Academic Program Assessment Plan
The Mission
The mission of the Computing & Information Science (CIS) department is
to prepare students primarily for employment, and secondarily for graduate study,
in computer science, information technology, and closely related fields.
It does so by building on what is achieved in the goals of the college core
curriculum, through a focus on the following departmental learning goals.
Details of the Plan
| Learning Goal |
Direct and Indirect Measures |
|
The most important goal is that the CIS graduate should demonstrate the ability to manage the complexity of a technical problem through the use of good problem solving and software engineering skills, as well as ethical and decision-making skills. This relates to several Core Goals, especially forming habits of ordered inquiry, logical thinking, and analysis. Also related are the Core Goals on communications skills, writing, and mathematics (since programming can be viewed as applied mathematical logic). Finally, the Strategic Plan Goal on interdisciplinary teaching and learning is promoted due to the use by certain CS courses of aspects of the Interdisciplinary Writing Program. (Writing skills are an important aspect of software engineering, for example.)
|
1. Our primary direct measure consists of an annual evaluation of senior capstone projects. Since students engineer a product for this, much of it can be objectively evaluated. First, the computer itself tells us whether the project compiles and whether it runs. Each student does a presentation of the project before the faculty member in charge and the chairperson. The student is required to demonstrate all of the major functions of the project, to present the project's written documentation, and to explain the overall purpose, design, use of the ACM Code of Ethics (where applicable), and success of the project. These projects and their documentation are saved in electronic portfolios. The CIS faculty meet annually to evaluate at least a 30% sample of the senior projects, with emphasis on the software requirements specifications document. The faculty member in charge of the projects presents the chosen projects. Each faculty member evaluates these projects in 2 categories: documentation and overall quality of the project. The goal is for the average evaluation in each of these 2 categories to be at the B level or higher.
2. This is a supplemental direct measure that gives a snapshot of sophomores' abilities in this category. Students' final CS 230 assembler projects and the professor's evaluations of these are saved in students' electronic portfolios. The CIS faculty annually examine these evaluations for the most recent offering of the course. The hope is to have the average grade at the B level or higher. The CIS faculty also examine any case in which a student did not do the project in order to see what can be learned from the reasons for failure to turn in an important, required project.
3. As an indirect measure, the CIS faculty annually evaluate at least a 30% sample of internship reports according to 2 distinct categories: the quality of work done on the internship and the degree to which the internship provided appropriate problem-solving tasks. The goal is to have the average evaluation in each category to be at the B level or higher.
4. As a supplemental indirect measure, the department's annual survey of alumni who graduated 2 years ago should show average responses to each of questions 4 (acquired good problem solving skills) and 8 (had good concept of how to produce professional programs and documentation) at the Agree level or higher.
|
|
A secondary goal is that the CIS graduate should be competent in at least three programming languages. This relates most directly to the Core Goals on logical thinking and mathematics.
|
1. A quick check of this is made by seeing if 80% of the graduates attained at least a C grade in each of these programming classes: CS 110, 111, 221 (C++); CS 230 (assembler); CS 310 (Java).
2. Students' final CS 230 assembler projects are checked, as in measure 2 under the previous goal, as another way to verify student competence in programming.
3. As a supplemental, indirect measure, the department's annual survey should show an average response of Agree or higher to question 6 (had sufficient background in programming languages).
|
|
Another secondary goal is that the CIS graduate should have a broad knowledge of the field of computing. (This field of knowledge is defined especially by the 11 required CS classes.)
|
1. A quick check is made to see if 80% of the graduates attained at least a C grade in all of their CS classes except possibly one.
2. As a tangential way of measuring this, the most recent data on employment for alumni who graduated 2 years ago should show at least 80% employed full-time in the field or pursuing further education.
3. As a supplemental, indirect measure, the department's annual survey should show an average response of Agree or higher to question 7 (had well-rounded knowledge of the computing discipline).
|
|
Maintained by: