Computing has changed profoundly over the past years in both theory and practice. If our students are to remain competitive in the high-technology market place our curriculum must change in both design and pedagogy.

A new national curriculum has been developed by a joint ACM/IEEE task force to include the latest developments in computing. Our Curriculum Committee started meeting in September 2001 to discuss the new ACM/IEEE Computing Curricula 2001 guidelines for undergraduate programs in Computer Science. After extensive review and contrast of the guidelines and our current program the Curriculum Committee made recommendations to update the Computer Science major.

Courses now required:

· CS 45201 Computer Communication Networks

· CS 43005 Introduction to Database Systems Design

· CS 43901 Software Engineering

The technological changes over the past decade have increased the importance of many curricular topics such as the web and its applications, networking technologies and Internet engineering, software development and database development. Changing the elective courses Software Engineering, Networking, and Database to requirements addresses the latest developments in those areas and also addresses their increased importance in computing technology.

Required new course:

· CS 49901 Capstone Project

The Capstone Project gives the student an opportunity to integrate the material learned in other courses in a large project in an applied, hands-on real world setting.

Courses changed in level:

· CS 35101 Computer Architectures

· CS 33211 Operating Systems

The move of Computer Architecture and Operating Systems from senior to junior level courses gives the students a basic understanding of these fundamental areas before taking on the task of learning the newer technology-driven subjects at the senior level.

Courses dropped as requirements:

· CS 43111 Structure of Compilers

· CS 42201 Introduction to Numerical Computing

· CS 46201 Introduction to Theory of Automata

The removal of these courses as requirements allowed the addition of the new required courses in areas that are more relevant to the students. Students may still take these courses as electives.

Eliminated courses:

· CS 33005 Symbolic Programming Languages

· CS 33003 Computer Organization and Assembly Languages

The material in these courses has been integrated into the other required courses. The eliminated courses allowed for more room in the addition of the new required courses, and for the drop in level of Computer Architecture.

The recommendations were made in March 2002, approved by the University in May 2002, and will become effective in Fall 2003.

The revision should result in a better education for Computer Science majors and bring our program in line with most Computer Science Departments. It is also believed that the revision of the curriculum will make our students more attractive to potential employers and will better prepare them for their future employment. For more information about the curriculum revisions and updates, please contact Undergraduate advisor Dale Haverstock dhaverst@cs.kent.edu or visit www.cs.kent.edu.