Assessment of Undergraduate
Programs
Neeraj Mittal
Department of Computer Science
The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD)
January 22, 2016
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ABET Accreditation
• ABET – Accreditation Board for Engineering
and Technology
• Accredits undergraduate programs in
computer science and software engineering
at UTD
• Last Visit: Fall 2011
• Next Visit: Fall 2017 (every six years)
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ABET Requirements
• University, School and Department have
mission statements
• A program has educational objectives
– Broad statements that describe what students of
the program are expected to attain within a few
years of their graduation
• A program has student outcomes
– Describe what students are expected to know and
be able to do by the time of their graduation
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Mission Statement
The mission of the Department of Computer Science is to
prepare undergraduate and graduate students for
productive careers in industry, academia, and
government by providing an outstanding environment for
teaching, learning, and research in the theory and
applications of computing. The Department places high
priority on establishing and maintaining innovative
research programs to enhance its education quality and
make it an important regional, national and international
resource center for discovering, integrating and applying
new knowledge and technologies.
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BACHELORS IN COMPUTER SCIENCE
PROGRAM
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Program Objectives
1. Graduates should have a successful, long-lived,
computer science based career path
2. Graduates should meet the needs of industry or
academia
3. Graduates should contribute to, and/or lead,
computer science based teams
4. Graduates should actively pursue continuing
learning
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Student Outcomes
a) An ability to apply knowledge of computing and
mathematics appropriate to the discipline
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 computerbased system, process, component, or program to meet
desired needs
d) An ability to function effectively on teams to accomplish a
common goal
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Student Outcomes (Contd.)
e) An understanding of professional, ethical, legal, security,
and social issues and responsibilities
f)
An ability to communicate effectively with a range of
audiences
g) An ability to analyze the local and global impact of
computing on individuals, organizations and society
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 practices
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Student Outcomes (Contd.)
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
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Undergraduate Catalog
http://catalog.utdallas.edu/2015/undergraduate
/programs/ecs/computer-science
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BACHELORS IN SOFTWARE
ENGINEERING PROGRAM
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Program Objectives
1. Graduates should have a successful, long-lived,
software engineering based career path
2. Graduates should meet the needs of industry or
academia
3. Graduates should contribute to, and/or lead,
software engineering based teams
4. Graduates should actively pursue continuing
learning
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Student Outcomes
a) An ability to apply knowledge of mathematics,
science, and engineering
b) An ability to design and conduct experiments, as well
as to analyze and interpret data
c) An ability to design a system, component, or process
to meet desired needs within realistic constraints
such as economic, environmental, social, political,
ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and
sustainability
d) An ability to function on multidisciplinary teams
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Student Outcomes (Contd.)
e) An ability to identify, formulate, and solve
engineering problems
f) An understanding of professional and ethical
responsibility
g) An ability to communicate effectively
h) The broad education necessary to understand the
impact of engineering solutions in a global,
economic, environmental, and societal context
i) A recognition of the need for, and an ability to
engage in life-long learning
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Student Outcomes (Contd.)
f) A knowledge of contemporary issues
g) An ability to use the techniques, skills, and
modern engineering tools necessary for
engineering practice
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Undergraduate Catalog
http://catalog.utdallas.edu/2015/undergraduate
/programs/ecs/software-engineering
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PROGRAM ASSESSMENT
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Assessing Program Objectives
• We use three ways to evaluate the level of
attainment of program objectives regularly:
a. Alumni survey
b. Employer survey
c. IAB survey
• Alumni and employer surveys are conducted
once every two years by the Office of
Assessment
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Assessing Student Outcomes
• We use two ways to evaluate the level of
attainment of student outcomes regularly:
a. Using course learning outcomes (CLOs):
•
Course assessment sheets are filled by instructors
every semester
–
•
Instructor objectively assesses each CLO of the course
Students outcomes are assessed using course
assessment data by the department
b. Senior exit survey: conducted every year by the
Office of Assessment
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CLOs for CS 3305 (Discrete
Mathematics for Computing II)
1. Ability to recognize and construct proofs
2. Ability to recognize and use equivalence relations and
partial orderings
3. Ability to use recursive definitions and solve
recurrence relations
4. Ability to understand advanced counting methods
5. Ability to understand graph theory and basic graph
algorithms
6. Ability to use tree terminology and basic tree
algorithms
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Assessing Student Outcomes
Student
Outcomes
Performance
Criteria
Course Learning
Outcomes
E.g., (a) An ability to apply knowledge of
computing and mathematics appropriate
to the discipline
E.g., Develop an algorithm to solve a
computing problem
E.g., Ability to design, analyze, and prove
correctness of algorithms based on
Divide-and-Conquer techniques
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IMPROVEMENTS TO THE
PROGRAMS
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Program Improvements
• Updated programming sequence courses
– CS 0 (CS 1336: Programming Fundamentals):
Focus on C
– CS 1 (CS 1337: Computer Science I): Focus on C++
– CS 2 (CS 2336: Computer Science II): Focus on Java
• Added a new section of CS 2 with focus on
C/C++ for transfer students
• Separate sections of CS 0, CS 1 and CS 2 for
non-major students
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Program Improvements
• Added a new Honors Programs:
– CS2: Computer Science Computing Scholars
• Separate honors sections for many core courses
– CS 2305: Discrete Mathematics for Computing I
– CS 3305: Discrete Mathematics for Computing II
– CS/SE 3345: Data Structures and Introduction to
Algorithmic Analysis
– CS 3340: Computer Architecture
– CS 4341: Digital Logic and Computer Design
– CS/SE 4348: Operating Systems Concepts
– CS 4349: Advanced Algorithm Design and Analysis
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Program Improvements
• Added two required core courses
– CS/SE 3162 (1 credit hour): Professional Responsibility
in Computer Science and Software Engineering
– CS/SE 4347 (3 credit hours): Database Systems
• ECS 1200 (Introduction to Engineering and
Computer Science) replaced with two courses:
– ECS 1100 (1 credit hour): Introduction to Engineering
and Computer Science
– CS 1200 (1 credit hour): Introduction to Computer
Science and Software Engineering
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Program Improvements
• Significantly expanded tutoring help
– Computer Science Mentor Center (CSMC) headed
by Dr. Linda Morales
• Removed CS 3385 (Ethics, Law, Society and
Computing) from the catalog
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Program Improvements
• Revised pre-requisite of many courses
– CS 2305 (Discrete Mathematics for Computing I):
Score of at least 75% in ALEKS, or C or better grade
in MATH 2312 (Pre calculus)
– CS 3340 (Computer Architecture): C or better
grade in CS 2305 (Discrete Mathematics for
Computing I)
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Program Improvements
• Revised pre-requisite of many courses
– CS/SE 3345 (Data Structures and Introduction to
Algorithmic Analysis): C or better grade in
• CS 1337 (Computer Science I)
• CS 2305 (Discrete Mathematics for Computing I)
• CS 2336 (Computer Science II)
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Program Improvements
• Revised pre-requisite of many courses
– CS/SE 4348 (Operating Systems Concepts): Must
have passed CS/SE 3376 (C/C++ Programming in a
UNIX Environment)
– ECS 3361 (Social Issues and Ethics in Computer
Science and Engineering): Junior Standing
Required
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