Cara Tang

ACM/IEEE-CS Information Technology Curriculum 2017: A Status Update

The IT2008 Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Degree Programs in Information Technology is showing its age, and in 2014, the ACM Education Board agreed to oversee the creation of a revision, now being referred to as IT2017. Members of the IT 2017 Task Group have been identified, and phone conference calls have been taking place. All proposed panel members are members of the IT2017 Task Group.

Updating the ACM/IEEE 2008 Curriculum in Information Technology (Abstract Only)

At the direction of the ACM Education Board, the IT2017 Task Group was formed with the charge of updating the joint ACM and IEEE Computer Society Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Degree Programs in Information Technology, known as IT2008. The revised document, called IT2017, should be appropriately forward looking given the significant advances in information technology that have occurred since 2008. Participants attending the BOF will contribute their insights and assist with the revision process to update IT2008. Discussions will center on delineating knowledge areas and learning outcomes specific to IT; exploring the current and future roles of IT in computing disciplines; recommending changes to improve the usefulness of the report; and planning further communications to fully engage the academic and professional community in the revision process. The objective is to ensure that the updated document is a forward-looking curriculum framework of the disciplinary content and practices in the field of information technology and remains relevant into 2020 and beyond for incoming students, computing departments with IT programs, accreditation bodies, and employers in the U.S. and anywhere else in the world.

Computer Science Curricular Guidelines for Associate-Degree Transfer Programs (Abstract Only)

The ACM Committee for Computing Education in Community Colleges (CCECC) is updating the ACM curricular guidance for two-year transfer programs in computer science based on CS2013 with cybersecurity learning outcomes infused throughout. This BOF will provide a platform for two-year and four-year computer science faculty and academic administrators to discuss the newly revised associate-degree transfer guidance. The core task group writing the guidance consists of twelve community college faculty across the United States, led by the ACM CCECC and three task group leaders. The guidance has been informed by input from both two- and four-year educators in two rounds of public review and comment; a BOF, special session, and affiliated workshop at the prior two SIGCSE conferences; and international input at ITiCSE 2016. By SIGCSE 2017 the guidance will be in near-final form. The session will include an overview of the guidance, its relationship to CS2013, and infused cybersecurity. Discussion will center on implementing the guidance in two-year programs, gathering program exemplars, and facilitating transfer with four-year university partners.

Curricular Guidance for Associate-Degree Transfer Programs in Computer Science with Contemporary Cybersecurity Concepts (Abstract Only)

In 2015, under the auspices of the ACM Education Board the Committee for Computing Education in Community Colleges (CCECC) began an effort to update the ACM Computing Curricula 2009: Guidelines for Associate-Degree Transfer Curriculum in Computer Science with inclusion of contemporary cybersecurity concepts. To this end, the CCECC established a task force of community college educators to review the ACM/IEEE Computer Science Curricula 2013 (CS2013) and identify foundational material in CS2013 that is appropriate for the first two years of a computer science education. To further inform the guidance, the CCECC administered surveys to a global audience of computer science educators to solicit input related to CS2013 knowledge areas (KAs) and knowledge units (KUs) and on cybersecurity topics, which are appropriate for associate-degree computer science transfer programs. The guidance has been through two rounds of public review and comment

Updating Curricular Guidelines for Associate-Degree Computer Science Programs

As a standing committee of the ACM Education Board, the CCECC has produced curricular guidelines for community college computing programs in the five areas outlined by ACM and IEEE-CS in CC2005 (The Overview Report) [2]. Most recently the CCECC published guidelines for IT programs in ACM Competency Model of Core Learning Outcomes and Assessment for Associate-Degree Curriculum in Information Technology [4] in October 2014.

ACM Undergraduate Curricular Guidance in Computer Science: The First Two Years

Under the auspices of the ACM Education Board, the Committee for Computing Education in Community Colleges (CCECC) is updating the 2009 ACM associate-degree curricular guidance in computer science with inclusion of contemporary cybersecurity concepts. The CCECC convened a task force of community college educators to develop the initial draft of the updated guidance, called StrawDog, using CS2013 as a starting point. CS2013 includes a new knowledge unit on information assurance and security. To inform the work, a survey on CS2013 foundational knowledge deemed appropriate for the first two years of a computer science (CS) education was administered to a global audience of CS educators. Preliminary survey results are presented for feedback and critique by the international community.

Global Perspectives on the Role of Two-Year/Technical/Junior Colleges in Computing Education

This panel presents varying global perspectives on the role of community colleges and 2- or 3-year technical schools (collectively called junior colleges here) in computing education. In some countries, students interested in a career in computing can obtain a 2- or 3-year degree instead of, or as a precursor to, a traditional Bachelors degree. With representatives from five different countries and four different continents, the panel discusses the variety of pathways in computing education around the world, and in particular the role of community colleges and 2- or 3-year technical schools in these pathways.

Perspectives on How Computer Science Curricula 2013 Influences Two-Year College Programs (Abstract Only)

The ACM Computer Science Curricula 2013 (CS2013) guidance for undergraduate degrees was released in December 2013. This BOF will provide a platform for two-year and four-year computer science faculty and academic administrators to discuss CS2013 and its influence on associate-degree computer science curricula. The session will include a brief overview of the Core Tier-1 and Core Tier-2 CS2013 topics and attendees will primarily engage in an open dialog about which CS2013 topics and learning outcomes are most relevant to be included in a transfer curriculum. This CS2013 discussion will help inform the forthcoming update to Computing Curricular 2009: Guidelines for Associate-Degree Transfer Curriculum in Computer Science (www.capspace.org).

Computer Science Curricular Guidance for Associate-Degree Transfer Programs

After two years of intense curriculum development effort, the ACM CCECC (Committee for Computing Education in Community Colleges) published Computer Science Curricular Guidance for Associate-Degree Transfer Programs with Infused Cybersecurity, known as CSTransfer2017. Based on Computer Science Curricula 2013 (CS2013), this guidance was specially designed to aid in the smooth transfer from associate degrees to baccalaureate degrees. The curriculum contains 17 of CS2013s 18 knowledge areas, and a variety of knowledge units appropriate in the first two years of a computer science degree. The guidance comprises over 200 learning outcomes, 64 of which are infused with cybersecurity, along with a three-tiered assessment rubric using measurable verbs from Blooms Revised Taxonomy. In addition to the CSTransfer2017 task group consisting of 20 community college educators, input from both two- and four-year educators was collected via surveys administered to a global audience, as well as two rounds of public review and comment on drafts of the guidance. Examples of degree and certificate programs that align with CSTransfer2017 are part of a growing repository hosted on the CCECC website, ccecc.acm.org. These program examples demonstrate the adaptability of this competency-based curriculum approach to a variety of computing programs. The CCECC invites institutions to highlight their computer science degree program by submitting a program example at ccecc.acm.org/correlations.

IT2017 Report: Implementing A Competency-Based Information Technology Program

ACM and IEEE have developed a computing curriculum report titled Information Technology Curricular 2017: Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Degree Programs in Information Technology, also known as IT2017 [4]. The development of this report has received content contributions from industry and academia through surveys as well as many international conferences and workshops. Open online publication of the report became available in fall of 2017. In this special session, five members of the IT2017 executive committee will present a digest of the content of the report, describe the proposed IT curricular framework, and facilitate open and vigorous discussion of the report/s guidelines for developing new information technology programs or enhancing existing ones. The novelty of the report is its focus on industry-informed competencies that IT graduates should have to meet the growing demands of a changing technological world in the next decade. The experience should provide a better understanding of IT in a modern age.