Group Descriptions

Group Charter

a. Identify the goals of the first year of study.

b. Report on both the strengths and weaknesses of the
   traditional programming-first approach at reaching
   these goals.

c. Provide a short list of alternative approaches which
   have some credibility with respect to reaching those
   goals.

d. Present syllabi for a short list of options (max 3) re: the
   first two courses in computer science (CS 1 and CS 2)
   which meet the goals identified in point "a" and which can
   serve as models for colleges/universities and for publishers.

e. Identify and evaluate introductory structures that:

    *  Address the problem of dissimilar preparation of incoming students;

    *  Provide freshman curricula that do not rely on terminal service
       courses to discriminate among the various needs and backgrounds
       of students who are just beginning their undergraduate careers;

    *  Provide freshman courses which introduce Computing as a
       mainstream discipline, i.e., part of the academic core for a broad
       population of undergraduate students.

Group Charter

a. Specify goals of courses which support undergraduate CS
   curricula, e.g., mathematics, engineering, physics, technical
   writing, public speaking, et al.

b. Identify a minimal list of supporting courses deemed essential to
   an undergraduate program, regardless of the nature of the
   institution, that should be included in any computing curriculum.

c. Present suggestions for additional supporting courses,
   per the type of institution, its goals, and the number of courses
   which it is allowed to include in a program.

(Note: This group's work is dependent on the output of the other Focus Groups and the various KU Groups.)

Group Charter

a. Specify that material which is deemed essential to a
   foundation in Computer Science, given that CS has grown
   to the point where we can no longer require a course in
   everything.

b. Develop the Core as a curricular alternative to the traditional
   approach of organizing programs around CS artifacts (e.g.
   courses in compilers, OS, DB, etc.).  Core courses should
   address truly essential, fundamental concepts.

c. Identify a short list of cross-cutting course models to
   address these needs, i.e., 4-5 fundamental courses to be
   required of every CS undergraduate and which would be
   manageable by virtually every type of undergraduate program.

Group Charter

a. Report on those aspects of Professional Practices which we now
   assume our graduates have (or should have) assimilated as a result
   of current curricula.

b. Report on what we do and don't know about how to best support
   effective education in those Professional Practices.

c. Report on how these needs can be integrated into other courses
   in the curriculum.

d. Report on industrial and internship work and its relationship to the
   development of Professional Practices.

e. Report on other aspects of professionalism (including ethical,
   social, legal and moral issues) and their relationship to the CS
   curriculum.

Group Charter

a. Report on advanced coursework in computer science, i.e.,
   computer science beyond the core.

b. Include a specification of both traditional courses (OS, DB,
   Compilers, Networks, Numerical Analysis,etc.) and important
   new areas (e.g., Distributed Systems, Multimedia,
   Computational Science) that may be important for modern
   undergraduate curricula.

c. Include a specification of how many courses (as a minimum)
   should be included to produce a reasonable undergraduate
   experience.

d. Report on undergraduate research, including an evaluation
   of various existing models.

Group Charter

a.  Acknowledge that this is a crucial area but one for which
    we cannot unilaterally develop an adequate solution.

b.  Plan and develop a proper curriculum development effort
    which will:
     * rigorously address the challenge of computing curricula
        (extending beyond the freshman year) for non-CS majors;
     * include those from non-4-year institutions;
     * include those from other computing-related disciplines;
     * include those from various "customer" disciplines.

c.  This group's job is not to solve the problem.  Instead, it will
    plan and develop an adequate effort to solve the problem.