CS Program Objectives and Student Outcomes

Program Educational Objectives

Educational objectives describe the career and professional accomplishments that the program is preparing graduates to achieve.

The MSU Denver Computer Science program enables its graduates to become:

• Professionals capable of applying computer science and software engineering principles and practices
• Graduate students in computer science and related fields
• Life-long learners capable of self-study, continuing education and ongoing professional development
• Ethical practitioners in computer science, software engineering and related fields
• Innovators able to respond to technological change and intellectual challenge

The objective of the minor is to produce graduates who have knowledge of programming techniques, upon which they build understanding in at least one other knowledge area from among those listed for the major.

The objective of the service courses is to teach specific programming languages, operating systems, environments, and other specific knowledge. They are to serve the community, other programs within the University, and majors and minors, by teaching application-area-specific knowledge to students.

The overall objective of the Computer Science faculty is to successfully implement the Computer Science major. In order to do this, the faculty have the objectives of successfully teaching a variety of courses, using current technology, giving students hands-on experiences, renewing their professional skills and knowledge base, sharing activities and knowledge with other professionals, and regularly reviewing and updating curriculum based on professional organization guidelines and both student and advisory board input.

Student Outcomes

By the time of graduation, graduates of the program will have an ability to:

1. Analyze a complex computing problem and to apply principles of computing and other relevant disciplines to identify solutions.
2. Design, implement, and evaluate a computing-based solution to meet a given set of computing requirements in the context of the program’s discipline.
3. Communicate effectively in a variety of professional contexts.
4. Recognize professional responsibilities and make informed judgments in computing practice based on legal and ethical principles.
5. Function effectively as a member or leader of a team engaged in activities appropriate to the program’s discipline.
6. Apply computer science theory and software development fundamentals to produce computing-based solutions.

Each of these Outcomes (1-6) are supported by specific knowledge & skills defined as “Performance Criteria” included in the official course syllabi. The performance criteria from the course syllabi are correlated with the Outcomes, 1-6 to ensure that each of these high-level Student Outcomes is supported by course work.