: Master of Science in Computer Science

Transcription

1 Graduate Program Prioritization Criteria and Questions/Elements Department Program : Computer Science : Master of Science in Computer Science 1. History, Development and Expectations of the Program a) (457/550 wds + 1 image + 1 table) The MSc in Computer Southern started with its first course offerings in the Fall of The program was structured around 3 core courses and three concentrations each providing a selection of 6 courses. The concentrations were: 1.) Visualization and Intelligent Systems, 2.) Distributed Computing and 3.) Computer Systems. To complete the program, a graduate student would need to complete 36 credits of course work and thesis development. The program required students to complete 9 credits of core courses + 12 credits of concentration courses + 6 credits from another concentration + 3 credits from yet another concentration. In addition to the courses, a graduate student needed to complete 6 credits of Thesis development. The program was tailored for students trying to enrich their already existing careers (Conc 2 and 3), or preparing to enter strong academic doctoral programs (Conc 1). All classes have been strategically scheduled after 5pm (5-7:30 and 7:35-10:05pm intervals). Below is a table showing the number of course offerings per semester. Fa01 Sp02 Su02 Fa02 Sp03 Su03 Fa03 Sp04 Su04 Fa04 Sp05 Su05 Fa05 Sp Fa06 Sp07 Fa07 Sp08 Fa08 Sp09 Fa09 Sp10 Su10 Fa10 Sp11 Su11 Fa11 Sp Fa12 Sp13 Fa13 Sp

2 Typically the program will offer 3 or 4 courses per semester, with enrollment of approximately students each. The student population is very diverse in terms of background, experience and ethnicity. However, our typical student holds a daytime job and takes classes part time. Given the significant changes in the technology areas of knowledge, the department decided to update the program with new courses and concentrations. The new program was proposed and approved with its first course offerings starting in Spring The new program requires students to take core courses, and to select one of the two available concentrations: 1) Software Development and 2) CyberSecurity. Students must complete 4 core courses + 4 concentration courses + 2 courses outside the concentration. In addition, students are expected to complete 6 credits of thesis work. The total of the new program is also 36 credits. Students that approach our new program are diverse: significant number of prospective students are holding Bachelors or Masters in some other discipline, and are working full time. Recently we also noticed an increase of the student interest coming from the Veterans Office. Students having degrees in other discipline are required to take a prerequisite course (typically during Summers) in order to get ready for the program. Recruiting efforts include contacting employers of current students (graduate and undergraduate), utilizing Graduate School marketing efforts, and placing Google advertisements. A Google search for Master in Computer Science Connecticut would typically return Computer Southern link as its first search result. The features that students look for are: the streamlined duration of the program, the total cost, and the location. We do receive some interest from international and out-of-state students, but the prohibitive out-of-state cost makes Southern very unattractive.

3 b) ( 124/150wds) There is a clear correlation between the market and the interest in our program: typically when the market is slow, the interest in our program increases. There is a related correlation visible at the exit point: a significant number of students do not finish their capstone thesis work due to achieving better employment before the completion of the program. The department reached out to an international recruiting agency (who had worked with other state institutions) proposing to deliver a cohort of graduate students from China. They did not ask for a reduced tuition rate. Unfortunately, the talks with administration yielded to a proposal rejection. Our undergraduate program s national accreditation body (ABET) helped us establish stronger IT support for both our undergraduate and graduate programs.

4 2. External Demand for the Program a) (482/450 wds) i) Academic Year Program Applications Accepted Acceptance % MS-CSC % MS-CSC % MS-CSC % MS-CSC % MS-CSC % The first offering of our program was in Fall At that time, the dot-com bubble had clearly deflated, and the interest for graduate education and career changes increased significantly. The program did not have any problems offering (and filling) 5 courses per semester. Shortly after the strong start, the number of admissions applications followed a downward turn. This was due to a couple of reasons, namely 1) the IT market recovery from the dot-com bust began generating more jobs thus reducing the need for graduate training, and 2) the low interest in undergraduate computer science programs due to the (incorrect) perception of no-job prospects lead to a so-called shrinking pipeline, and 3) companies cutting back on tuition reimbursement programs. To address the lower number of applications, the department initiated a marketing campaign that included contacting employers, recruiting at graduate college fairs and placing Google ads. The department also changed the program curriculum with completely new concentrations making the program more up-to-date and more attractive to prospective students without undergraduate degrees in computer science. We are excited to report that interest in our new program is increasing, which is reflected in the most recent number of applications. The average acceptance rate has been between 50%(last ASC report) -60% (the provided table). Students are not accepted if their academic history does

5 not provide rigorous background for the program, if they do not meet their conditional acceptance requirements, or if they leave Southern for another institution during the admission process. Some of the regional schools with Masters degrees in Computer Science that provide competition for SCSU include: University of New Haven, Sacred Hart University, Quinnipiac University and the University of Connecticut. The department is finding ways to attract more students seeking higher application numbers. The department is satisfied with the quality of students, and would keep the same acceptance criteria in place.

6 ii) Enrollments Fall '08 Spr '09 Fall '09 Spr '10 Fall '10 Spr '11 Fall '11 Spr '12 Fall '12 Spr '13 Fall Avg Spr Avg Female Male Total Full-Time Part-Time The department has resources (expertise and experience) to deliver at least 3 graduate courses per semester. This is an absolute minimum of course offerings per semester in order to support our full time (9-credit minimum) student population. It also serves our part-time population with a quicker way to complete their degree. The most effective course registration limit is 15 students per course since all of our courses have hands-on requirements in our dedicate laboratories that are limited in space to 15 students. For the 3 courses per semester, the approximate number of CSC registered students would be around 20 per semester ( 5 full time x 3 courses part time taking max 2 courses = 5x3+15x2= 45 yielding average of 15 students per class). The majority of our student population is clearly part-time students. Our students typically have full-time jobs and are arriving on campus after 5pm. The number of female students reflects the underrepresentation of female (graduate and undergraduate) students in areas of Computer Science across the US. b) ( 122/150 wds) The majority of our graduate students are already employed and taking classes part-time. Some of the companies that employ our students are offering tuition reimbursement and are encouraging employees to continue their training and education. The remaining students are paying from their own pockets. In either case, their education empowers them to take more significant roles at their place of work. Some companies that employ our students are: PepsiCo, Pfizer, and Avon. Other students are employed by smaller companies, either start-ups, or long established ones.

7 There is a significant interest coming from our military veterans. The State of Connecticut benefits from our graduates by having stronger leaders, more qualified and a highly trained work force, and also providing opportunities for our veterans. c) (99/100 wds) The competition (both regional and national) in the areas of our concentrations is strong. The type of students that we attract are in-state residents, already working in the industry looking to improve their careers. They are commuters and taking classes part time in the evenings. Prospective international candidates, and candidates on Visas working in CT repeatedly shy away from Southern due to the significant out-of-state cost, despite the fact that many of them are, and have been, paying CT taxes for many years. Offering incentives (especially in-state tuition for those paying CT taxes) would undoubtedly increase our application pool.

8 3. Internal Demand for the Program a) Other Programs (85/100 wds) Credits Generated 08/09 09/10 10/11 11/12 12/13 Total Academic Credits Major Credits Total Students Non Major Credits % Below is the list of CSC prerequisites for other departments (source Grad Catalog) SCE 573 has CSC 501 as one of the possible prerequisites. MSc in Applied Physics: CSC541 as a required course. In the past, the department used to offer: CSC 515 and CSC 516, Computer Programming I & II for Behavioral Sciences. None of the above listed courses are required in our program (no overlap). CSC 541 (a program elective), typically enrolls students per session. The last offering was in Spring b) Undergraduate Program (97/100wds) The interest from our undergraduate population is twofold: Our high-achieving undergraduate students are able to take a graduate course in favor of an undergraduate requirement. Upon graduation, some of our undergraduates continue their graduate education with us. Typically, new graduates will seek employment first (usually due to financial stress), and after some time in industry, they return to SCSU for their graduate work. The department is currently establishing a pathway for our undergraduates to a Master s Degree with an accelerated 5-year program. The proposal is in its development phase and will go forward this semester (Spring 2014).

9 c) Reliance (41/100 wds) There is no overlap in our programs. The above mentioned courses are not required by our program. The department occasionally reaches out to other departments for possible academic collaboration. Based on this reasoning, the department feels that the reliance is minimal. d) Campus services ( 44/100 wds) The department does not have a formal engagement with other on-campus entities. Having said that, within our courses and, during the thesis development phase, various projects with on-campus clients were sought (e.g Office of Assessment has benefited from some of our graduate student projects). e) Other ( 68/100 wds) We have had some interest from graduate students in other disciplines looking to take a number of CSC courses (in lieu of a graduate minor). Also a few students expressed their interest in having a double graduate major, which is currently not allowed by the School of Graduate Studies. Our graduate program accepts non-major applications: there is some interest from students coming from other undergraduate programs (Physics, Business..)

10 4. Quality of Program Inputs and Processes a) Faculty ( 213/450 wds) There are 11 full time faculty in our department. We have a faculty search, but also we have a faculty retiring. (The number of faculty will stay the same.) Out of 11 faculty, 9 of them are actively involved with the program: new program proposal, new courses proposals, teaching graduate courses, mentoring graduate thesis. On very rare occasions we would utilize services from highly qualified adjunct instructors for a specific course instruction. The adjunct pool would typically consist of our retried faculty. The use of adjuncts is not crucial to our program delivery. Our 9 graduate faculty all have terminal degrees and do have areas of expertise that benefit our program. They expertise closely matches our course offerings, and our graduate students interests in selection of Thesis topics. Our graduate faculty pool can easily provide services to our current student population. The department typically offers 3 graduate courses per semester; in addition the faculty is engaged in mentoring Thesis work. We believe that our full time faculty resources have a potential to deliver 4-5 courses per semester and mentor more students with the current pool. Increase in the number of graduate courses would create a shortage of instructors for our undergraduate courses, but this void could be easily covered with an adjunct pool. b) Curriculum (174 /250 wds) The areas of knowledge in Computer Science field are ever-changing and expanding daily. The rapid change in relevancy of material, methods and policies used in the industry creates challenges in the academic environment. In order to address those changes, the department proceeded with a completely new program proposal. This proposal was approved, and the first courses from the new program are offered in Spring We believe that the new program is more relevant, updated, but still rigorous. With this new program we expect Southern to be more attractive for in-state students. The curriculum is structured in such a way to enable students to gain depth and breadth in the Computer Science areas. Students are expected to take 4 core courses (foundations) + 4 concentration courses (depth) + 2 courses from outside the concentration (breadth) + the capstone experience (6 credits of thesis work).

11 At this point we offer two concentrations (considered to be hot in the industry): 1.) Software Development and 2.) Cybersecurity. More concentrations could be added depending on the students; interests. c) Dynamic (287/300 wds) Given the speed of changes in the Computer Science areas of knowledge, it is crucial to have a dynamic and up-to-date curriculum. During the tenure of our original program (started in Fall 2001), the department had been constantly adapting existing courses to new materials. New additional courses had been proposed numerous times, but the amount of changes reached the point where a new program was deemed inevitable. New program was approved and its first offerings were scheduled for Spring Faculty driven: Our faculty loves exploring new technologies and methodologies. This is evident in frequent syllabus changes that include new materials, lab exercises, and methods of delivery. Again, the new program was a result of the curricular changes that needed a completely new program framework. Student driven: Our classes are structured to enable students to research the Computer Science field with their own indecent eyes. Majority of our classes include student projects, where students propose projects according to their interests. Completed projects are presented in the classroom, hence enabling students to learn from each other, become experts in the presented area, and brush upon their communication skills. Students suggested topics serve as a guideline for the next offering of the same course, or a suggestion for a new one. Assessment cycle observed: Goals and objective are clearly posted on each course s syllabus. During the last presentation session, students and the instructor discuss the achievements of such objectives. Also faculty frequently engages in the discussion of quality of the achievements, and possible changes are suggested and implemented. Alumni are easily tracked by means of personal contacts, and are surveyed. Alumni get-together meetings are organized for the networking and datagathering purposes. Facebook alumni webpage is the process of updating. d) Other (135 /200wds.) The quality of incoming students is reasonably strong. (E.g. average GPA for Sp 12 was 3.38, Fa ). Our typical student has a daytime job taking classes parttime. This yields to a level of maturity ad clear expectations. Some quality students do not complete their graduate work due to their early career achievements: they

12 would obtain a better job position before they completed their thesis work and would never return back to Southern. Or new program is carefully designed to fill the gap that exists in the state. For example: University of New Haven had a long standing Computer Forensics program, but our new concentration in CyberSecurity would not overlap with UNH. We believe that our program could benefit from a slight increase in the number of applicants given the resources we already have.

13 5. Quality of Program Outcomes a) Assessment Data/ Outcomes (892/900 wds) ( 2 graduate school provided tables not counted) Given that we do have a very new program we present two lists of program outcomes: for the old and the new programs: [ Old Program] Upon successful completion of the MS in CS program, graduates will be: Able to demonstrate knowledge of theoretical foundations and formal LO #1 methods in computer science. LO #2 Able to communicate effectively.(written and oral) Able to analyze and evaluate existing computing solutions and create LO #3 innovative solutions to research problems utilizing current/emerging computing technologies. Prepared for employment in a computing-related industry or for LO #4 further post-graduate study. [ New Program] Upon successful completion of the MS in CS program, graduates will be: able to demonstrate sophisticated knowledge of software design and LO #1 development cycle able to engage and apply secure practices in any computing LO #2 environments LO #3 able to communicate effectively in both a written and oral manner. able to analyze and evaluate existing computing solutions and create LO #4 innovative solutions to research problems utilizing current or emerging computing technologies, prepared for employment in a computer-related industry or for further LO #5 post-graduate study The new program first course offerings are scheduled for Spring At this point there is neither data collection nor analysis phase. To discuss assessment methods for data collection we used in the old program we provide the following table: Learning Outcome LO #1 What and Where 3 core courses Focus primarily on the theoretical foundations and formal methods of computer science. How Individual student homework assignments, examinations and final projects;

14 CSC 521: Algorithms: Students are required to analyze and develop both the theoretical and empirical complexity of a variety of algorithms. Graduate Alumni Survey LO #2 LO #3 LO #4 CSC 523: Formal Languages: Students are required to design and implement automats. Students are also required to conduct independent research in areas of theoretical computation. CSC 525: Advanced Operating Systems: Students are required to implement at least one project where a theoretical result is used to guide the design of a computer system. Effective communication, both written and oral, is required in almost every course. The application of theoretical foundations and the use of various technologies to solve relevant problems are addressed in almost every course in the curriculum. To prepare students for employment or post-graduate study, students are required to conduct research in most of their graduate courses. In addition, in several courses, students are required to complete a software development cycle through the constructs of a team and in particular, to develop the skills to establish Numerous oral presentations and formal written documents (e.g., project proposals, article critiques, literature reviews) culminating in the final capstone requirement (oral defense and written thesis); Graduate Alumni Survey Final course projects are required. Additionally, the final thesis project often addresses every aspect of LO #3; Graduate Alumni Survey Evaluation of research projects; Evaluation of various components of group work; Graduate Alumni Survey

15 communication channels and a means of assigning and managing individual responsibilities. The next table provides a description of resources used by the department for external validation of curricular components and measurement. Resource Technical Advisory Committee Student In-Class Survey Alumni Survey Resource Detail The Technical Advisory Committee is composed of local employers in the area (some of which are employers of graduates of our graduate program). It meets every third year to review our curriculum and to advise the department on our program outcomes and curricular issues. The in-class survey is given to our current graduate students and is designed to gather information about the strengths and weaknesses of our program. A summary of the survey results are distributed to all members of the Computer Science faculty. The in-class survey is conducted every third year.. The alumni survey is designed to gather information including job placement, graduate school information, and the strengths and weaknesses of our program. A summary of the survey results is distributed to all members of the Computer Science faculty. The alumni survey is conducted every third year. During the last assessment cycle (Spring 2010) these were the recognized Strengths and Weaknesses (based on the different surveys data.) Strengths: Faculty Students Curriculum Weaknesses Low Enrollment Alumni tracking Graduate Students Governance Frequent Changes to Planned Program of Studies due to Course Availability The program has invested resources to address the weaknesses: creating a new program to attract more students, creating a Facebook page, having a carefully designed course schedule cycle. The tables provided by the graduate school follow: Fall '08 Spr '09 Fall '09 Spr '10 Fall '10 Spr '11 Fall '11 Spr '12 Fall '12 Spr '13 Fall Avg Spr Avg Students

16 Overall GPA Majority of students that decide not to come back for the thesis completion do start their thesis development, and would keep an F in their CSC 590 (Thesis Development course). This certainly would push to lower GPA-s. Course Information Survey 08/09 09/10 10/11 11/12 12/13 Statement SA/A SA/A SA/A SA/A SA/A Methods of instruction have helped me understand the subject matter. 95% 91% 84% 86% 50% Reading the assigned material has helped me understand this subject. 78% 82% 90% 84% 50% Exams and out-of-class assignments have helped me understand the subject matter. 92% 95% 88% 88% 83% Number of exams & other graded assignments has been sufficient to evaluate my progress. 79% 77% My experiences in this class make me want to learn more about this subject. 76% 95% I would rate the quality of instruction in this course as high. 88% 90% I would rate the overall quality of this course as high. 88% 86% This course helped me meet the learning goals. 88% 86% 67% This course evaluated how well I met those learning goals. 91% 86% 67% My experience in this course helped me appreciate this subject. 91% 91% 83% The instructor provided regular feedback on my performance in this course. 78% 77% 50% The instructor had high standards for student achievement. 81% 93% 83% The instructor encouraged me to take responsibility for my own learning. 94% 98% 100% All the percentages show a strong perception of the program quality, except for the 12/13 in certain areas (50%). If one is to analyze the first 3 rows in the last column ( 12/13), one could conclude that only the given exams helped students (83%), but not the readings (50%) nor instruction methods (50%) The department is trying to understand the reasons for the students 50% response, but will still continue to assign reading materials. We believe that this is an outlier due to low number of students taking the

17 survey, plus the students constant exposure to multitude of surveys could have desensitized them in asking for honest answers. b) Other (92 /300 wds) Limited number of our students decides to continue their academic pursuit at the PhD. Level (E.g. A.P. and R.S.) The students reported that they felt well prepared for such an endeavor. All of our students and their careers benefit from the program. For example S.K was asked, after his degree completion, to become a director of IT & Surveillance at an international resort. A number of our students attempted and successfully completed industry certification. They reported that the skills and knowledge obtained at Southern certainly made it easier to achieve this goal.

18 6) Size, scope and productivity of the program a) 08/09 09/10 10/11 11/12 12/13 Credits Generated Total Academic Credits Major Credits Total Students Non Major Credits % b) Master of Science in Computer Science c) Degrees Conferred 08/09 09/10 10/11 11/12 12/13 MS-Computer Science d) Faculty Research/Creative Act( 129 / 200wds) Publications Type of Publication Book, Scholarly-New Conference Proceeding Journal Article, Academic Journal Other Professional Presentations Presentation Type Oral Presentation Paper Poster

19 Professional Conference Participation Role Attendee Contracts, Grants and Sponsored Research Type Grant The provided tables do not capture all of the activities. For example: The following peer-reviewed article in a nationally recognized journal is not captured: [2012] J. Skorin-Kapov, D. Skorin-Kapov, H. Podnar, "Core Node Location Problem: Heuristic Solvability via Tabu Search," International Journal of Operations and Quantitative Management Vol. 18(1), Our last Graduate Program Review report (2010) stated the following performance over the assessment cycle (5 years): the faculty as a whole has contributed by attending 93 workshops and conferences, publishing 3 books, 12 journal articles, 120 other publications/scholarly work and 45 grants totaling almost $160,000 in grant money. This category within P&T process also includes completed software products. Almost all of our graduate thesis include strong software component, and one of the expected deliverables is a software product. e) Student/Faculty Research (77 /100 wds) The Student-Faculty research collaboration is done typically through our thesis development phase. Some of the thesis would generate a professional conference presentation. Examples: A Performance Model of Gossip-Based Update Propagation Student: Dhar R. Faculty: Antonios I. Venue: th IEEE International Symposium on Network Computing and Applications. Analyzing PHP frameworks for use in a project-based software engineering course Student: Katha S. Faculty: Lancor L. Venue: 2013 Proceeding of the 44th ACM technical symposium on Computer science education.

20 f) Impact (180 /200 wds) We believe that the thesis development is the driving force behind our student based research. Unfortunately the thesis option typically requires more time, and as such, prolongs the students graduation. But the benefits of the thesis work are clear: the students are immersed in the research process and are proud of their research contributions. Impact on Size: The completed research projects (including thesis) certainly generate interest from stringer prospective candidates. On the other hand the graduation period takes more time. We could conclude that the impact on size is minimal. Impact on Scope: The thesis work is typically done with most recent technologies and methods, and as such would not be able to be delivered within a structured graduate course. The thesis topics are diverse, and technically very challenging. We would conclude that the impact on scope is significant. Impact on Productivity: The students taking the thesis option take more time to graduate. On the other hand, the department faculty clearly benefit by having additional research projects and publication possibilities. We would conclude that the impact on productivity is significant. g) Other ( 59 /100 wds) The department purchases: Super-Computer purchase ($30K) devoted to our graduate classes and thesis, Hardware modules purchases for our graduate students thesis For our courses, and thesis, we usually converge to open source solutions, but do provide our students with the latest solutions given their thesis projects (OpNet, Zigbee boards..) A number of GRF with our students were awarded.

21 7) Revenue and other resources generated by the program a) 7a 7a 7a Display Orgn Code Prioritization Pgm for Reports Fiscal Year Student Tuition and Fees Other Revenue Sources Grand Total Revenue MS-CSC ,045 32, , MS-CSC ,765 56, , MS-CSC ,367 48, ,383 b) ( 6 / 50 wds) No Lab nor Special User fees. c) ( 6/ 50 wds) No Service Revenue (external / internal). d) ( 77 /100 wds) Research oriented classes and some thesis work do require special hardware and/or software. Ownership of such resources can certainly help in delivering specialized courses and provide more opportunities for student thesis. For example, parallel computer, virtual reality, servers, forensic software/hardware and such would be beneficial to the program. A number of prospective students are inquiring about possibility of Assistantships. Given the fast changing areas of Computer Science,, faculty training and certifications would prove beneficial to the program. e) ( 22 / 100 wds)a During the last assessment cycle (2010) the program reported 45 grants totaling almost $160,000 in grant money (over the 5 year period).

22 8) Costs and other expenses a) Displa y Orgn Code a 8a 8a 8a 8a Employee Compensation Allocated Overhead and Indirect Costs Grand Total Costs Net Income / (Loss) Per BCH Pgm Fiscal Year Operating Expenses MS- CSC 2010 (156,419) (1,628) (89,237) (247,284) (132.06) MS- CSC 2011 (134,410) (4,802) (82,695) (221,907) (39.38) MS- CSC 2012 (121,530) (2,920) (80,948) (205,397) b) 8b Display Orgn Code Prioritization Pgm for Reports Fiscal Year Ratio of Costs to Revenue MS-CSC : MS-CSC : MS-CSC : 1.00 c) New Resources ( 96 / 200 wds) We believe that with the current level of students the department has enough faculty resources to support the program. We also believe that the new program, with the first course offerings in Spring 2014, is very attractive, and could result in an increase in the student population. A significant increase in the population would create a need for more lab space (almost all of our grad courses are taught in our labs) and possibly a faculty. To keep current with the new methods and technologies the department would benefit from a continuing support for new hardware/software.

23 d) ( 81 /100 wds) During Summers, the program offers pre-requisite courses. Occasionally a course or two would be offered during Summers, based on the students interest. The program rarely offers graduate cross-listed courses. Delivery of courses in a lab environment; speeding up the learning process by engaging students to work in teams and to proceed with presentations to teach each other. Teaching Concepts rather than Steps. All classes offered in the evenings (5 or 7:30pm) (to cater to our student body: working part time students).

24 9) Impact, justification, and overall essentiality of the program a) (100/100 wds) Given our program Learning Objectives, we believe that our graduates would gain knowledge, skills and perspectives for active participation in rapidly changing global society. Our classes are structured to enable students to grasp the latest technologies and methodologies. Given this focus on students as an integral part of the program, the students embrace the program as their own, taking ownership of their work within the program and long after the graduation ( life-long learning ). Majority of our students work in Connecticut, hence creating opportunities to the students and the companies in the state. Our graduates do experience advancements in their careers. b) (85 / 100 wds) Majority of our students work in Connecticut, and do experience a career advancements after the graduation. We also have a noticeable interest coming from our Veterans office. We also believe that our students are not just becoming experts in the latest technologies and methodologies, but also are embracing ethical and fair practices in order to protect any wrong doing in the digital space. We also take students that do not have Computer Science undergraduate major. This would provide opportunities for retraining on the graduate level. c) ( 56 / 100wds) During the development of the newly offered program, the department proceeded with a needs assessment, and thoroughly researched the other programs in the region. After the careful consideration, the department decided to focus its efforts on two areas of concentration, in order to cover a gap, and at the same time create a demand for Southern. d) ( 38 / 100 wds ) Our alumni report that the gained knowledge helped them in their careers. They also report that they liked small class sizes, constant hands-on labs and frequent presentations. In additions they value diversity, networking opportunities, and lifelong learning prospects.

25 10) Opportunity analysis of the program a) External (155 /300 wds) The department feels that an increase in the number of application would be rather beneficial to the program. The department does invite (every 3 years) a panel of advisors from local companies (TAC) and inquires about the recent practices, and possible curricular changes based on the companies needs. More exposure and publicity to regional companies would be beneficial. Approach to our Veterans with a possibility of training on the graduate level might improve the number of prospective students. Our Alumni are perceived as an invaluable resource to the department. Majority of them turn to the department with their questions, internships or just a social call. They are often invited to present during our seminar series, or within a class. There had been some interest from international placement firms to bring a cohort of graduate students. Those efforts failed due to the unfavorable cost structure for such students. The department is considering offerings of online courses. b) Internal (88 / 300 wds) The department believes that can easily create a graduate level course for other departments. One example is a Physics: students in the Applied Physics program are required to take a graduate imagining course. Providing additional courses could only benefit the program, and the students in the program. The department is also willing to provide their expertise in Web services, Databases, Computer Networking, Security and other related disciplines to our campus community. Such efforts would create opportunities for our graduate students to actively participate in projects across the campus.