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NEW COURSE PROPOSAL

CPSC 391 Special Projects in Computer Science

  I. Course History

A. Has this course been taught as a "Topics" or Experimental Course"? If so, list previous title and number. (NOTE: Under current guidelines, courses do not have to be taught on an "experimental" basis before being approved.) NO.

B. What were enrollments in all previous offerings? NA

C. When was the course taught? NA

 II. Catalogue Description

A. Department/discipline and proposed number.

· CPSC 391 (Betty Bradshaw has approved the course number)

B. Brief description of course content (include a syllabus).

· Intensive individual investigation of significant research problem under the direction of a faculty member. Minimum GPA applies.

C. Prerequisites.

· CPSC 230 or above

D. Number of credits proposed.

· 1-4 Credits.

III. Relevance and Importance of the course:

A. To department/discipline offerings.

1. What is the reason for this course proposal (i.e., how does it relate to other courses in the department's curriculum)?

Undergraduate research experience gives a unique opportunity for faculty and students to collaboratively investigate their discipline in a way that is not feasible in the classroom. It has been shown that students who participate in research will be more self-confident, have better written and oral communication skills, and an increased interest in pursuing research [8]. We want our students to have the opportunity to conduct research earlier in the curriculum and currently our CPSC 491 Individual Study course requires they complete CPSC 390 Software Engineering, typically these students are second semester juniors and/or seniors. We have made one exception to this policy and the research conducted by the exception (a sophomore) was rewarding both for the department and the student. Therefore we want to expand the undergraduate research possibility to include sophomores and juniors without making exceptions to the pre-requisites. Students who have had the opportunity to take part in undergraduate research experiences consistently report that a research experience is very rewarding and we would like to open this opportunity to all of our majors[2].

References

[1] QUADE, A.M., “Promoting Undergraduate Research: A Classroom Model”, ITICSE ’04, Vol. 35, No.1, 2004, pp. 235.

[2] SCHNEIDER, G.M., “A New Model for a Required Senior Research Experience”, SigCSE Bulletin, Vol 34, No 4, Dec 2002, pp. 48-51.

2. If this course is approved, which course(s), if any, would be deleted from your current offerings?

· NONE

3. Will this course:

a) Be required for the major? NO

b) Be an elective in the major? YES

c) Not count in the major? Students may count this toward major requirements

B. To the Curriculum of the College:

2. How is this course related to the courses in other departments?

· NA

3. Why is the proposing department the appropriate one to offer the course?

· The Computer Science department has the academic and practical skills that are needed to mentor undergraduate research projects. In the department, we have the practical and educational background that is required to teach this course.

IV. Resource Requirements

A. Does the library have the materials needed to support the course (provide a list of material needed for the course that the library does not have on hand)? YES

B. Will this course require staff time from departments other than your own (Audio Visual, Library, etc.)? NO

C. Does the College have the faculty to teach the course (who, and how will this affect their current teaching duties)? YES, The computer science faculty and this course will not affect our current teaching duties. Student would sign up with individual faculty members.

D. Does the College have the equipment, facilities, etc., currently on hand, that will be needed to teach the course, and, if not, tell how and where you will obtain these resources)? YES

V. Effective Date

· Fall of 2007

VI. Each proposal must be signed by the department chair and dated.

NAME ____________________________________________

Signature___________________________________________ date___________________________

VII. Syllabus

Since this course is based on a student working with an individual faculty member on a specific research project no syllabus is used. However, the department does have an individual study application that must be submitted for department approval.

Department of Computer Science

Application for CPSC 391 Special Projects in Computer Science

Instructions: Please complete this form and submit it to the faculty member who will supervise this individual study.

CPSC Department Policy:

Students who wish to enroll in individual study CPSC 391 need to have successfully completed CPSC 230, and should have at least a 2.7 major GPA.

Date of Application:___________

Student Name:___________________________ Phone:____________ Email: ____________

Major Advisor:__________________________ Major GPA:_______ Overall GPA:_______

Class: ______Soph ______Junior ______Senior ______Other(_______)

COMPUTER SCIENCE COURSES COMPLETED (List Grade) and IN PROGRESS (Check):

CPSC 220: _______________ CPSC 230: _______________ CPSC 305: _______________

CPSC 350: _______________ CPSC 390: _______________ CPSC 321: _______________

CPSC 326: _______________ CPSC 401: _______________ CPSC 405: _______________

MATH 300: ______________ MATH 312: ______________ MATH 351: ______________

(300-400 LEVEL ELECTIVES)

           CPSC _____ : __________    CPSC  ____ : ________   MATH ____: _______    

Topic of Study:___________________________________________________

Course Title:_____________________________________________________

Supervising Instructor____________________________________________

Credits: _____

Semester: Fall ____ Spring ____ Summer ____

Fill in each section with a detail description.

· Description.

· Calendar. Give the schedule for your work in this individual study:

· How will your performance in this course be evaluated?

· Why do you prefer this individual study rather than enrolling in an offered elective?

· Special hardware or software needs and associated costs:

Approval Supervising Instructor___________________________

Departmental Approval:

E. Ackermann ________________________________

K. Anewalt __________________________________

S Davies____________________________________

Z. Petkovic ___________________________________

J. Polack-Wahl ______________________________

M. Zaidman____________________________________