Mission Statement

The Computer Science Department houses multiple degree and certificate programs, serving both career and transfer students. For our career students, we offer multiple degree and certificate options in our Applied Computer and Networking Technologies program, including networking, programming, and system administration pathways. For our transfer students, we offer an A.S. in Applied Computer Graphics (fully articulated with CSU, Chico), an A.S. in Computer Science (fully articulated with CSU, Chico), and an A.S. for Transfer in Computer Science (aligned with Transfer Model Curriculum).

Program Description

Applied Computer Graphics blends courses from Art, Computer Science, Multimedia Studies, and Radio-Television-Film to create a cutting edge multidisciplinary program. Students in Applied Computer Graphics learn to use art and technology to create interactive multimedia experiences such as video games and digital animations. The program prepares students for transfer to the Applied Computer Graphics program at California State University, Chico and provides a foundation for similar majors at other four-year colleges and universities.

The Computer Networking program prepares students for industry standard certification exams and entry-level positions as computer networking professionals. The core curriculum covers networking fundamentals, WAN technologies, basic security and wireless concepts, routing and switching fundamentals, and configuring simple networks.

The Computer Programming program prepares students for entry-level positions as computer programmers and web developers. The core curriculum covers the software development life-cycle, algorithms, fundamental data structures, database design, and the design, implementation, and testing of computer programs and dynamic websites.

The Computer System Administration program prepares students for industry standard certification exams and entry-level positions as computer support technicians and computer system administrators. The core curriculum covers Microsoft server installation, configuration, troubleshooting, and maintenance.

The Associate in Science in Computer Science for Transfer is intended for students who plan to complete a bachelor's degree in Computer Science at a CSU campus. Students completing this degree are guaranteed admission to the CSU system, but not to a particular campus or major. Students transferring to a CSU campus that does accept this degree will be required to complete no more than 60 units after transfer to earn a bachelor's degree. This degree may not be the best option for students intending to transfer to a particular CSU campus or to a university or college that is not part of the CSU system. In all cases, students should consult with a counselor for more information on university admission and transfer requirements.

Students taking the required courses for this transfer major must also take the prerequisites for these courses. The combination of the required Computer Science courses and their prerequisites provide an excellent preparation for students majoring in Computer Science at the four-year university level.

Accountability for Previously Funded Items

Student Learning/Administrative Unit Outcomes

The Computer Science faculty have engaged in substantial and productive dialogue in review of our assessment results. In addition to our purposeful discussions at the start of each semester, as a follow up to the assessment activities of the prior semester, we discuss assessment plans, strategies, and results at our monthly department meetings. Finally, we have engaged in lengthy and focused discussion of assessments during scheduled Institute Day workshops at the start of the Fall 2012 and Spring 2013 semesters. 
 
The above information was taken from the Planned Improvement area of the Program Level Outcomes report from the SLO module. The Computer Science program has been engaged in ongoing improvements with curriculum review and with the hire of two new faculty, planned improvements have come to priority with focused assessments and new strategies to improve outcomes at the course level.
 
 
In reference to SLOs for CSCI 10, the most significant change needed is to enforce a prerequisite. Additionally, formalizing our tutoring services for students will improve student outcomes. The department has implemented tutoring and assistance through assigned student assistants available at the department office.
 
In reference to SLOs for CSCI 49, the planned improvements are as follows:


Increased emphasis on data preservation, backup and recovery. Required data backup and recovery lab including an analysis of specific organizational requirements by various industries e.g. health, finance, commerce.
Stressed troubleshooting techniques that no not compromise integrity of data.
Did group activity to determine the best possible recovery for multiple scenarios.
Included more quiz questions on topic.

Standards/Goals for Student Achievement (OSLED Departments)

			College			Program
Indicator	Source	2013-2014 Performance	Standard	Five Year Goal	Fall 2014 Performance	Standard	Five Year Goal
Course Success
-          Overall	PDR	71.1%	70%	73%	CSCI: 76.9%	CSCI: 70%	CSCI: 78%
-          Transfer/GE	PDR	71.5%		73%
-          CTE	PDR	75%		77%
-          Basic Skills	PDR	51.7%		55%
-          Distance Ed (all)	PDR	62.5%		64%
Persistence (Focused).  Note:  The Persistence (Focused) that is included in the PDR is a different indicator than the three-primary term persistence indicator, from the state Student Success Scorecard, that is used to measure institutional persistence.  The Focused Persistence indicator measures the percentage of students that took a second course in a discipline within one year. There is no relationship between the college and program standards in this area.	PDR	72.6%    (Three-Term) Scorecard	67% (Three-Term) Scorecard	75% (Three-Term) Scorecard	CSCI: 51.8%	CSCI: 45%	CSCI: 55%
Degrees	PDR	1,455		1,600	CSCI: 15	CSCI: 10	CSCI: 20
Certificates	PDR	366		475	CSCI: 36	CSCI: 20	CSCI: 40
Developmental Strand Completion
-          English	State	42%		45%
-          Math	State	30.7%		33%
-          ESL	State	25%		28%
Licensure Pass Rates
-          Registered Nursing	SC
-          Licensed Vocational Nursing	SC
-          Respiratory Therapy	SC
-          Paramedic	SC
-          Cosmetology	SC
-          Welding	SC
Job Placement Rates	PIV	CSCI   Software:                67% CSCI   Infrastructure and Support:           36%	CSCI   Software:                50% CSCI   Infrastructure and Support:           35%	CSCI   Software:                70% CSCI   Infrastructure and Support:           40%

                                                            The CSCI program is in compliance with the standard. Success rates for CSCI are at the high end of the range over the past four years (62.8%-76.9%). Degree and certificate production is rising.  The current performance is at the high end of the range (7-22). Certificate production for CSCI is rising.  This rise is particularly pronounced (1-36). To improve completion rates for degrees and certificates, the department is doing the following: 1. improving articulations; 2. revising program breadth to target reduced time to completion per the recommendation of our CSCI Industry Advisory committee; 3. increasing section offerings of key courses impacting students' abilities to complete their academic goals. From program review, industry input and work with the UC and CSU, it is clear that the success rates are in line with the rigor and depth mandated by good practice but the limitation to available resources including improved computing and lab facility is impeding success.  Degree production is increasing for both programs and is driven by sustained demand in the market place AND is mimicked in our own need for additional support. Focused Persistence for CSCI is also rising.  The four year range is 47.3% to 52.2%. To improve focused persistence rates, the CSCI department is providing tutoring services improve student success and increase degree and certificate completion. While our focused persistence and fill rates for CSCI are high, they continue to be a challenge with the nature of ever-changing landscapes in the computing industry. We see many whom we consider “surgical” completers – that is that they take a necessary class to fulfill an immediate need or employment improvement then leave. We are now paying particular attention to data supplied by the Completers/Leavers Survey.  The rates for software development completions and employment rates remain at a sustained high level. Infrastructure and Support data are relatively low and suggest that the lower rates may reflect a high degree of self-employment among alumni in this area but also reflect the low density of computing infrastructure need due to geographic proximity or lack thereof and that infrastructure support has improved dramatically over time. WE continue to study and will be making all efforts to adjust and align with outcome needs as we complete scheduled program review in 2016. There are two job placement rates for CSCI.  The rates for software are relatively high while those for infrastructure and support are relatively low.  These lower rates may reflect a high degree of self-employment among alumni in this area. New CSCI faculty in infrastructure and networking program areas is tracking data for placement rates into available jobs by way of social and professional media and direct mail follow up. In addition, we will be analyzing the data from the 2016 Leavers and Completers survey results and will address and target areas of opportunity for improvement. It is the intention of the Computer Science for transfer program to continue to work with the UC and CSU to align curriculum and to create as many articulation agreements as possible. From all involvement with the UC and CSU, it has been reported that Butte College has a good offering of lower division computer science curriculum that is relevant and that follows good education practice and it will continue to be the efforts of dedicated faculty to drive such results to continue building a favorable reputation. We expect that the projection and improvement goals to be very much something that can be met if not bettered in the coming academic years’ goal sets.

Standards/Goals for Student Achievement (All Other Departments)

Strategic Direction

The college supports students in their progress toward their educational goals by collaborating with industry, external agencies, and other institutions of higher education to ensure that programs are relevant and meeting current needs (Strategic Initiative 1.C.4). The Computer Science program is working directly with the UC and CSU Schools of Computer science to provide a shared guidance and oversight of curriculum that is relevant and meeting the needs of higher education rigor. Computer Science is working with local and regional industries to develop computer science programming that is relevant and needed to assure that local candidates for employment as prepared, ready and able to succeed in an employment outcome.
Enhancing a Culture of Inclusiveness: Improving access, success, and completion of targeted student populations through the implementation of the Student Equity Plan (Strategic Initiative 6.3). The Computer Science program is working closely with MESA (Math Computer science Science Achievement) and the STEM pathways at Butte College and local high schools to develop connections and achievements of target populations identified in the current District Student Equity Plan including outreach, intern opportunities and transfer successes into computer science pathways.    

Program Review

The Computer Science program will be subject to a complete program review in 2015-2016 as its own program. Previous results were aggregated with Computer Science and Drafting Technology and are difficult to disaggregate and stand out except the following items from previous program review:

Replacement full time faculty to replace retiring full time faculty (Couch and Harvey).
Continued work to develop pathways with local high schools and programs such as ROP, and recruit and retain under-represented students in our programs.
Maintain our laboratory software and hardware so that students can be trained to industry standards, to maximize their employment potential.
Constantly maintain and update our curriculum to ensure we are aligned with industry standards and adequately prepare our students for professional certification.

The efforts of faculty, staff and industry supporting CSCI are to be appreciated for aligning the curriculum, developing ADT degrees for transfer and a place of relevance and effectiveness. It is the intention of CSCI, Sustainable Technologies and Design department to build on the good work previously accomplished to ensure that CSCI remains in a position of prominence and importance to Butte College and the surrounding Computer Science community within higher education.

Department Goals

Computer Science as an instructional program has the overarching goals that include:

Augment full-time instruction to CSCI faculty to reduce overload condition of all current CSCI faculty.
Augment support staff including an Operations Technician II position to assist in meeting the demands of a contemporary engineering for transfer and engineering technology based completion strands.
Add additional lecture and laboratory spaces to every extent possible to synergize all instructional delivery with ENGR and DFT programs.
Augment support staff including a Laboratory Technician to assist in meeting the demands of contemporary computer science, technologies-based and engineering for transfer completion strands.
Replace all equipment and instrumentation to current technology standards of practice for for transfer and technology based completion strands.
Attend professional development events, education opportunities, externships and trade shows.

Future Development Strategies

Requested Non-Financial Resources

Current Financial Resources

Augmentation Requests

Original Priority	Program, Unit, Area	Resource Type	Account Number	Object Code	One Time Augment	Ongoing Augment
Description	Supporting Rationale		Potential Alternative Funding Sources		Prioritization Criteria
1	Computer Science Program	Personnel			$0.00	$100,000.00
Add Full Time CSCI Faculty	The Computer Science for transfer program is experiencing a sustained increase in enrollments driven by a multitude of opportunities such as guided pathways development at the high school level, an ever increasing need for effective programming and software development, sustained interests by students to complete and transfer with the new ADT degree transfer system Computer Science is a documented program that is very difficult to hire and find qualified associate faculty locally.				Resolving health, life, and safety issues Maintaining core programs and services Addressing a shortfall identified during Student Learning (or administrative unit) Outcomes Assessment Directly supporting meeting department standards/goals for student achievement and/or supporting the college in meeting its student achievement standards and/or goals Supports Previous Program Review Recommendations Collaborating effectively with K-12 to set appropriate student expectations, align curriculum, and prepare students for college success Reaching the Sustainable Continuous Quality Improvement level on the implementation of Student Learning Outcomes Using data, research and collaborative efforts among divisions and departments to develop projections of student demand, or appropriate course offerings, locations, and modalities
2	Computer Science Program	Personnel			$0.00	$45,000.00
Operations Technician II	The programs of Computer Science, Drafting Technology and Engineering are sustained by a high technology high touch of computer desktops, network interconnects within the CIT subdomain and all associated development environments, support platforms, hybridized learning environments and associated servers to support programs. This is an expansive set of responsibilities and will continue as we broaden and deepen offerings in CSCI/DFT/ENGR program areas		Career and Technical Education - Perkins		Resolving health, life, and safety issues Maintaining core programs and services Addressing a shortfall identified during Student Learning (or administrative unit) Outcomes Assessment Directly supporting meeting department standards/goals for student achievement and/or supporting the college in meeting its student achievement standards and/or goals Supports Previous Program Review Recommendations Collaborating effectively with K-12 to set appropriate student expectations, align curriculum, and prepare students for college success Evaluating standards and goals for course success, retention, degree achievement, certificate completion, transfer, and credentialing annually Using data, research and collaborative efforts among divisions and departments to develop projections of student demand, or appropriate course offerings, locations, and modalities
3	Computer Science Department	Facilities			$25,000.00	$0.00
Additional Laboratory Space	CSCI program growth is limited by facility circumstances and require one additional dedicated laboratory area be added to meet growth. In addtion, centralize location of Engineering program lecture and laboratory spaces to every extent possible to synergize all instructional delivery with ENGR and DFT programs. Monies requested will support the remodel of space to accommodate need.		Career and Technical Education - Perkins		Resolving health, life, and safety issues Maintaining core programs and services Addressing a shortfall identified during Student Learning (or administrative unit) Outcomes Assessment Directly supporting meeting department standards/goals for student achievement and/or supporting the college in meeting its student achievement standards and/or goals Supports Previous Program Review Recommendations Collaborating effectively with K-12 to set appropriate student expectations, align curriculum, and prepare students for college success Reaching the Sustainable Continuous Quality Improvement level on the implementation of Student Learning Outcomes Using data, research and collaborative efforts among divisions and departments to develop projections of student demand, or appropriate course offerings, locations, and modalities
4	Computer Science Program	Personnel			$0.00	$38,000.00
Lab Technician	Computer Science program demands have ongoing support needs to manage the safe working conditions of three assigned laboratory spaces including the setup, use and proper and ongoing maintenance of all laboratory equipment, laboratory setup for all lab assignment delivery to students in conjunction with faculty, purchase of supplies and consumable lab materials required by proper engineering procedure and principles.		Career and Technical Education - Perkins		Resolving health, life, and safety issues Maintaining core programs and services Addressing a shortfall identified during Student Learning (or administrative unit) Outcomes Assessment Directly supporting meeting department standards/goals for student achievement and/or supporting the college in meeting its student achievement standards and/or goals Supports Previous Program Review Recommendations Collaborating effectively with K-12 to set appropriate student expectations, align curriculum, and prepare students for college success Reaching the Sustainable Continuous Quality Improvement level on the implementation of Student Learning Outcomes
5	Computer Science Program	Equipment			$14,000.00	$0.00
New Monitors and Mounting for MC125	Add monitor for total of two per workstation to allow simultaneous development of network, server and desktop landscapes during training in laboratory environments including swing arm type mount to allow for reclaiming of limited desktop space.		Career and Technical Education - Perkins Technology Fee		Resolving health, life, and safety issues Maintaining core programs and services Directly supporting meeting department standards/goals for student achievement and/or supporting the college in meeting its student achievement standards and/or goals Using data, research and collaborative efforts among divisions and departments to develop projections of student demand, or appropriate course offerings, locations, and modalities
6	Computer Science Program	Equipment			$29,000.00	$0.00
Mobile Computing Devices for MC Labs	Additional mobile computing devices and locked environment to allow for mobility during training and laboratory assignments, collaborative programming and problem solving and mobility to inter-lab utilization without loss of real-time computing abilities while on campus.		Career and Technical Education - Perkins Instructional Equipment Technology Fee		Maintaining core programs and services Addressing a shortfall identified during Student Learning (or administrative unit) Outcomes Assessment Directly supporting meeting department standards/goals for student achievement and/or supporting the college in meeting its student achievement standards and/or goals Supports Previous Program Review Recommendations Evaluating standards and goals for course success, retention, degree achievement, certificate completion, transfer, and credentialing annually Collaborating effectively with K-12 to set appropriate student expectations, align curriculum, and prepare students for college success
7	Computer Science Program	Equipment			$18,000.00	$0.00
Server for Cloud Computing	Create a local cloud storage environment accessible through SSL to outside CIT subdomain. Local cloud storage provides opportunities for training and development for CSCI students to manage and for CSCI students to access needed resources limited to CIT subdomain from outside by means of secured and accountable measure.		Career and Technical Education - Perkins Instructional Equipment Technology Fee		Maintaining core programs and services Addressing a shortfall identified during Student Learning (or administrative unit) Outcomes Assessment Directly supporting meeting department standards/goals for student achievement and/or supporting the college in meeting its student achievement standards and/or goals Supports Previous Program Review Recommendations Collaborating effectively with K-12 to set appropriate student expectations, align curriculum, and prepare students for college success Using data, research and collaborative efforts among divisions and departments to develop projections of student demand, or appropriate course offerings, locations, and modalities
8	Computer Science Program	Operating Expenses			$25,000.00	$0.00
Professional Development for CSCI Faculty and Staff	STEM programs mandate a continued pursuit of professional development that extends beyond local resources. Professional development keeps faculty and staff at the leading edge of development of relevant instructional programming, courses, certificates and degrees.		Career and Technical Education - Perkins		Maintaining core programs and services Addressing a shortfall identified during Student Learning (or administrative unit) Outcomes Assessment Directly supporting meeting department standards/goals for student achievement and/or supporting the college in meeting its student achievement standards and/or goals Supports Previous Program Review Recommendations Evaluating standards and goals for course success, retention, degree achievement, certificate completion, transfer, and credentialing annually Collaborating effectively with K-12 to set appropriate student expectations, align curriculum, and prepare students for college success