Software Engineering 2014 Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Degree Programs in Software Engineering a volume of the Computing Curricula Series
Program Implementation and Assessment
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- B.19.Faculty
- B.20.Students
- B.21.Infrastructure
- B.22.Industry Participation
- Assessment and Accreditation Issues
Program Implementation and AssessmentCurriculum Resources and InfrastructureOnce a curriculum is established, the success of an educational program critically depends on three specific elements: the faculty, the student body, and the infrastructure. Another important element is ongoing industry involvement with the program. B.19.FacultyA high-quality faculty and staff is perhaps the single most critical element in the success of a program. Faculty resources must be sufficient to teach the program’s courses and support the educational activities needed to deliver the curriculum and reach the program’s objectives. The teaching and administrative load must allow time for faculty members to engage in scholarly and professional activities, which are particularly critical because of the dynamic nature of computing and software engineering. (See CG 1 in Chapter 5.) These faculty members need a strong academic background in software and computing, but they must also have sufficient experience in software engineering practice. At this stage in the development of software engineering as an academic discipline, it can be a challenge to recruit faculty members with the desired combination of academic credentials, effective teaching skills, potential for research and scholarship, and practical software engineering experience [Glass 2003]. Software engineering faculty members should be encouraged and supported in their efforts to become and remain current in industrial software engineering practice through applied research, industry internships, consulting, and so forth. Faculty members with backgrounds in specialized areas of computing may need help in broadening their understanding of current software engineering research and practice. Because software engineering programs generally incorporate significant laboratory and project experiences that go beyond traditional classroom instruction, additional teaching resources are needed to provide adequate supervision of student work. For example, student teams need to meet regularly with faculty or other supervisors to ensure adequate progress and proper application of software engineering practices and processes. This type of laboratory work is considered routine in other engineering disciplines, but the workload requirements it imposes may be less familiar for faculty and administrators with experience in other areas of computing. B.20.StudentsAnother critical factor in the success of a program is the quality of its student body. Admission standards should be adequate to assure that students are properly prepared for the program. Student advising and progress monitoring processes support student retention and help to ensure that graduates of the program meet the program objectives and desired outcomes. Appropriate metrics, consistent with the institutional mission and program objectives, must exist to guide students toward completion of the program in a reasonable period of time and to measure the success of the graduates in meeting the program objectives. Students are a valuable source of information about the effectiveness of the curriculum structure and course delivery. Involving students in professional organizations and other co-curricular activities can enrich a program’s learning environment and support program assessment and continuous improvement. B.21.InfrastructureThe program must provide adequate infrastructure and technical support. These include well-equipped laboratories and classrooms, adequate study areas, and laboratory staff capable of providing adequate technical support. Student project teams need adequate facilities for team meetings, inspections and walkthroughs, customer reviews, and effective communication with instructors or other supervisors. The program must also ensure access to sufficient reference and documentation material as well as library resources in software engineering and related computing disciplines. Maintaining laboratories and a modern suite of applicable software tools can be a daunting task because of the dynamic, accelerating pace of advances in software and hardware technology. Nevertheless, as pointed out earlier in this document, it is essential that students gain experience using appropriate and up-to-date tools. An academic program in software engineering must have sufficient leadership and staff to provide proper program administration. This should include adequate levels of student advising, support services, and interaction with relevant constituencies such as employers and alumni. The advisory function of the faculty must be recognized by the institution and must be given appropriate administrative support. There must be sufficient financial resources to support the recruitment, development, and retention of adequate faculty and staff; the maintenance of an appropriate infrastructure; and all necessary program activities. B.22.Industry ParticipationAn additional critical element in the success of a software engineering program is the involvement and active participation of industry. Industry advisory boards and industry-academic partnerships help maintain curriculum relevance and currency. Such relations can support various activities including programmatic advice from an industry perspective, student and faculty industry internships, integration of industry projects into the curriculum, guest lectures, and visiting faculty positions from industry. Assessment and Accreditation IssuesTo maintain a quality curriculum, a software engineering program should be assessed regularly. Many feel assessment is best accomplished in conjunction with a recognized accreditation organization. Curriculum guidance and accreditation standards and criteria are provided by a number of accreditation organizations across a variety of nations and regions [ABET 2014a, ABET 2014b, BCS 2001,CEAB 2002, ECSA 2000, King 1997, IEI 2000, ISA 1999, JABEE 2003]. In some countries, assessment is a carried out by the government under a standard predefined curriculum model or set of curriculum standards and guidelines. At the time of this report, ABET had accredited 28 undergraduate programs in software engineering, most of them in the United States. Specific criteria for software engineering programs are included in the ABET Criteria for Accrediting Engineering Programs [ABET 2014b]. Accreditation typically includes periodic external program review, which assures that programs meet a minimum set of criteria and adhere to an accreditation organization’s standards. A popular approach to assessment and accreditation is an outcomes-based approach for which educational objectives and/or student outcomes are established first; then the curriculum, an administrative organization, and the infrastructure needed to meet the objectives and outcomes are put into place. The assessment should evaluate the program objectives and desired outcomes. as well as the curriculum content and delivery, and it should serve as the primary feedback mechanism for continuous improvement. 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