Computer Science

Program Educational Objectives

Our Program Educational Objectives have been developed by the department of Computer Science and our External Advisory Board which consists of representatives from our program constituencies. The following is from our 2012 Self-Study (Criterion 2, part D): ("The primary program constituencies include (1) undergraduate computer science students and, to a lesser extent, undergraduate students in other majors, (2) employers in the state, region, and the United States federal government, and (3) the people of Upper Cumberland region and the State of Tennessee.")

Current External Advisory Board members include:

• Andrea Brackett, Tennessee Valley Authority Cybersecurity, retired (Knoxville, TN)
• Barney Maccabe, Institute for Computation and Data-Enabled Insight, University of Arizona (Tucson, AZ)
• Chris Smith, Cognizant (Richmond, VA )
• Edward Smith, eviCore Healthcare (Brentwood, TN)
• Jill Moffitt, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) (Cookeville, TN)
• John Seel, Naval Surface Warfare Center (Dahlgren, VA)
• Mike Helmick, Roblox (Seattle, WA)
• Mark Rigney, Selenius Holdings (Atlanta, Ga.)

 

Program Educational Objectives:

1. Professionalism: Our graduates will exhibit the clear communication, responsible teamwork, commitment to quality, personal self-organization, professional attitude, and ethics needed to engage in successful careers in industry, academia, and public service.

2. Leadership: Our graduates will exhibit technical, personal, ethical, and professional leadership in their businesses, professions, and communities.

3. Technical Proficiency: Our graduates will exhibit the technical proficiency and problem-solving skills required to positively impact organizations, people and processes at the local and global levels.

4. Life-long Learning: Our graduates will exhibit an ability to be self-motivated, life-long learners who adapt to new technologies, tools, and methodologies to maintain the ability to respond to the challenges of a changing environment.

 

Process for Reviewing and Revising Program Educational Objectives

Our External Advisory Board (EAB) consists of alumni, industry leaders, and CS faculty from other institutions. We review the PEOs on a bi-annual basis with the board in conjunction with a review of the Department of Computer Science strategic plan, the university mission, and ABET criteria. We review the PEOs with our students on an annual basis at the State of the Department address provided by the department chair in an open forum. In addition, the department chair reviews the PEOs with the CS Student Advisory Council in order to get feedback on the alignment of these objectives with the goals of the student populace. The PEOs are also communicated to the university administration as part of the institutional effectiveness activities that the university engages in as part of its efforts to ensure university accreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSOC). Additionally, these PEOs are communicated to other departments in the College of Engineering as part of the college-wide accreditation activities coordinated by the Dean's Office. 

The Tennessee Technological University mission (stated above) was modified in 2018. The department chair, as a member of the committee tasked with rewriting the mission, was able to directly assess whether the CS program PEOs remained in alignment with the university mission. At that time, no significant changes were required. 

The department uses these communication touch points to gain feedback on its overall strategic plan and its implementation. The strategic plan provides the basis for assessing the broader context in which the curriculum sits. In the past, this activity has included gaining insight on new directions and concerns found in a number of settings from which our constituents operate.