Assessment-Based Curriculum Changes

Changes to the Program from Previous Accreditation (2014)

Semester	Student Outcome	How Measured	Identified Improvements	Implemented Improvements
Sp. 2015			Students prefer to have freedom to allow them to choose	Required CS5000 or CS 5050 Required CS4700 or CS5300
Fall 2015	SO(4)	CDM	Students seem oblivious to computer ethics	Added ACM code of ethics to CS3450
Fall 2015	SO(1)SO(2)	CDM, IAC	Students need to understand software development process better	Added CS1440 as a required class and offered it in C++ starting Spring 2017
Fall 2015			Students need to take CS3810 earlier	Changed CS3810 to CS2810 and its prerequisites from CS2420 to CS1400
Sp. 2016	SO(1)SO(2)	CDM	Students unprepared for many CS2420 subjects	Standardized preprofessional curriculum and controlled topics covered in syllabi
Sp. 2016			Instructor requested the change.	CS3430 was changed to focus on scientific computing using Python
Fall 2016		SES	Need to make more connections between CS1400 & CS1405.	Incorporated CS1405 into CS1400 and make CS1400 become a 4-credit course
Fall 2016			Math teaching majors prefer to have a CS teaching endorsement.	Approved to offer a CS Teaching Minor, which was approved by the Board of Trustees in Oct. of 2017.
Sp. 2017	SO(1)SO(2)	CDM, IAC	Students need to learn algorithms instead of getting caught up in language syntax.	Changed the introductory language from C++ to Python/Java. Taught CS1400(Python) & CS1410 (Java) in Sp. 18; CS1440 (Python) & CS2420 (Java) in Fall 18; CS3100 (Java) in Sp. 19.
Fall 2017	SO(4)	CDM	Students need to be introduced to computer ethics earlier on.	Eliminated 1-credit CS3000 and move fundamental ethics to CS1440.
Fall 2017			Limited faculty resources can’t handle large number of CS students.	Eliminated two capstone courses, CS5070 and CS5071, to address the issues.
Fall 2017			CS3450 has ethics & complex group project management.	Extended credits of CS3450 to 4.
Fall 2017		SES, IAC	Students need to learn C++ with memory management.	Added CS 3460 (C++) as an elective class and offered CS3460 in Fall 2019.
Fall 2017		SES	Student math regimen unsuited to CS.	Used Discrete Math II to replace Calc II as a required course. No changes occurred due to no offering.
Sp. 2018			Need to get high-quality students in the CS program.	Approved to increase admission GPA from 2.3 to 2.5 for all course work at USU.
Sp. 2018			Intro. language changes affected students who want a CS minor.	Approved a revision to the CS minor to better accommodate other students.
Fall 2018			Engineering offered a new Engineering Management class.	Included a new course ENGR5900 as a Technical Elective.
Fall 2018			There are new changes in ABET criteria.	Adopted an amended set of SOs to comply with the new ABET criteria.
Fall 2018		SES	There are overlapping topics for three courses.	Re-evaluated course content for CS2410, CS2610, and CS3200.
Fall 2019		SES	Student math regimen unsuited to CS.	Approved that CS students must choose Math 1210&3310 and 15 credits from the CS-approved Math list. Take effect in Fall 2021.
Sp. 2020			CS recitations lack uniformity and usefulness	Changed CS1400 from the use of recitations to the Phanon learning exercises tool; Take effect in Fall 2020.
Sp. 2020			There are needs for offering online CS program.	Worked with the Utah State Board of Education and high school teachers to design a series of CS online courses.