Course Group Reports
(This page obsolete and has been
replaced.)
This page is obsolete and has been
replaced.
The most recent report for each course group may be accessed by following the
corresponding link. Complete details of the course group mechanism appears
below the list of reports.
- Software Spine
(previous report)
- Programming Languages
(previous report)
- Computer Graphics
- Software Engineering
- Theoretical Foundations
- AI
- Networking
- Database
- Operating Systems (pdf)
- Computer Architecture
Background and Details
Many of the courses in our undergraduate and graduate programs are,
of course, closely related to each other. Historically, coordinators
of strongly related courses have interacted informally and on an
as-needed basis, appraising each other of changes in one course that
may have impact on a related course. Following extensive discussion in
the Curriculum Committee and in the Undergraduate Studies
Committee we established the mechanism of Course Group Reports
(CGRs) to both help these efforts as well as to document them.
All regular CSE courses are organized into groups of related courses.
Coordinators of courses in each group are expected to interact with
each other and with faculty (including part-time faculty) who
regularly teach the courses in question on a regular basis to keep
track of any problems that might arise, or to identify any changes
that might be appropriate to make in the courses, etc. Ideas for any
substantial changes in any
course will, naturally, have to be brought to the Curriculum
Committee for action in the usual manner. In addition, the
coordinators of each group will present a status report on this group
of courses to the Curriculum Committee on a regular basis, perhaps once every
two or three years. For each course in the group, the report should
address such questions as:
- Are the course objectives appropriate?
- Are the current pre-requisites appropriate? Are the pre-req
courses not covering any material that they ought to cover? Or
covering material that should be left to this course?
- Is the current text suitable? Has anything better become
available?
- Student reactions: Does the average student in the course seem
prepared for it? Do most students get the main ideas and skills that
the course is meant to give them? Do they seem to enjoy the course?
Anything unusual about how student reactions were assessed, i.e.,
were anything beyond exams, assignments, and SETs used to assess their
reactions?
- Relation to rest of the program: Is the course helping meet the
overall program objectives in the way it was meant to? Does it fit
well with the other courses in the program?
These reports will provide a record of and rationale for changes
that may take place in the various courses. The reports will also make
it easy for new members of faculty, as well as new students, and
others interested in our programs, to get a feel for why the courses
are the way they are.
The current set of course groups is as follows:
- Software Spine: CSE 221, 222, 321.
- Software Engineering: CSE 560, 757, 758, 601.
- Computer Architecture: CSE 360, 621, 675, 676, 721, 775, 778;
EE 261, 206, 567.
- Theory: Math 366, 566; CSE 541, 625, 680, 725, 727, 780;
Stat 427, 428.
- Databases: CSE 616, 670, 671, 770, 772.
- Programming Languages: CSE 459, 655, 755, 756.
- Operating Systems: CSE 660, 662, 741, 760, 762, 763.
- Computer Networks: CSE 677, 678, 679, 752, 777.
- Computer Graphics: CSE 581, 681, 781, 782, 784.
- Artificial Intelligence: CSE 612, 630, 730, 731, 732,
739, 779.
Comments on any of the individual reports or on the mechanism as a
whole may be sent to
Bruce Weide, Chair of
the Curriculum Committee, or to
Neelam Soundarajan, Chair of
the Undergraduate Studies Committee.