Graduates with a Master of Science in Computer Information Science will have a strong technical foundation in the computational sciences.
Objective
Acquisition Of Theoretical, Technical And Project Management Skills
Students will develop and demonstrate knowledge of theoretical materials technical skills and project management relevant to computer information systems.
Indicator
Final Project Assessment
The final project in this degree program is a software engineering project that involves the students identifying a significant application development need for a selected client and the design and implementation of an appropriate software solution to that need.
Each student is assigned to a member of the graduate faculty in computer science as project advisor together with two additional graduate faculty forming the student's committee.
The department has established procedures for managing projects including
1. The presentation of project proposals within the first two weeks of the semester. The graduate faculty review and approve or disapprove each proposal.
2. Weekly progress meetings with the project advisor.
3. The evaluation by the complete graduate faculty of each student's progress at midterm.
4. The distribution of project activity to the remaining members of each committee.
At the end of the project each student prepares and runs a formal presentation including a description of the project, detailed explanation of the solution used and a demonstration of the completed application.
Criterion
Final Project Assessment
Students graduating will have documented consensus of the graduate faculty that they meet professional standards of software engineering.
Finding
Final Project Assessment
Eight graduate students in CIS completed their final projects and the faculty review of the project and project documentation. All eight students were deemed to have performed at a professional level with three receiving a "high pass"
Of those eight students three also submitted papers to academic or professional conferences, with two receiving acceptances.
Indicator
Oral Examination
One hour oral examination by the student's committee. The committee consists of three individuals, with one person designated as committee chair.
Students are examined and given a grade of high pass, pass or fail in each of the following areas: Programming Software engineering Database Data Structures
and one other area of competence of the student's choosing.
Criterion
Oral Examination
We expect committee members to issue the score (high pass, pass or fail) on each of the knowledge areas to each student. 100% of students will score a pass or high pass on each area.
Finding
Oral Examination Findings
Oral examinations were conducted for eight students. Seven passed the examination in the first attempt with two being awarded a "high pass". One student was required to repeat the oral for one section.
Because of the number of international students in the CS program, there is a concern that command of English may have an effect on perceived performance quality.
Action
Technical Competence Actions
The procedures now in place for managing and assessing the quality of final projects appear to both work and provide the necessary data to form adequate assessments.
However, the oral examination is still somewhat problematic. The faculty have determined that we must migrate to a system that includes both written and oral examinations. The catalog has been updated to indicate as much. The written examinations will be a requirement of all students entering from fall 2011.