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1 Revised 14 December 2016

Computer & Information Sciences Program Review

2015

Mission Statement

The BYUH CIS department seeks to prepare students for exciting work in the fields of computer science, information systems, and information technology, with special emphasis on careers in their native countries. Faculty teach current information technology skills and information systems concepts for emerging industry, government, and community needs. By providing students with a wide variety of practical, hands-on experiences in individual and teamwork settings, problem-solving, business communication, programming, and technical capabilities are developed and refined.


Contents Program Review ............................................................................................................................................ 4

Computer & Information Sciences Overview ............................................................................................... 4

Timeline..................................................................................................................................................... 4

1975 ...................................................................................................................................................... 4

1980 ...................................................................................................................................................... 4

1983 ...................................................................................................................................................... 4

1987 ...................................................................................................................................................... 4

1989 ...................................................................................................................................................... 4

1990s ..................................................................................................................................................... 4

2000s ..................................................................................................................................................... 5

University Mission Statement and Vision (BYU-Hawaii) ............................................................................... 5

CIS Department Mission Statement ............................................................................................................. 6

Assessment Methodology ............................................................................................................................. 8

Organization of the Program Review ...................................................................................................... 10

Assessing Program Quality .......................................................................................................................... 10

Student Learning and Assessment .......................................................................................................... 10

Level of achievement of academic standards for success .................................................................. 10

Routine utilization of assessment results for program planning and improvement .......................... 12

Current methods/procedures for assessing achievement of student learning outcomes ................. 12

Impact of program improvements on student learning ..................................................................... 12

Impact of program improvements on student learning ..................................................................... 13

Student Satisfaction ................................................................................................................................ 13

Graduates’ Success ................................................................................................................................. 15

Academic Curriculum .............................................................................................................................. 15

Alignment between courses and Program Learning Outcomes ......................................................... 15

Scaffolding and scheduling of courses so students can follow the best sequence ............................ 16

Faculty Quality ........................................................................................................................................ 19

Assessing Program Sustainability ................................................................................................................ 21

Student Retention, Attrition, and Graduation ........................................................................................ 21

Contributions to the University .............................................................................................................. 23


Mission alignment ............................................................................................................................... 23

External accreditation ......................................................................................................................... 23

Unique contributions .......................................................................................................................... 23

External recognition ............................................................................................................................ 23

Societal and Professional Demand ......................................................................................................... 23

Strengths of our program ................................................................................................................... 23

Facing future challenges ..................................................................................................................... 24

Appendix ..................................................................................................................................................... 25

Recommendations and Actions Taken Since Last Program Review. ...................................................... 25

Major and Minor Requirements ............................................................................................................. 26

Admission Requirements (12 hours) ................................................................................................... 26

Core Requirements (41 hours) ............................................................................................................ 26

Math and Sciences Requirements (7 hours) ....................................................................................... 27

Supplemental Courses (0 hours) ......................................................................................................... 27



Advanced Content Area Electives (9-11 hours) .................................................................................. 28

Fundamental Skills in an Employment Environment (15 hours) ........................................................ 28



Mathematics Requirements (6 hours) ................................................................................................ 29

Elective Requirements (9 hours) ......................................................................................................... 29

Electives (6 hours) ............................................................................................................................... 31

CIS Course Listing .................................................................................................................................... 32

COMPUTER & INFORMATION SCIENCES (CIS) .................................................................................... 32

COMPUTER SCIENCE (CS) .................................................................................................................... 33

INFORMATION SYSTEMS (IS) ............................................................................................................... 34

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) ....................................................................................................... 35

Works Cited ................................................................................................................................................. 38


Program Review

Computer & Information Sciences Overview Timeline 1975

• Brigham Young University Hawaii (BYUH) begins offering a class in computer science. It focused on algorithms and the use of calculators in science classes.

• A Texas Instruments five function calculator costs $90. • The first PC in kit form, an Altair 8800 designed by Ed Roberts, appears on the cover of Popular

Electronics in January (Velt, 2002).

1980 • BYUH begins offering an Associates in Computer Science degree. • The Osborne 1, a “portable” computer about the size of a small suitcase is produced. It weighs

24 pounds (Carlson & Hall, 2012).

1983 • The business department begins offering the Computer and Information Systems major. The

new major is mostly business, accounting and economics classes with two courses in computer science.

• Apple releases its personal computer, Lisa, with a mouse, pull-down menus, and icons (White, 2005).

1987 • BYU Hawaii reshapes the CIS major into the Information Systems major. • Apple releases the Macintosh II and Macintosh SE. • IBM releases the PS/2 personal computer with VGA technology and a 3.5” disk storing 1.44

megabyte (White, 2005).

1989 • World Wide Web is created.

1990s • BYUH refines the Information Systems major to include emphasis areas in database, accounting,

and economics. • Linux is born (1991) • Java, the dominant language for Internet programming, is created by Sun Microsystems • Intel launches Pentium-class microprocessors (1993) • Ruby programming language • World Wide Web is privatized as businesses take on responsibility fund Internet infrastructure

and business presence on the Web grows exponentially (1995) • Salesforce.com pioneers providing access to enterprise applications through a Web browser

(1999)


2000s • BYUH moves the Information Systems department into the newly formed School of Computing,

joining the Computer Science and Mathematics departments (2005). • The Pentium D, Intel’s first dual-core 64-bit desktop processor was born (Intel, 2005) • Amazon begins offering IT infrastructure services in the form of web services (2006). • Samsung releases first mass market solid state disk drive (2006) • Hadoop appears as the first of a family of applications targeting distributed storage and

processing of massive data sets (2006) • BYUH reorganizes departments university wide into four colleges of more uniform size. The

School of Computing is dissolved, and the Computer and Information Sciences Department joins the College of Business, Computing, and Government (2007).

• Sun Microsystems introduces the modular data center (a datacenter in a shipping container), transforming the economics of data center technology. (2007)

• Apple launches the iPhone and iPod Touch (2007). • IS, CS, and IT are managed by a consolidated Computer and Information Sciences department

made up of faculty from the Computer Science and Information Systems departments (2008). • BYUH launches the Information Technology major (2008) • Microsoft launches Xbox Kinect, popularizing motion-controlled computing (2010) • Facebook launches OpenCompute project to help standardize and share data center innovations

(2011) • SAP introduces its HANA platform, pioneering SAP’s vision of in-memory computing (2011) • Oculus Rift begins shipping development version of its virtual reality headsets (2013)

Keeping up with technology, the demands of employers, and—most importantly—the needs of our students is a constant and increasingly rewarding challenge. Our faculty and staff are dedicated to the premise that our curriculum, department resources, and programs must be constantly reviewed, updated, and tuned. Our yearly assessment program and five-year program reviews help facilitate a regular formal analysis and discussion of our department.

To understand and appreciate the CIS program at BYUH, an understanding of the unique mission statement and vision of the university is necessary.

University Mission Statement and Vision (BYU-Hawaii) The mission of Brigham Young University–Hawaii is to integrate both spiritual and secular learning, and to prepare students with character and integrity who can provide leadership in their families, their communities, their chosen fields, and in building the kingdom of God.

Brigham Young University–Hawaii, founded by prophets and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, exists to assist individuals in their quest for perfection and eternal life and in their efforts to influence the establishment of peace internationally.

We seek to accomplish this by:

1. Educating the minds and spirits of students within an intercultural, gospel-centered environment and curriculum that increases faith in God and the restored gospel, is intellectually enlarging, is character building, and leads to a life of learning and service.


2. Preparing men and women with the intercultural and leadership skills necessary to promote world peace and international brotherhood, to address world problems, and to be a righteous influence in families, professions, civic responsibilities, social affiliations, and in the Church.

3. Extending the blessings of learning to members of the Church, particularly in Asia and the Pacific.

4. Developing friends for the university and the Church. 5. Maintaining a commitment to operational efficiency and continuous improvement.

CIS Department Mission Statement The BYUH CIS department seeks to prepare students for exciting work in the fields of computer science, information systems, and technology, with special emphasis on professional careers in their native countries. Faculty teach current information technology skills and information systems concepts for emerging industry, government, and community needs. By providing students with a wide variety of practical and hands-on experiences in individual and teamwork settings, problem solving, business communication, programming, and technical capabilities are developed and refined.

An integration of this knowledge with a brief demographic view of our CIS student body will provide an appreciation for the unique opportunities and challenges afforded an international school poised in the middle of the Pacific Ocean where there is a blending of cultures from over 70 countries. In the Fall of 2014, university enrollment of degree-seeking students BYUH was around 25001 with representatives from 78 nations.

From 2011 through 2014, the CIS department has seen 122 bachelor’s degrees awarded by the University in CS, IS, and IT2. Of these students 29 are from Asia, 33 are from the Pacific Islands, 50 are from North America, 3 are from Africa, and 4 are from South America. Table 1 breaks out these graduates by their chosen major. Error! Reference source not found. below breaks this out into several subsets including home area and academic plan (major).

1 Student Headcounts by Major (http://ir.byuh.edu/sites/ir.byuh.edu/files/Fall%202014%20Headcount%20by%20Major.pdf) lists enrollment for Fall Semesters from 2010 to 2014. According ot this document, the enrollment for Fall 2014 was 2522. However, the Headcount by Country: Fall 2014 document (http://ir.byuh.edu/sites/ir.byuh.edu/files/Fall%202014%20Country%20Headcounts.pdf) lists enrollment at 2481 with 78 countries represented on campus. The discrepancy between these two reports may be the result of counting students who are pursuing two majors more than once. 2 13 students were also awarded a BCIS degree, which is more of a generalist major.

http://ir.byuh.edu/sites/ir.byuh.edu/files/Fall%202014%20Headcount%20by%20Major.pdf

http://ir.byuh.edu/sites/ir.byuh.edu/files/Fall%202014%20Country%20Headcounts.pdf


Table 1. CIS Department Graduates 2010 to Winter 2015 (Data from MAPPER)

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015-Winter

Total

CS3 4 5 5 9 6 8 37 IS4 0 2 7 11 7 0 27 IT5 0 2 12 9 19 3 45 BCIS6 0 6 2 2 2 1 13 Total 4 15 26 31 34 12 122

Preparing our students is at the core of our mission.

From 2011 to 2014, we observed a steady increase in the number of graduates in our department. Since 2013, we’ve seen a decline in IS graduates and IS enrollments. This may be a result of students migrating from IS to IT, particularly if students wish to pursue a career in computing, but may not desire to complete the coursework associated with economics and accounting required for the IS majors. During this same time and the following year, our overall enrollment in CIS majors has increased from 160 to 180.

For Fall 2014, BYUH Institutional Research reports that approximately 1/3 of students are from the Asia/Pacific region. According to the data just listed, 52% of the graduates from the CIS department are from the Asia/Pacific region. Approximately 24% of our students during this time period were from Asia, and about 27% were from the Pacific Islands. This is significant given that Asia and the Pacific Island have an almost dipolar approach to education styles. The following anecdote from former BYUH President Eric B. Shumway illustrates the difference in these approaches well:

A student from Japan approached me after class one day deploring my teaching as overbearing and far too zealous—passionate was the word he used. He felt I was “cramming” the material down his throat. Sure that I had committed a cultural offense in class, I returned sorrowing somewhat to my office. But just three hours later, a Fijian student from the same class came in to thank me for the zeal and enthusiasm with which I taught the class. (Shumway, 1979)

Now that we’ve revealed some insights about our students, let’s look into the CIS curriculum. As published in the Brigham Young University—Hawaii Catalog, the CIS department currently offers three majors in Computer Science, Information Systems, and Information Technology, plus minors in each of these majors.

-------Information from the Catalog--------

3 MAPPER, MRS Completed Alumni, COMPSCBS, CPSCBA, CSBS, 2010 to 2015 4 MAPPER, MRS Completed Alumni, BUSINFOBS, ISBS, 2010 to 2015 5 MAPPER, MRS Complete Alumni, ITBS 6 MAPPER, MRS Completed Alumni, BCIS, 2010 to 2015


All undergraduate degree programs in the Department of Computer & Information Sciences are closed enrollment. Students wishing to major in Computer Science (CS), Information Systems (IS) or Information Technology (IT) begin as Undeclared CIS students (CISUND), complete specific requirements and apply to a degree granting program in the CIS department.

Meeting these minimum requirements does not guarantee admission. Admission is competitive based on available resources. The minimum requirements for application to each program are as follows:

1. Have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher. 2. Receive at least B- in CIS 100 or (IS and IT only). 3. Receive a C (not C-) or better in:

BSCS: CIS 101, CIS 202, CIS 205, IT 280/L.

BSIS: CIS 100, CIS 101, IT 224/L, IT 240, IT 280/L.

BSIT: CIS 100, CIS 101, IT 224/L, IT 240, IT 280/L.

4. None of the above courses may be repeated more than once. 5. No more than three of the above courses may be repeated.

Students wishing to Minor in CS, IS or IT must complete the minor program sheet and have approval from the appropriate program lead before completing upper-division courses in the specific Minor area or CIS 470.

-------End of Information from the Catalog--------

Major and Minor requirements are included in the Appendix

Assessment Methodology Assessment of the CIS department and its ongoing effort to improve student learning are facilitated by CIS Learning Outcomes and major (CS/IS/IT) Learning Outcomes. These Learning Outcomes are included in the University Catalog and were developed in 2007 when the CS, IS, and IT merge was planned. Learning outcomes have been used annually since the 2002-2003 school year to assess our academic programs. Each major is assessed using one CIS Learning Outcome and one major Learning Outcome each year. The CIS Department Learning Outcomes are:

(a) An ability to apply knowledge of computing and mathematics appropriate to the discipline (b) An ability to analyze a problem, and identify and define the computing requirements

appropriate to its solution. (c) An ability to design, implement, and evaluate a computer-based system, process,

component, or program to meet desired needs.


(d) An ability to function effectively on teams to accomplish a common goal (e) An understanding of professional, ethical, legal, security and social issues and

responsibilities. (f) An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences. (g) An ability to analyze the local and global impact of computing on individuals, organizations,

and society. (h) Recognition of the need for and an ability to engage in continuing professional

development. (i) An ability to use current techniques, skills, and tools necessary for computing practice.

Specific to Computer Science are the following Learning Outcomes:

(j) An ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences. (k) An ability to analyze the local and global impact of computing on individuals, organizations,

and society.

Specific to Information Systems is the following Learning Outcome:

(j) An understanding of processes that support the delivery and management of information systems within a specific application environment

Specific to Information Technology are the following Learning Outcomes:

(j) An ability to use and apply current technical concepts and practices in the core information technologies.

(k) An ability to identify and analyze user needs and take them into account in the selection, creation, evaluation and administration of computer-based systems.

(l) An ability to effectively integrate IT-based solutions into the user environment. (m) An understanding of best practices and standards and their application. (n) An ability to assist in the creation of an effective project plan.

The actual assessment process begins with the selection of two Learning Outcomes by each academic program lead viz. CS selects one CIS Learning Outcome from “a” through “i”, and then another from their area, “j” or “k”. IT and IS do the same, and this amounts to six Learning Outcomes assessed each year. An effort to included applicable learning outcomes in each course’s syllabus is in work with the function of reminding our faculty and students of the purpose for each of their classes. Annual assessment includes not only the selection of Learning Outcomes for each major, but a means of assessment to included measurable evidence, finding which are the evidence and actions required based on the assessment performed. Annual assessments for CIS are available for review on the BYUH Assessment website. Each major is listed separately.


Organization of the Program Review This program review is a joint effort by faculty members of the Computer and Information Sciences Department with guidance from the university’s Institutional Research (IR) Department. As shown in the table of contents, this program review is divided into eight self-study areas as recommended by IR:

The first five areas, Assessing Program Quality, are organized as follows:

1. Student Learning & Assessment 2. Student Satisfaction 3. Graduate’s Success 4. Academic Curriculum 5. Faculty Quality

The last three areas, Assessing Program Sustainability, spotlight:

6. Student Retention, Attrition, and Graduation 7. Contributions to the University 8. Societal and Professional Demand

Assessing Program Quality Student Learning and Assessment Level of achievement of academic standards for success Assessing student learning is accomplished each year with the application of specific Learning Outcomes to each academic plan (major); furthermore, each major requires an exit exam for assessment. For Computer Science the practice CS/GRE practice exam is given to verify understanding of key computer science principles. Our Information System majors are also evaluated using a nationally recognized exam, the Information Systems Analyst exam. In the absence of a standardized uniform assessment instrument, Information Technology majors also take the Information Systems Analyst exam prior to graduation. IT majors are also encouraged to successfully pass at least one certification exam, (e.g., CCNA, A+, Network+, or MCSE) prior to completing their studies at BYUH. .

Computer Science The use of the CS Major Field Test as an exit assessment for our graduating computer science majors replaced the CS/GRE practice exam in 2011.

We have the data on 25 of our recent graduates (2011-2015). During that period, the mean scores of our students was 149.4 with a median score of 147 and a standard deviation of 14.1 points. The mean scores for US Domestic students for the same period was 149.5 with a median of 149.0 and a standard deviation of 15.4.


Information Systems Since 2007, assessment of student learning was formalized with the requirement that each student pass the Information Systems Analyst (ISA) exam. This exam covers skill areas determined by the Center for Computing Education Research (CCER). The two 129 question timed exams cover:

1.0 Information Technology Skills

1.1 Software Development

1.2 Web Development

1.3 Database

1.4 Systems Integration

2.0 Organizational and Professional Skills

2.1 Individual and Team Interpersonal Skill

2.2 Business Fundamentals

3.0 Strategic Organizational Systems Development with IS

3.1 Organizational Systems Development

3.2 Project Management

Further decomposition of the skill areas and the number of questions asked are listed in the appendix under ISA Exam Skill Areas.

A broad range of skill areas define the information systems analyst. From the Center for Computing Education Research (CCER) website: “This certification program has been designed for graduating seniors from 4 year undergraduate Information Systems degree programs, especially for those universities following the Information Systems Model Curriculum (ACM, AITP, and AIS sponsored).

A 50% or higher pass in the approximately 3 hour long ISA examination, plus an undergraduate degree, qualifies an individual to receive the title of ISA-Practitioner and at 70% or higher grade, is specified as ISA-Mastery level. A holder of the ISA is automatically enrolled into the ICCP Recertification program.

The ISA program is jointly administered by the ICCP and the Center for Computing Education Research (CCER) - a division of the ICCP Education Foundation.”

Information Systems majors are required to meet certain ISA Exam thresholds before registering for their capstone class, IS 485 which emphasizes the project management of software analysis and development. Thresholds include the following

ISA Exam Part 1, a minimum score of 40%

ISA Exam Part 2, a minimum score of 40 %

An average score of 45% on the two exams.


Use of the ISA Exam has proven effective in providing a high standard of expectation for our IS students. Even with the decline in IS enrollment, the number of students meeting these thresholds has been 100% since 2010.

Our international students, not proficient in English, struggle with the volume of questions in the required time limit. Gap analysis provided by CCER allows students to focus on problem areas and meet the thresholds. The exams are a required part of the Systems Analysis and Design courses (CIS 305 and CIS 405), which allow the students to attempt the exams before their last semester when taking the exam counts for assessment.

Information Technology As mentioned earlier in this report, Information Technology is a relatively new academic plan at BYUH, awarding its first graduate in 2008. Standardized certification exams are available in information technology, but only as they target specific sub-disciplines of information technology (i.e., networking, Windows administration, computer hardware, Linux administration, information security, etc. While faculty continue to consider and evaluate options for a suitable exit exam, IT students are required to take part 1 of the ISA exam. Students are also encouraged to earn at least one IT certification, such as A+, CCNA, or Security+.

Routine utilization of assessment results for program planning and improvement Assessment methodology includes an annual assessment and a program review every five years. The University has formalized assessment under the office of Vice President and provided training and infrastructure to support assessment. Training includes annual conferences with WASC and an award winning website that provides one-stop review and posting of department assessment information.

Current methods/procedures for assessing achievement of student learning outcomes Impact of program improvements on student learning An annual assessment, planned a year in advance, is conducted each Fall semester and presented to an internal committee of experienced educators. Figure 1 illustrates a sample annual assessment from the IS program. Annual assessments since 2003 for all three majors in the CIS department are available for review on the BYUH Assessment website: https://apps.byuh.edu/apps/catalog/efolio/org.php?tree_id=2 each major is listed separately.

https://apps.byuh.edu/apps/catalog/efolio/org.php?tree_id=2


Figure 1 –Sample Assessment Plan from 2014

Impact of program improvements on student learning The impact of program improvements on student learning is difficult to analyze since each Learning Outcome is not assessed every year. Assessment is only recently becoming a mindset that the university and our department embrace. We are moving in that direction and are striving to make assessment second-nature.

Student Satisfaction Graduate Student Survey To measure student’s satisfaction, we analyzed results from the university’s Graduating Student Survey (GSS) for the years 2010 to 2014. In addition, we conducted a focus group of CS, IS, and IT students. Feedback from the survey and the focus group was very enlightening and made us aware of some things we were doing well, and gave us some ideas of things to improve upon.

The GSS for December 2013 – 2014 had 45 respondents who majored in CS/IS/IT. During this time period, the survey was modified to include major-specific questions that were created by individual departments. We report some of those findings below:

Approximately 91% of students were either very satisfied (49%) or satisfied (42%) with the faculty. Comments from very satisfied and satisfied students reflected an appreciation for the fairness, approachability, and knowledge of the faculty members.


60% of respondents felt faculty were very helpful in reaching career goals, while 20% reported the faculty were helpful, and 13% somewhat helpful.

Responses regarding the curriculum were more varied. Only about 78% reported being very satisfied (40%), or satisfied (38%) with the curriculum. 13% reported being somewhat satisfied, and about 8% were only a little or not at all satisfied. An analysis of the text explanations of these ratings from students reveals that, while student in general feel and appreciate the care and expertise of the faculty, there is a sense of disconnect regarding the relevance of some of the curriculum.

The survey also solicited open-ended feedback regarding strengths and areas for improvement for the CIS department. Comments regarding strengths largely focused on the faculty members. Again, students are generally satisfied with their relationships and experiences with the faculty. Suggestions for improving the department focused largely on three areas: 1) deeper integration of activities across courses; 2) more hands on assignments; and 3) more exposure to cutting edge or popular computing topics (robotics, big data, etc.).

Student Focus Group The institutional research department at BYU Hawaii conducted a focus group with 41 students (all three majors included) in two separate class sessions. The anonymized transcripts of the focus group discussions revealed additional insights regarding student perceptions of their experience in our majors. Student satisfaction seems to vary, largely based on pedagogical approaches that fit or do not fit students’ personal or cultural expectations (e.g., lecture vs. lab-based courses; conceptual foundations vs. specific skills, etc.).

Based on the focus group discussions, it appears that quite a few students tend to evaluate their university experience in terms of whether it helps them to develop the narrow / focused set of skills currently emphasized in the labor market. Striking the appropriate balance in a university setting between educating broadly to provide a foundation for maximum adaptation in the future vs. providing training for current employment opportunities is an ongoing challenge in any university environment.

A number of students from the focus group echoed sentiments shared in the graduating student survey—that they prefer hands on labs compared with lectures and simulations. This is predominantly a challenge in the IT major as the faculty have been using the simulations as a means to providing a more relevant assignment environment without taking the time and resources to setup the requisite lab environments.

Some students also expressed frustration that some of the faculty are teaching material that is new to them as well as to the students. This challenge is especially acute in the IT major. One of the causes behind this observation is that students want to have it both ways: they want cutting edge, relevant, and hands-on work while at the same time, they want professors who have industry experience and expertise with the technologies being taught. The reality often becomes, if students want “cutting edge” curriculum, we’re going to have to find a way to make learning along with or just behind the faculty member more manageable.

In general, students are happy with their experiences with the TAs, but they wish TAs had experience in the more advanced classes. This is a challenge as our senior level students are often working other technical jobs on campus that require their skills and / or are very close to graduation, so it is difficult to


find an upper-division student we can invest the time into that will be able to be helpful in tutoring prior to graduation. Additionally, BYUH does not offer graduate degrees. Therefore, we lack a pool of grad students that can serve as teaching assistants.

Graduates’ Success The university alumni office attempts to stay in touch with all our graduates with limited success. Attempts to gather alumni data proved futile as the alumni database is full of holes and repetition ... we recommend their administrators take our IS 350 and IS 450 classes in database design and management. The alumni office is taking steps to improve their processes and data stores. In the mean time, we have worked to keep track of our recent alumni from the last few years using social media channels, and have been able to locate most of our alumni from the 2000s. To our delight, many of them, 100% last year, are gainfully employed or have elected to leave the job market due to desires to raise a family, personal issues, additional schooling, etc.

Academic Curriculum Alignment between courses and Program Learning Outcomes A matrix of classes offered matched against Learning Outcomes outlined in the Assessment Methodology section of this document defines the level at which students learn. The levels are:

I = Introduced, P = Practiced with feedback, M = Demonstrated at the Mastery level

This matrix can be used for each academic plan to help develop the pedagogy for each class


Scaffolding and scheduling of courses so students can follow the best sequence With six academic plans in place—three majors and three minors—our students, advisors and faculty manage to keep order with the use of a combination of a management system created by our own Don Colton and a scheduling tool conceived by Geoff Draper and developed and maintained by Chris Slade. Don Colton’s system, called MAPPER, is used across the university to maintain records of planned course enrollments and course schedules. Chris Slade’s Scheduler web app imports data from MAPPER about planned enrollments and potential conflicts. The Scheduler web app will be demonstrated during the Site Review.


Once the conflict data (i.e., one student planning to take the same two classes in a given term cannot take them during the same time slot) is imported from MAPPER, the courses offered in the upcoming term are identified, along with the number of needed sections, the instructor assigned to that course, and the preferred days for the week for that course to be taught. The following screen shot, Figure 2, shows the Add Courses tab where these activities take place. If additional courses or sections are needed during the planned semester, they can be dragged from the left panel to the right panel of the screen for configuration.

Figure 2. Course Assignment View in Scheduler App


During the faculty planning session, members of the department indicate their preferences for which rooms and time slots they would like to teach each course in. The facilitator (typically Chris Slade) drags the courses to the appropriate cell in the classroom-period matrix on the Schedule tab in the Scheduler app, and the changes are projected onto the screen where all members can see it. We typically schedule the courses with the largest anticipated enrollments first. Figure 3 shows part of the matrix for the schedule for Winter 2015.

Figure 3. Course-Classroom-Period Matrix in Scheduler App


If a course is added to a matrix that creates a conflict with another course scheduled for that same day / time, the Scheduler app will display that data next to the appropriate row in the matrix. Figure 5 shows a sample course conflict.

Figure 4. Sample Course Conflict in Scheduler App

In this example, CIS 470 has 1 student that is also planning to take CS 320 during the planned semester. CIS 470 also has 3 students who are planning to take IT 440 during the same planned semester. If a lot of conflicts are identified, we can quickly assign the course to a different period. If it’s only a few conflicts, we can consult the MAPPER application to identify the students involved in the conflict and to see whether they have room in their planned schedule to take the course in an upcoming semester. The goal is to only schedule classes at the same time that do not conflict, every effort is made to meet this goal, and is a must since we have a small number of faculty and only four classrooms.

Faculty Quality The Faculty of the Computer and Information Sciences (CIS) Department consists of seven full-time faculty members. The department has used special instructors on occasion to meet increased student demand on a short-term basis. Most of our faculty members are contracted to teach 36 credit hours per year—12 credit hours per semester (usually 4 courses) and three semesters per year. One of our faculty members opted for a reduced contract and is contracted to teach 30 credit hours per year. Another faculty member, Jim Lee, is currently serving as Dean and, therefore, has a half-time teaching load.

The department goal is to have no more than 3 course preparations each semester for the faculty. But with the large number of courses to be taught and the small number of faculty, this is not always possible. Faculty members teach courses in their areas of specialization, but also teach courses that benefit all of the CIS degree programs. This allows the department to offer three degrees with only seven full-time faculty members. Once per year, faculty members are eligible for a 3-hour course reassignment to focus on research and/or professional development activities. A second course reassignment can be requested from and approved by the Vice President for Academics.

Student evaluations of the instructor/course are given for every course taught within the department. These evaluations are reviewed by both the Dean of the College of Business Computing and Government (CBCG) and by the Chair of the CIS Department. Faculty members also participate in annual performance reviews with the CBCG Dean. In these performance reviews, faculty goals, research, professional development, service responsibilities and student evaluations are discussed and new goals are set for the upcoming year.


When a faculty position is vacant, a committee is formed with 2-3 faculty members from within the department and 1-2 faculty members from outside the department. The department follows the BYU Hawaii standards for hiring new faculty members, which includes approval of candidates by the university president and by the Church Educational System Board and Executive Board.

Camaraderie is strong among the faculty members of the CIS Department and the faculty have a positive and productive working relationship with each other. For many reasons, including the high cost of living and other challenges associated with living in Hawaii, turnover has traditionally been high. Currently, six of the seven faculty members have joined the BYUH faculty since 2007. There is a strong commitment from the current faculty members to stay for a long period of time; Don Colton has been her for almost 20 years and will be retiring after the Winter 2016 semester. We are hopeful that we are in the midst of an era of stability.

CIS Faculty: The following are brief descriptions of current CIS faculty members. Complete CV's are available in the appendix.

Don Colton, Professor, recently served as the Associate Dean of the College of Business, Computing and Government. Don has been at BYUH since 1997 and has previously served as the Chair of the CIS Department, the Information Systems Department and the Computer Science Department. He completed a PhD in Computer Science and Engineering at the Oregon Graduate Institute of Science and Technology in 1997, an MBA from Brigham Young University in 1978 and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from BYU in 1976. He currently serves on the Curriculum Review Committee and previously served for six years on the Promotion Review Committee including one year as the Chair of that committee. Don is active in the AITP-EDSIG National Board and recently completed a two-year term as the President of the board.

Jim Lee, Professor, currently serves as dean of the College of Business Computing and Government at BYU Hawaii. He came to BYUH from the University of Arizona where he was the Associate Director of the Center for the Management of Information (an NSF University/Industry Cooperative Research Center) for many years. Jim received his PhD in Management Information Systems from the University of Arizona in 1995, a Master of Accountancy from BYU in 1989 and a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from BYU in 1985. He currently serves as the Dean of the College of Business, Computing, and Government.

Chris Slade, Associate Professor, has been at BYUH since August 2007. He is currently a doctoral candidate in Computer Science at the University of Hawaii, with an expected completion date in 2013. He has a Master of Science and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from BYU in 2005 and 2002, respectively. Chris has previously served as the Computer Science Program Lead and the Tutoring Supervisor for the department, and now serves as the advisor to the CIS Club on campus. He is currently focusing his non-teaching efforts on his doctoral dissertation research, Improving Current Threaded Discussion Technology.

Stuart Wolthuis, Associate Professor, has been at BYUH since August 2008. He has a Master of Science in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the University of Florida in 1996 and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Systems Engineering from Arizona State University in 1992. Stuart served in the United States Air Force for many years and retired as a Major in 2008, just prior to joining the faculty at BYUH. He


currently serves as the CIS Department Chair. He plans to begin his doctoral studies in Information Technology at Capella University in the future.

Geoff Draper, Associate Professor, joined the CIS faculty in January 2009. He has three degrees in Computer Science: a PhD from the University of Utah in 2009, and a Master of Science and Bachelor of Science degrees from BYU in 2002 and 2000, respectively. Geoff currently serves as the Computer Science Program Lead and the Tutoring Supervisor for the department. For the past seven years, he has served as the Site Organizer for the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest, which has been held on campus at BYU Hawaii. Geoff is active in various research projects and involves students in these projects, whenever possible.

Aaron Curtis, Assistant Professor, joined the department in July 2009. He received a PhD from Indiana University in Management Information Systems (MIS) in 2009, and a Master of Information Systems Management and a Bachelor of Science in MIS from BYU in 2004. Aaron began servicing as the Information Technology Program Lead in September 2010. He also serves as the department’s Assessment Coordinator. He is actively developing innovative uses of technology in the classroom and has continued to pursue research from his doctoral studies in the area of building trust in virtual teams.

Josh Smith, Assistant Professor, joined the CIS faculty in 2011. He received a Master of Science in Space Studies from American Military University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from California State University, San Marcos. Josh has a broad range of professional experience as a systems engineer and solutions manager in national and multinational organizations. Josh serves as the department coordinator for internships and placement. Josh holds several leading IT certifications including the challenging Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) certification. Josh has successfully introduced innovations into our HCI, Linux, and Security courses, including the design and delivery of a popular “hacking and security” IT course. Josh oversees the BYUH site participation in the annual National Cyber League Ethical Hacking Competition. Josh is currently exploring options for pursing a PhD related to the intersection of astronomical data collection and IT infrastructure.

Assessing Program Sustainability Student Retention, Attrition, and Graduation We are grateful for the students that choose CIS as a field of study. At this time, however, we are not yet attracting the right mix of students. We offer 3 majors in our department, and ideally we would have approximately one-third of our students in each. This is not the case; the largest portion of our students major in IT, currently 28 of our 49 CIS students. By comparison, 16 students are officially and currently active in the CS major, and only 5 are active in the IS major.

Of additional concern, both the CS major and IS major already have students who are mapped to graduate in 2017, whereas, most of the currently active IS majors are mapped to graduate by 2015, with on student mapped to graduate in 2016. This suggests we lack an incoming pool of IS majors compared with CS and IT. An investigation of the intended majors of CIS students who have not yet been formally accepted into the program provides further insight. 15 students are currently active in PRECIS/CS. 5 students are currently active in PRECIS/IS, and 5 students are currently active in PRECIS/IT. An additional 87 students have expressed intent to pursue one of our three majors, but we do not have data as to which of the majors, CS, IS, or IT they plan to pursue.


The table below highlights the focus areas of each major, and the kinds of students we wish to attract to each:

Major Brief summary Ideal for these students... IS Business-oriented; Evaluate and

communicate software/hardware requirements for projects

This major is for students with an inclination towards management and entrepreneurship.

IT Systems administration, networking, security

Students who enjoy tinkering with hardware, managing networks, and deploying software. This major is especially appropriate for students from developing nations where there is little technological infrastructure.

CS Algorithm design, software development

Students who enjoy programming should probably major in CS.

Our department is taking the following steps to better educate our students about the purposes and merits of each of our major programs as well as to recruit additional students into our majors. 1. We have worked to make sure that introductory courses like CIS 100 and CIS 101 include clear explanations about the different majors and career choices for our students. 2. We put together a series of “marketing fliers” advertising our majors and placed them around campus. 3. We launched a Facebook group for CIS students and alumni and have begun posting notable accomplishments of our students and alumni in hopes of helping students stay connected and to help illustrate career options or opportunities they can have in our majors. 4. We put an ad in the student planner, showing the relative starting salary of graduates in CS, IS, and IT, as well as other majors at BYUH (see appendix). CS was highest, followed by IS, then IT. All of our degrees were more lucrative than any major offered by the School of Business, even though they have more students than we do. 5. We participate in “Holomua” - a yearly recruiting program focusing on potential students from Hawaii. Our admissions office sponsors the program and one of our faculty members extols the virtues of our majors. We hope that these efforts will help students choose the major that is the best fit for them personally, and not just because one sounds less demanding than another. We are making efforts also to reduce the number of repeats a student can take, thus motivating students to graduate faster. This might decrease our graduation totals in the short term (due to drop-outs), but it should increase our graduation rates in the long run.


Contributions to the University Mission alignment The programs offered by the CIS department support President Wheelwright’s stated objectivesi:

• To integrate "both spiritual and secular learning. Ours is a student-focused mission." • To prepare students "of character and integrity who can provide in their families, in their

communities and in their professions in building the Kingdom of God."

The three major / minor areas of concentration offered by our department (Computer Science, Information Systems, and Information Technology) are designed to lead students to meaningful careers with skills in sustained demand in the United States and growing demand within our Asia-Pacific target areaii,iii. We expect the skills and understanding acquired through these programs will help students provide for their families and contribute to their professions and to the Church.

External accreditation As a means of benchmarking the preparation of our students, each of the three majors has an external evaluative component. IS majors complete the CCER ISA exam prior to graduation. IT majors must complete a recognized IT-related certification test of their choosing, and CS students complete the CS portion of the GRE exam (MFT).

Unique contributions Students and graduates from our majors are frequently employed to provide technical services that are in strong demand by administrative departments across the university and at the neighboring Polynesian Cultural Center. Our IT students also conduct an annual service learning activity to provide computer hardware repair services to the community.

External recognition Since 2004, the CIS department has sponsored a chapter of the Upsilon Pi Epsilon honor society. The department also regularly sponsors a regional programming competition affiliated with the Association for Computing Machinery, one of the largest computing societies in the world.

Societal and Professional Demand Strengths of our program Demand for graduates from our three programs continues to increaseiv. Outsourcers and other firms in our target area place a strong emphasis on certifications. To stay competitive among other related educational opportunities, our department works to provide an academic environment that is both focused on enduring concepts as well as relevant for students pursuing certifications. For example, in addition to our current external evaluative certifications described previously in this document, we are building a set of SAP courses and a TERP 10 certification program into our curriculum. SAP skills are in growing demand,v particularly for graduates with SAP certifications.


As an additional competitive benefit, students in our programs enjoy the opportunity to work on group assignments in a highly diverse class environment. Learning to collaborate across cultural boundaries is an increasingly valuable skill for IT workers, and BYU Hawaii provides a good atmosphere for learning and practicing those skills.

Many of our students represent the first generation of potential college graduates in their families. Studying CS, IS, and IT at BYUH allows students to grow in an environment with cultural and organizational experience of working with this demographic.

Facing future challenges

Math skills remain a challenge for our students and an impediment for potential students. Programming proficiency is closely tied to a student’s ability to identify and model mathematical relationships and data structures. Many of our students arrive at BYUH with a weak foundation in algebra and other skills necessary for programmatic problem solving. We have tried to mitigate this challenge by required additional coursework in discrete mathematics, but more improvement in this area is needed.

Another ongoing challenge is related to the rate of technological advancement in our fields. In the computing disciplines, we as a faculty must constantly monitor changes in the volatile IT industry related to job demand, new technologies, etc. and adjust our curriculum to stay current so that our graduates are valuable in today’s marketplace. Keeping faculty up-to-date and revising curriculum on a regular basis remains a challenge. This challenge is accentuated by our small department size, which results in a few faculty members needing to stay current in multiple areas so as to meet the breadth of topics required across our majors.


Appendix Recommendations and Actions Taken Since Last Program Review. The Program Review from 2011 culminated in a Department Quality Improvement Plan, which included a number of recommendations from the site visit team. This section will provide an overview of those recommendations and will not any actions that have been taken in the intervening years to respond to those recommendations.

1. The team recommended the formation of an advisory board for the CIS programs, and especially for the IT program. We discussed this recommendation as a department, but we were unable to allocate the faculty time that would be required to form or maintain such a board.

2. The team suggested requiring internships for all of our CIS students. BYUH Career Services does provide resources and access to resources and staff members, and one of the members of the CIS Department is tasked with overseeing and facilitating students in their internship activities. However, the department has concluded that requiring students to complete an internship would require more direct faculty intervention in ensuring that each student had an internship opportunity. The current department approach is that students will have a more successful experience if they take the initiative to set up their own internship. Thus, we have, for the time being, left the internship as an optional, though recommended, component of the CIS programs.

3. The team recommended increasing the practical relevance of the CS program and the attractiveness of the program by aligning the major experience. One of our faculty members headed up a “marketing campaign” that included the development and posting of flyers advertising CS courses along with their relevant skill sets. For example, our Java programming class was marketed as a means of obtaining skills in mobile application development on the Android platform. The catalog names of the courses have not changed, but the awareness of what those courses include has. Enrollment in CS courses has increased, though it is hard to tell if it is a direct result of our marketing efforts.

4. The team recommended increased cooperation between BYUH Office of Information Technology. The team’s report indicates a perception that the CIS Department had been taking on management responsibilities of non-essential infrastructure and that OIT policies and SLAs had not been sufficient to fully support the needs of the CIS department. It is hoped that incremental improvement has been made here, but more improvement could likely be made.

5. The team recommended the consideration of pursuing ABET accreditation. We discussed this as a department, and we didn’t feel the cost and effort involved in pursuing ABET accreditation would translate into sufficient benefit to our students.

6. The team recommended more faculty in the department and / or the college could become familiar with SAP and that the department should offer a third course in SAP. The department now offers a third course in SAP in addition to the two other courses offered in the accounting and management departments. That means our CIS students can now take enough courses within the department to earn the SAP Student Recognition Award. These offerings are in addition to the very popular annual TERP 10 Certification Workshop offered during the summer by Jim Lee.


7. The team recommended that IT certifications (e.g., RHCE / MCSA, CCNA) be required for specific tracks (e.g., systems administration, networking, security, etc.). There was also a recommendation to ensure that the required certification not simply be an entry-level / less-marketable certification, such as the A+, which provides a good foundation, but does not serve well for differentiating job candidates. The challenge with this recommendation is that many of these certifications target practitioners with 3-5 years of experience. Although advanced students with prior computing experience can be—and have been—successful in doing the work to obtain certification with something like RedHat Linux, such work involves significant preparation outside of class that builds on a solid understanding of core concepts. Typically, this means that students with prior computing experience who get A’s in their technical classes are more likely to pass the certification exams. However, the majority of our students do not fit this criteria. Setting this as the bar for graduation requirements would likely not meet our educational objectives at this point. There are an increasing number of “entry-level” certifications for undergraduate students from providers like Microsoft, but these certifications do not have the market value of the professional certifications included in this recommendation.

8. The team recommended that IT review its program for marketability based on a track system. The CIS Department and specifically the IT Program Lead has investigated this option several times and discussed with the faculty. Our core skill sets define our majors but also provide considerable overlap - a track system would require more faculty members with more specific areas of expertise. Additional faculty members would require a significant increase of students enrolled in CIS and specifically IT. This measure is still under review.

Major and Minor Requirements B.S. Computer Science (60 hours)

The Bachelor of Science in Computer Science is a traditional computer science degree. It prepares a student for employment or graduate study in computer science. Students are also prepared to pursue a graduate degree in another technology-related area, business or education.

Admission Requirements (12 hours)

• CIS 101 Beginning Programming (3) • CIS 202 Object-Oriented Programming (3) • CIS 205 Discrete Mathematics I (3) • IT 280/L Data Communications Systems and Networks (3)

Core Requirements (41 hours)

• CIS 206 Discrete Mathematics II (3) • CIS 305 Systems Engineering I (3) • CIS 401 Web Application Programing (3) • CIS 405 Systems Engineering II (3) • CIS 470 Ethics in Computer & Information Sciences (2)


• CS 203 Object-Oriented Programming II (3) • CS 210 Computer Organization (3) • CS 301 Algorithms and Complexity (3) • CS 320 Introduction to Computational Theory (3) • CS 400 Computer Science Proficiency (0) • CS 415 Operating Systems Design (3) • CS 420 Programming Languages (3) • CS 490R Advanced Topics in Computer Science (6) • IS 350 Database Management Systems (3)

Math and Sciences Requirements (7 hours)

• MATH 221 Principles of Statistics I (3) • PHYS 121/L General Physics I/Lab (4)

Supplemental Courses (0 hours)

• MATH 343 Elementary Linear Algebra (4) • PHYS 122/L General Physics II/Lab (4) • PHYS 221/L General Physics III/Lab (4) • CHEM 105/L General Chemistry I/Lab (4) • BIOL 212/L Marine Biology/Lab (4)

B.S. Information Systems (68 hours)


• CIS 100 Fundamentals of Information Systems & Technology (3) • CIS 101 Beginning Programming (3) • CIS 202 Object Oriented Programming (3) • IT 224/L Computer Hardware and Systems Software (3) • IT 240 Fundamentals of Web Design & Technology (3) • IT 280/L Data Communications Systems and Networks (3)


• CIS 205 Discrete Mathematics I (3) • CIS 305 Systems Engineering I (3) • CIS 401 Web Application Development (3) • CIS 405 Systems Engineering II (3) • CIS 470 Ethics in Computer & Information Sciences (2) • IS 350 Database Management Systems (3) • IS 400 IS Proficiency (0) • IS 430 Foundations in IT Services, Enterprise Systems, and ERP Skills (3) • IS 485 Project Management and Practice (3)


• MATH 221 Principles of Statistics I (3)

Advanced Content Area Electives (9-11 hours)

Advanced IS Group (6 hours)

Any additional 400 level courses in CS, IS or IT, or by permission.

Quantitative Group (3-5 hours)

Note: Many Master's Programs require incoming students to have completed calculus.

• Math 112 Calculus I (5) OR CIS 206 Discrete Math II (3) OR MATH 119 Applied Calculus (4)

Fundamental Skills in an Employment Environment (15 hours)

IS professionals must understand their chosen employment environment and prepare to function effectively in it. Each student must complete at least 15 credits in a cohesive body of course work for such an environment.

• ACCT 201 Introduction to Financial Accounting (3) • ACCT 203 Introduction to Managerial Accounting (3) • ECON 200 Principles of Microeconomics (3) • ECON 201 Principles of Macroeconomics (3) • BUSM 242 Ethics and Legal Environment of Business (3)

B.S. Information Technology (68 hours)


• CIS 100 Fundamentals of Information Systems & Technology (3) • CIS 101 Beginning Programming (3) • IT 224/L Computer Hardware and Systems Software (3) • IT 240 Fundamentals of Web Design & Technology (3) • IT 280/L Data Communications Systems and Networks (3)


• CIS 202 Object Oriented Programming (3) • CIS 305 Systems Engineering I (3) • CIS 401 Web Application Development (3) • CIS 405 Systems Engineering II (3) • CIS 470 Ethics in Computer & Information Sciences (2) • IS 350 Database Management Systems (3) • IT 320 Linux Essentials (3) • IT 420/L Linux System Administration (3)


• IT 426 Computer Network Services (3) • IT 427 Windows Desktop Configuration (3) • IT 440/L Foundations of HCI (3) • IT 480/L Computer Network Design (3) • IT 481 Information Assurance and Security (3)

Mathematics Requirements (6 hours)

• CIS 205 Discrete Math I (3) • MATH 221 Principles of Statistics I (3)

Elective Requirements (9 hours)

9 hours in additional CIS, CS, IS, or IT coursework at the 300 level or above.


Bachelors in Computer and Information Sciences (65-66 hours) By permission of the Department Chair only.

Required courses for admission to the major (15 hours)

• CIS 101 Beginning Programming (3) • CIS 202 Object Oriented Programming I (3) • CIS 205/L Discrete Mathematics I/Lab (3) • IT 280/L Data Communications/Lab (3) • Lower division CS/IS/IT (3)

To be accepted into this major, you must pass all courses listed above with a C or better. You must also have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher.

Core Requirements (17-18 hours)

• CIS 206/L Discrete Mathematics II/Lab (3) or Math 119 Calculus (4) [or Math 112 Calculus I (5) or Math 113 Calculus II (5)]

• Math 221 Principles of Statistics I (3) • IS 350 Database Management (3)* • CIS 305 Systems Engineering I (3)* • CIS 405 Systems Engineering II (3)* • CIS 470 Ethics in Computer and Information Sciences (2)*

*classes for admitted majors only

Content Area Electives (18 additional hours)

• Any additional CIS, CS, IS, IT courses • Up to one additional lab-based course in Science beyond General Education Requirements • Up to one additional course in Mathematics numbered 112 or above

Advanced CIS Electives (15 additional hours)

• Upper-division CS, IS or IT courses

1. One grade of D+, D, or D- may be applied toward a Computer Information Systems major 2. One retake is allowed per class, for up to three classes. Additional retakes require special

permission. 3. A department-approved assessment test must be taken during your last full semester at BYUH, and

is recommended annually


Computer Science Minor (18 hours)

• CIS 101 Beginning Programming (3) • CIS 202 Object-Oriented Programming (3) • CS 203 Objected-Oriented Programming II (3) • CIS 205 Discrete Mathematics I (3) • CIS 206 Discrete Mathematics II (3) • Either CS 301 Algorithms and Complexity (3) OR CS 320 Introduction to Computational Theory (3)

Information Systems Minor (18 hours)

• Either CIS 100 Fundamentals of Information Systems & Technology (3) OR IS 330 Management Information Systems (3)

• CIS 101 Beginning Programming (3) • IS 350 Database Management Systems (3) • IT 240 Fundamentals of Web Design & Technology (3)

Electives (6 hours)

Additional 6 credit hours of coursework from the following courses or any 300-400 level CIS course approved by the CIS Department Chair:

• CIS 401 Web Application Development (3) • IS 430/L Foundations in IT Services, Enterprise Systems, and ERP Skills (3) • IS 450 Advanced Database Topics (3)

Information Technology Minor (18 hours)

• CIS 100 Fundamentals of Information Systems & Technology (3) • CIS 101 Beginning Programming (3) • IT 224/L Computer Hardware and Systems Software (3) • Any 9 hours in information technology coursework (6).


CIS Course Listing COMPUTER & INFORMATION SCIENCES (CIS)

100. Fundamentals of Information Systems & Technology (3) (F, W, S) Systems theory, quality, decision making and organizational role of information systems. Technology including computing and telecommunications. Concepts of organization and information systems growth and re-engineering.

101. Beginning Programming (3) (F, W, S) Extensive hands-on software development and testing using variables, arrays, instruction sequences, decisions, loops, and subroutines. May also include dynamic web pages (CGI) and regular expressions.

101L. Beginning Programming Lab (0) (F, W, S) Hands-on experience and instruction beyond that available during regular class time in CIS 101. (Corequisite: CIS 101).

202. Object-Oriented Programming (3) (F, W, S) Introduction to object-oriented software development. Classes, Objects, Instantiation, Inheritance, Design, and Documentation. (Prerequisite: CIS 101).

205. Discrete Mathematics I (3) (F, W, S) Functions, relations, and sets; basic logic; proof techniques basics of counting. (Prerequisites: CIS 101).

206. Discrete Mathematics II (3) (W) Proof techniques (continued), graphs and trees, discrete probability. (Prerequisite: CIS 202 and 205.)

305. Systems Engineering I (3) (F, W) Systems planning and analysis from concept to requirements culminating at high-level design. Includes use of tools, modeling and generation of appropriate documentation. Uses team projects. Students are expected to take CIS 405 the following semester. (Prerequisite: CIS 202; Prerequisite or concurrent enrollment: IS 350.)

401. Web Applications Development (3) (F, W, S) Web application programming using databases and current web technology. (Prerequisite: CIS 101, IT 240 or CS 301, and IS 350.)

405. Systems Engineering II (3) (W, S) A continuation of CIS 305, usually taken the previous semester. Systems design, implementation, validation and maintenance. Uses team projects. (Prerequisite: CIS 305.)

470. Ethics in Computer & Information Sciences (2) (F, S) Explores foundations of ethical behavior in the world of Internet and computer technology including property protection, crime, viruses, privacy, reliability, and work environments. (Prerequisite or concurrent enrollment: CIS 405 or Senior Standing.)


COMPUTER SCIENCE (CS)

203. Object-Oriented Programming II (3) (W) Advanced object-oriented software development. Polymorphism, overloading, exceptions, design, and documentation. (Prerequisite: CIS 202).

210. Computer Organization (3) (S) Digital logic, digital systems, machine-level representation of data, assembly-level machine organization. (Prerequisites: CIS 101.)

301. Algorithms and Complexity (3) (S) Algorithmic analysis, strategies and fundamental algorithms. (Prerequisites: CS 203 and CIS 206.)

320. Introduction to Computational Theory (3) (S) Finite state automata and regular expressions, context-free grammars and pushdown automata, Turing machines, computability and undecidability. (Prerequisites: CS 203 and CIS 206.)

390R. Special Topics in Computer Science (1-3) (Variable)

399R. Internship in Computer Science (1-12) (F, W, S) Credit for applied experience in computer science. Prior approval must be obtained and coordinated by a faculty member and on-site supervisor.

400. Computer Science Proficiency (0) (F,W,S) Students demonstrate proficiency at important Computer Science skills by examination.

415. Operating Systems Design (3) (W) Operating systems principles. concurrency, scheduling, dispatch, memory management. (Prerequisites: CS 210, CS 301.)

420. Programming Languages (3) (S) Virtual machines, language translation, declarations and types, abstraction mechanisms, object-oriented programming. (Prerequisites: CIS 301, CS 320.)

490R. Advanced Topics in Computer Science (3) (F, W, S) Senior-level elective course. Subject varies according to instructor availability. (Prerequisite: CS 301)

491-492-493. Seminar (1-1-1) (F, W, S) Readings in the Computer Science literature, writing of review articles, research proposal writing and presentation, conducting research, poster presentation, writing and presentation of the senior thesis. (Prerequisite: instructor consent.)

495R. Independent Study in Computer Science (1-3) (Variable) Topic and credit to be arranged between the student and the instructor. (Prerequisite: instructor consent.)

496R. Student Research in Computer Science (1-3) (Variable) Supervised individual research for students who have been granted a student research and development assistantship. (Required of all research associates.)


INFORMATION SYSTEMS (IS)

91. Personal Productivity with IS Technology (0) (all semesters) Online instruction in personal productivity concepts and skills using e-mail, word processing, spreadsheet, database, presentation graphics, web browsing, and the Internet.

330. Management Information Systems (3) (F, W, S) Manager's use of information technology to support decision making at all levels. Integrates and uses management functions, computer databases, accounting principles, model building and graphical representation.

350. Database Management Systems (3) (W, S) Introduction to design and implementation of database management systems. Emphasis on data structures, normalization of data, data modeling, and database methods. (Prerequisite: CIS 101.)

390R. Special Topics in Information Systems (1-3) (Variable).

399R. Internship in Information Systems (1-12) (Variable) Students may receive credit for applied experience in information systems. Prior approval must be obtained and a program coordinated by a faculty member and the on-site supervisor. (Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.)

400. Information Systems Proficiency (0) (F, W, S) Students demonstrate proficiency at important Information Systems skills by examination. This qualifies them to enter the IS capstone experience.

430. Foundations in IT Services, Enterprise Systems, and ERP Skills (3) (F, W) Students learn principles of IT Services and enterprise systems that dramatically impact enterprise business processes; including IT components, architecture, interconnections, best practices, and ERP skills. (Prerequisite: Junior or Senior standing and acceptance into one of the CIS, Business or Accounting degree programs)

430L. Foundations in IT Services, Enterprise Systems, and ERP Skills Lab (0) (F, W) Hands-on experience and instruction beyond that available during regular class time in IS 430. (Prerequisite: Concurrent enrollment in IS 430)

435. Advanced Concepts in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems (3) (F, W) Students learn advanced concepts related to enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems such as data warehousing, business intelligence and business process management. Students will complete several hands-on exercises using the SAP ERP system and other related software tools. (Prerequisite: IS 430.)

435L. Advanced Concepts in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems Lab (0) (F, W) Hands-on experience and instruction beyond that available during regular class time in IS 435. (Prerequisite: Concurrent enrollment in IS 435)


440. Advanced Topics in SAP ERP Systems (3) (S) Students learn advanced topics related to the SAP enterprise resource planning (ERP) system such as production planning, materials management, sales and distribution, and human capital management. Students will complete several hands-on exercises using the SAP ERP system. (Prerequisites: IS 430 and one of the following: ACCT 356, IS 435, IS 485)

440L. Advanced Topics in SAP ERP Systems Lab (0) (S) Hands-on experience and instruction beyond that available during regular class time in IS 440. (Prerequisite: Concurrent enrollment in IS 440)

450. Advanced Database Topics (3) (W, S) Review and application of advanced database topics such as data mining, data warehousing, object-oriented databases, database programming and database administration. (Prerequisite: IS 350.)

485. Project Management and Practice (3) (F, S) Advanced students design and implement a significant information system. Project management, management of the IS function, and systems integration are components of the experience. (Prerequisites: IS 400, CIS 401, CIS 405.)

495R. Independent Study (1-3) (Variable) (Prerequisite: instructor consent.)

496R. Student Research (1-3) (Variable) Supervised individual research for students who have been granted a student research and development associateship. (Required of all associates.) (Prerequisite: instructor consent.)

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT)

224. Computer Hardware and Systems Software (3) (F, W) Introduction to computer operating systems, graphical and command-line user interfaces, hardware and software installation, utility programs, software integration, and diagnostic techniques. (Corequisite: IT 224L.)

224L. Computer Hardware and Systems Software Lab (0) (F, W) Required with IS 224, hands-on experience installing and configuring hardware and software, and diagnosing problems. (Corequisite: IT 224.)

240. Fundamentals of Web Design & Technology (3) (F, W, S) Concepts of multimedia design and creation for the Internet using web programming tools to develop web pages.

240L. Fundamentals of Web Design & Technology Lab (0) (F, W, S) Hands-on experience and instruction beyond that available during regular class time in IT 240. (Prerequisite: Concurrent enrollment in IT 240)

280. Computer Networking (3) (F, W, S) End-user fundamentals including local area networks, home networks, wireless networks, routers, firewalls, ports, address sharing, dynamic host configuration, OSI model, IPv4, netmasks, subnets, and troubleshooting.


280L. Computer Networking Lab (0) (F, W, S) Hands-on experience and instruction beyond that available during regular class time in IT 280. (Corequisite: IT 280.)

320. Linux Essentials (3) (F, W) Introduces fundamental Linux skills including login, file system, chmod, find, tar, gzip, shell, grep, uniq, nice, and tcp/ip networking (Prerequisite: CIS 101).

320L. Linux Essentials Lab (0) (F, W) Hands-on experience and instruction beyond that available during regular class time in IT 320. (Corequisite: IT 320.)

390R. Special Topics in Information Technology (1-3) (Variable).

399R. Internship in Information Technology (1-12) (Variable) Students may receive credit for applied experience in information technology. Prior approval must be obtained and a program coordinated by a faculty member and the on-site supervisor. (Prerequisite: instructor consent.)

420. Linux Systems Administration (3) (S) Develops skills needed to set up and manage Linux systems on existing networks, including installation, hardware, fstab, bootloader, passwords, dns, rpm, and kernel services. (Prerequisite: IT 220.)

420L. Linux Systems Administration Lab (0) (S) Hands-on experience and instruction beyond that available during regular class time in IT 420. (Corequisite: IT 420.)

426. Computer Network Services (3) (F) Installation, configuration, and management of network services such as file servers and directory services with an emphasis on Microsoft Windows (Prerequisites: IT 224, IT 280.)

426L. Computer Network Services Lab (0) (F) Hands-on experience and instruction beyond that available during regular class time in IT 426. (Corequisite: IT 426.)

427. Windows Desktop Configuration (3) (W) Introduces fundamental Windows configuration skills including installation and deployment, configuration of hardware, application and network resources, access control, and system monitoring and maintenance.

427L. Windows Desktop Configuration Lab (0) (W) Hands-on experience and instruction beyond that available during regular class time in IT 427.

440. Foundations of Human-Computer Interaction (3) (W) Human-Computer Interaction Foundations: including evaluation, design, implementation. CIS 405 and a psychology course in human information processing are recommended. (Prerequisites: CIS 305, IT 240, Math 221.)

440L. Foundations of Human-Computer Interaction Lab (0) (W) Hands-on experience and instruction beyond that available during regular class time in IT 440. (Corequisite: IT 440.)

480. Computer Network Design (3) (W) Networking of computers and configuration of managed networking equipment including switches and routers, with special emphasis on Cisco equipment and protocols. (Prerequisite: IT 280.)


480L. Computer Network Design Lab (0) (W) Hands-on experience and instruction beyond that available during regular class time in IT 480. (Corequisite: IT 480.)

481. Information Assurance and Security (3) (S) Introduction to information security providing a foundation of computer security concepts, including general security, communication security, infrastructure security, basics of cryptography, and operational and organizational security. (Prerequisite: IT 280.)

481L. Information Assurance and Security Lab (0) (S) Hands-on experience and instruction beyond that available during regular class time in IT 481. (Corequisite: IT 481.)

482. Advanced Topics in Information Assurance & Security (3) (W) Advanced topics in information assurance: systems verification, information flow/protection, computer viruses/malware, intrusion detection models, multi-level security, forensics, network firewalls, cryptography, e-commerce support, and database security. (Prerequisite: IT 481.)

482L. Advanced Topics in Information Assurance and Security Lab (0) (W) Hands-on experience and instruction beyond that available during regular class time in IT 482. (Corequisite: IT 482.)

491-492-493. Seminar (1-1-1) (F, W, S) Readings in the Information Technology Science literature, writing of review articles, research proposal writing and presentation, conducting research, poster presentation, writing and presentation of the senior thesis. (Prerequisites: instructor consent.)

495R. Independent Study in Information Technology (1-3) (Variable) Topic and credit to be arranged between the student and the instructor. (Prerequisite: instructor consent.)

496R. Student Research in Information Technology (1-3) (Variable) Supervised individual research for students who have been granted a student research and development assistantship. (Required of all research associates.)


Works Cited BYU-Hawaii. (n.d.). BYU–Hawaii Mission and Vision. Retrieved May 2015, 2015, from BYU Hawaii: http://about.byuh.edu/mission

Carlson, B., & Hall, J. (2012). Timeline of Computing History. Retrieved May 30, 2015, from The IEEE Computer Society: http://www.computer.org/cms/Computer.org/Publications/timeline.pdf

Intel. (2005). Intel Pentium D Processor. Retrieved May 30, 2015, from Intel, Inc.: http://www.intel.com/assets/pdf/prodbrief/prodbrief/prodbrief800.pdf

Morettini, P. (2011, May 3). The Rise and Fall of Novell. Retrieved May 30, 2015, from Morettini on Management: http://www.pjmconsult.com/index.php/2011/05/rise-and-fall-of-novell.html

Shumway, E. B. (1979, July). Bridging Cultural Differences. Retrieved July 4, 2015, from LDS.org: https://www.lds.org/ensign/1979/07/bridging-cultural-differences?lang=eng


Velt, S. (2002). MITS ALTAIR 8800. Retrieved May 30, 2015, from PC - History: http://www.pc-history.org/altair.htm

White, S. (2005). A Brief History of Computing. Retrieved May 30, 2015, from Trillian Random Stuff: http://trillian.randomstuff.org.uk/~stephen/history/timeline.html

i http://newsroom.byuh.edu/node/1263 ii http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/092910-tech-employment-steady-latest-census.html iii http://www.biztechreport.com/story/27-information-technology-trends-asia iv http://www.cio.com/article/596526/8_Trends_Driving_IT_Job_Growth_Salaries v http://www.infoworld.com/d/adventures-in-it/analyst-demand-sap-skills-keeps-rising-787

http://newsroom.byuh.edu/node/1263

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/092910-tech-employment-steady-latest-census.html

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/092910-tech-employment-steady-latest-census.html

http://www.biztechreport.com/story/27-information-technology-trends-asia

http://www.cio.com/article/596526/8_Trends_Driving_IT_Job_Growth_Salaries

http://www.infoworld.com/d/adventures-in-it/analyst-demand-sap-skills-keeps-rising-787

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