• Depending on how the revised core defines Union’s approach to computer literacy, this may affect the load of CS faculty if CSC105 offerings are impacted.

The Mathematics and Computer Science departments will split in 05-06. The budget must grow to support two separate units; Secretarial support must increase to accommodate an additional department head. To address the long term space need for the department, there needs to be a renewed commitment in Union 2010 for building the wings of the science building which is intended to house the remaining sciences (preferably as soon as the center building is completed).

Update: • Retention is one of the 2 chosen review questions – see [11] below. • Cam Tracy, who has a Master’s in Digital Media, would be an ideal candidate to

move into a more full-time teaching role, especially as the department is considering a second semester of Web Design.

• The chairs for the lab have been delivered.

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• Until the wings of the Science building are constructed, some of the renovated space could be allocated as a second dedicated CS classroom. One of the BIO labs (B20-21, 25-27) would be ideal, not only because of its proximity, but because it already has the needed desktop space and storage.

• The secretary is shared by 4 science departments, which experience has shown is more than 1 part-time person can reasonably handle. We propose that the secretary’s position be upgraded to a full-time one, or that her responsibility would be limited to 2 departments only.

• Additional hardware is needed for the network courses so instruction can take place on an isolated LAN without impacting Union’s production network.

8. Using the data provided by the IRO, project your needs to 2010.

The trend data provided by the IRO for the Dept. of Computer Science at Union is summarized in the table below.

2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05

DATA Student

Credit Hours 1454 1314 1145 1251 1097

FTE Students 120.5 115.4 106.8 107.5 107.3 Number of

Majors 44 42 44 41 38 Number of Graduates 6 6 8 5 5

Faculty FTE Taught 4.1 3.9 3.4 4.5 3.8

RATIOS Credit

Hrs/Fac FTE 354.6 336.9 336.8 278.0 288.7 Majors/Fac

FTE 10.7 10.8 12.9 9.1 10.0 S/F Ratio - All

Teaching 11.8 11.2 11.2 9.3 9.6

This shows a decline in the number of students taking Computer Science courses that reflects the nationwide decline in interest in Computer Science over the past five years. A reduction since 2000 in the number of newly-declared Computer Science majors nationwide, and a recent decline in high school students taking the AP Computer Science Exam lead us to believe that, over the short term, the number of Computer Science majors may continue to decline. The reduction in the number of Computer Science majors could be offset by interest in computational techniques from students enrolled in other majors. The algorithmic approach to problems is at the core of Computer Science, and this approach has been likened to a new “Esperanto” for science, a second lingua franca, in addition to

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mathematics.15 Interdisciplinary interest in Computer Science could lead to more non-Computer Science majors enrolling in Computer Science courses if both • the curricula of other majors encourage such enrollment and • the Computer Science curriculum permits students from other majors to enroll in

Computer Science classes. (The Special Topics Class on Geographic Information Systems scheduled to be offered for a second time is precisely such a general-interest class, as is a class being considered on Game Design in Java. Trying to offer the Computer Repair & Maintenance class in the late afternoon to encourage enrollment by people from the community has met with limited success however.) With these competing forces in play, we anticipate that our current faculty will be able to fulfill the needs for Computer Science classes until 2010. According to the 2004 Delaware Study, total student credit hours per FTE faculty in Computer Science at Union were 179, 13% higher than the institutional average of 158 for Union and almost 30% higher than the institutional average of 138 for Computer Science faculty at CCCU/ASBCS schools. Our SCH/FTE lies between the totals for Computer Science faculty at “Comprehensive” universities (199) and “Baccalaureate” universities (138) nationwide.

9. Project your program capacity to 2010.

Enrollment in Computer Science majors has dropped nationwide in the past several years, and enrollment at Union has reflected that decline. This has occurred despite demand from industry that has required that the U.S. issue thousands of H1-B visas16 for foreign skilled workers to fill technology jobs. One would expect that the shortage in American Computer Science and technology graduates should eventually lead to renewed interest in Computer Science. However, because of the current relatively small number of majors, we believe that we have enough faculty for the demand for Computer Science classes until 2010.

Class size for majors is limited by the size of our dedicated C-13 lab, which allows 16 students per class. Class size for non-majors is also limited by the size of the classroom; the maximum is typically around 25. Considering only our current 4.125 FTE and the course offerings for Fall 2006 and Spring 2007, the maximum capacity in terms of Credit Hours/Faculty FTE would be approximately 424, 47% higher than the ratio reported for Computer Science faculty in the 2004-05 IRO data.

10. What would you like your department to look like in the year 2010?

By 2010, the Department of Computer Science would like to expand on five fronts.

15Bernard Chazelle, “Princeton Professor Foresees Computer Science Revolution,” PhysOrg Newsletter Feb. 17, 2006. Available online at http://www.physorg.com/news10957.html, accessed March 11, 2006. 16The latest legislation under consideration nearly doubles the number of H1-B visas to 115,000. (Carolyn Lochhead, “Immigration Bill Would Add Visas for Tech Workers,” San Francisco Chronicle, March 10, 2006. Available online at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/03/10/MNGV9HLVAE1.DTL&hw=immigration+ bill&sn=007&sc=227, accessed March 2006.)

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• First, we would like to see an increase in the enrollment of Computer Science majors. The growing demand for graduates in Computer Science and Information Technology must soon bring the discipline back into popularity among high school seniors. Recruiting should emphasize the projected growth of IT-jobs, ranking in the top-10 of job-listings, and excellent starting and median salaries.17 At present, increasing enrollment can only result from recruitment of better Computer Science prospects, since we have observed that attrition from Computer Science consists almost entirely of our weakest students.

• In response to what appears to be the consensus of the university faculty, we

would like to have in place a computer literacy program by 2010. This will likely involve a computer literacy and information fluency test required for all incoming students. Students who do not perform acceptably well on the test will be required to take a course that will prepare them to use computers productively in their classes at Union and in their careers after graduation.

Unlike our current CSC105 (Survey of Microcomputer Applications), the new computer literacy/proficiency class will be geared more toward the needs of the students at Union who have demonstrated the least proficiency in computing. This will leave a gap for students who already use computers proficiently in general, but wish to increase their knowledge because of increasing demands for computing in their majors. This will likely become especially important in the sciences, where the algorithmic approach is becoming increasingly beneficial in scientific studies. The second front for expansion is then to address this need by exploring the demand for courses in collaboration with other departments, particularly the sciences. Thus the department will explore partnership opportunities for more service classes aimed at non-majors. The interdisciplinary DMS major can serve as a model, and in fact could itself offer additional opportunities for collaborative efforts, such as the Game Design class mentioned above.

• Several initiatives will help with recruiting and retention: o When students want to switch to another major, they will be asked to fill

out a form to help track why they decided to switch. o Recruiting: Summer Computer Camp for middle schoolers (this June will

be the second time it is offered). o Recruiting: Participation in the Science Fair. o Recruiting: Starting a High School programming competition.

17 The Jobs Rated Almanac of 2005 lists 5 computer science positions among the top 10 jobs: website manager (1st), systems analyst (3rd), software engineer (4th), programmer (6th), web developer (10th). According to an April 2006 article in Information Week, IT employment in the US reached a record high of 3,472 million workers, with unemployment at the lowest level since the end of 2000. According to the latest (2004) report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the average starting salaries for new computer graduates increased by 4.1% from the previous year to $49,036. Money Magazine in 2006 lists software engineer as the first in the top 50 jobs, with a 10-year growth forecast of 46% and an average pay of $80,427. Computer Analyst is 7th, with 36,1% growth and salary of $83,427.

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o Encouraging business majors to minor in C(I)S: Accounting, Business Administration, and Management account for 51% of the minors chosen by CS majors, yet there are very few of their majors who minor in CS or CIS (particularly since they started their own MIS minor, now discontinued).

o Engineering is offering all its majors a $7,500 scholarship. Since they are attracting students with a similar background and interest as potential CS majors, it is hard to compete without similar awards. Can our department offer something similar? Currently, the only grant is the Tucker Scholarship (shared with Mathematics), which funds a single major every other year with approximately $600.

• Fourthly, given the fact that certain subsets of the discipline are (projected to be)

in more demand in this global economy, and that Information Technology needs include “soft skills”, the department will study the current curriculum for CS majors to see if there are ways to focus it by allowing more electives or even introducing tracks (for example, after 9/11 there is much demand for Information Assurance: secure programming and network/system security).

• Finally, because of our current pressing needs and our expectation that there will

be increased demand for Computer Science courses by 2010, we would like to see facilities that will support our needs. Currently, our hardware courses are “homeless,” with no space in our C-13 lab and no other room in which students can work on their projects for classes such as CSC220, CSC260, and CSC311. Presently, hands-on projects are limited because of these space restrictions. CSC220 students have not been assigned hands-on homework this semester because they have no work space. A student in CSC498 is now working in a professor’s garage on his senior project because there is no space on campus. Courses such as these require a dedicated lab with large tabletops in which students can work after hours and leave their projects.

11. Identify and Analyze two other specific questions to address the review process

1. Computer literacy placement: there is a consensus among Union’s faculty that computer literacy and information fluency should be expected of every college graduate. The level of sophistication of incoming freshmen ranges from simple email and browsing competency to expertise with productivity software to web design and programming. Rather than making this a required (core) class, the university is exploring the use of a placement exam to help students choose a course that matches their skill level. Challenges: • in-house vs. commercial test • defining what literacy is • redesigning CSC105 which would be taken by students who fail the

placement test • create an alternative “advanced” course for students who already have basic

competency

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2. Attrition and retention in computer science: Although the department may have little control over the national (cyclical) trend of reduced interest in majoring in Computer Science (see question 5 above), there is also an alarming trend of declared majors switching to another discipline after one or two semesters, which we can address. Challenges: • help recruiters to convey the message of what CS is and isn't • poll students who change to a different major for their reasons • study role of math prerequisites in attrition • study role of DMS in attrition • possibly provide tracks to build on students' strength • possibly move one or more additional CS courses to the Freshmen Fall

semester to encourage early commitment. • need for a lounge area for students and faculty to meet informally. This is a

joint request with the Math department. The lounge area currently occupied by the nursing department may be ideal since it already has utilities.

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12. revised outcomes EXPECTED PROGRAM OUTCOMES

Goal Assessment Strategy Process for Evaluation Academic Preparation

a) The department will graduate students who are well-prepared for the job market.

b) The department will graduate students who are well-prepared for graduate school.

Exit Questionnaires and (1 and 10 year) Graduate Surveys

Findings will be discusses / analyzed at the annual curriculum assessment meeting of the department in September

Academic Resources a) Provide the faculty and students with

appropriate and sufficient resources related to the field of computer science, i.e. journals, up-to-date software equipment, and funds for professional development, travel, and speakers.

b) Provide the department with appropriate and sufficient physical resources as needed for the discipline.

• Exit Questionnaires and (1 and 10 year) Graduate Surveys

• Compare to ACM / ABET Guidelines

Findings will be considered by department chair, library liaison, and department representative on Information Services standing committee

EXPECTED STUDENT OUTCOMES 1. Be able to analyze problems and apply

appropriate algorithms from the literature or design a solution from first principles in order to complete a structured program.

2. Be proficient in major industry-used languages and in system administration tasks.

3. Have oral and written skills in computer

• Final exams • Senior seminar • Evaluations of internship field

supervisors • Scores on optional certification

exams

Findings will be considered by individual instructors and at the annual curriculum assessment meeting of the department in September

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science, including the ability to work as a team member.

4. Have the necessary vocabulary and concepts to adapt to the usage of other languages and platforms.