Mission, Goals and Objectives

Curriculum

Mission, Goals and Objectives

Computer Information Systems (CIS) Mission Statement:

The purpose of the program is to create an opportunity for people in Clinton County and surrounding areas to receive training in the field of Computer Information Systems. This program will serve the needs of traditional students as well as working people who want to update their skills while maintaining their current employment

This mission is consistent with the college mission in that it promotes intellectual social and personal development while providing a pool of technically trained individuals needed for local industry.

Program Goals:

The goal of the program provide students with the following:

Technical expertise to setup, maintain, and trouble shoot computer hardware and networks.

Business and accounting skills necessary to understand how a business functions.

Mathematical skills necessary to understand and apply technical concepts.

Communication skills to allow individuals to effectively communicate, both orally and in writing their thoughts and findings to others.

Skills to effectively use computers for applications, research, and problem solving.

Programming skills necessary to create efficient and functional software programs.

General Education skills to allow the student to become an intellectually well rounded member of society.

Quality Of the Program:

We define the quality of the program to the extent that it fulfills the program outcomes that are listed below.

Program Outcomes:

1. The persistence rate of those students in the CIS program who have completed Fundamental Concepts of Computing (CSC 121) will be no less than the overall persistence rate of students attending Clinton Community College.

2. At least 85% of all Clinton Community College CIS graduates will report program satisfaction to be satisfactory or better.

3. At least 85% of employers who rate Clinton Community College CIS graduates will do so with job performance ratings of satisfactory or better.

4. At least 85% of Clinton Community College CIS graduates who transfer to Baccalaureate programs will maintain a GPA of 2.5 or better.

5. At least 85% of Clinton Community College CIS graduates who take the A+ Core certification test will pass the test on the first try.

6. At least 85% of Clinton Community College CIS graduates who take the A+ Network certification test will pass the test on the first try.

Student Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes from Coursework:

Every course has explicit learning outcomes listed in the course syllabus. The syllabi for all of the Computer Information Systems courses are listed in Appendix A. All outcomes are assessed in the assignments and tests and are reflected in the students final grades

Documented Use of Assessment Results:

No previous program review has been undertaken, so no assessment results are available. The college is just now beginning to undertake the task of assessing learning outcomes in individual courses. Currently General Education courses ENG 101, COM 101 and CSC 102 are being assessed as part of the SUNY mandated assessment plan. The results of these efforts will be available in the Spring of 2003..

Program Design

Requirements for the Degree:

The requirements for the degree of Associate of Applies Science (AAS) in CIS appear below. (A curriculum worksheet for the CIS program and the Web Design Certificate can be found in Appendix B).

Completion of 9 credits in English/Humanities to include the following:
Eng 101 English Composition
Eng 102 English Literature and Composition
Com 101 Public Speaking

Completion of 6 credits in Social Science.

Completion of 22 credits in Computer Technology to include the following:
Csc 102 Intro To Micro Computer Applications
Csc 104 Intro to Computer Programming
Csc 121 Fundamental Concepts of Computing
Csc 202 Database Systems
Csc 220 Operating Systems
Csc 225 Computer Hardware
Csc 230 Intro to Networking
Csc 235 Help Desk Internship

Completion of 13 credits in Business to include the following:
Bus 101 Business Organization and management
Acc 101 Principles of Accounting I
BIT 280 Business Practicum/Seminar

Completion of 3 credits in Math to include Mat 200 Pre-Calculus.

Completion of 3-4 credits in Science.

Completion of 9 elective Credits

Completion of 1 credit in HPE

National Standards and Expectations:

Comp TIA is a nationally recognized testing organization which sets the industry standard for Computer Technology with A+ certifications. The three main computer technology courses in the CIS degree follow the A+ certification model. Upon completion of CSC220 (Operating Systems) and CSC225 (Computer Hardware) students should be ready to take the A+ Core Technology certification test. Upon completion of CSC 230 students should be ready to Take the A+ Network Plus certification test.

Seeking Accreditation from ABET or other appropriate accreditation institutions has not yet been done.

Balance Between Breadth and Depth:

The program is designed to give students background in the major areas of Computer Information Systems and also give the students some flexibility to pursue an area of special interest. The curriculum includes a Courses in Applications, Programming, Database, Hardware, Operating Systems and Networking. Upon completion of this core foundation students have 9 elective credits where they can elect to take a series of courses in Web Design or Electrical Technology. Currently the CIS program offers more breadth than depth. Seven of the eight required CSC classes in the program are introductory classes. This fact was brought out by several students who responded to the graduate survey with the following quotes.

“I wonder if students would be better prepared for the job market if the program were to focus on one aspect of information technology, such as troubleshooting and repair or network technology. As it is now the program provides an introduction to provides an introduction to several things but no advanced training in any one thing.”

“Need more Networking OS, Oracle DB, Virtual private networking.”

“Not enough real life troubleshooting/repair”

Methods to Assure Comparable Learning Outcomes for Multiple Section Courses:

The following CIS courses may have more than one section per semester but each section is taught by the same instructor; therefore there is no concern about comparable learning outcomes with these CIS courses.

Csc 202 Database Systems
Csc 220 Operating Systems
Csc 225 Computer Hardware
Csc 230 Intro to Networking
Csc 235 Help Desk Internship

The Following CIS Courses do have multiple sections taught by multiple instructors.

Csc 102 Intro To Micro Computers Applications
Csc 104 Intro to Computer Programming
Csc 121 Fundamental Concepts of Computing

The Csc 102 Intro To Micro Computers Applications course generally has 10 different sections in any given semester. Over the last two years six different adjunct faculty have taught this class. The CIS Program Coordinator works closely with adjunct faculty who teach Csc 102 to ensure that the syllabi and learning outcomes for multiple sections are comparable. This semester the Csc102 course is going through the SUNY General Education Requirements testing to test for a standard set of program outcomes for each section of the course. This will also help ensure that the learning outcomes for the Csc 102 classes are comparable.

Since the CIS program started in the fall of 2001 only one adjunct faculty member has taught Csc 104 and Csc 121. All other sections of these classes have been taught by the CIS Program Coordinator.

Efforts to Assure that Required Courses are Offered to Meet Student Needs:

The CIS faculty have consulted with CIS students to create the following course offerings schedule.

Course Offering Schedule

Course / Fall / Spring / Summer
CSC 102 Intro to Microcomputer / Day (MS)* Night
(DL)** / Day (MS)* Night
(DL)** / Day Night
CSC 104 Intro To Programming / Day / Day
Night
CSC 121 Fund of Computer Science / Day
Night / Day
CSC 202 Database Systems / Night / Day
CSC220 Operating Systems / Day
Night
CSC 225 Hardware / Day
Night
CSC 230 Networking / Day / Night
CSC 235 Help Desk Internship / Day / Day
CSC 205 Web Design*** / Day
CSC 210 Intro to Layout & Design*** / Day
CSC215 Web Design & Prog*** / Day

*MS - Multiple Sections

**DL – Distance Learning Format

***CSC Elective Courses

Because CSC 220 and CSC 225 share the same lab it is very difficult to run them both during the same semester. Based on past course demand and in class student feedback the CIS faculty feel that this course offering schedule is sufficient to meet current student needs. As the program grows additional course sections may have to be offered.

Internship Opportunities:

The CIS program has two required internship courses. BIT 280 Business Practicum/Seminar is a three credit course which requires a 120 hour on site supervised experience for the student and 15 hours of classroom work. The Csc 235 Help Desk Internship is a one credit course which requires a 40 hour on site experience in a help desk setting along with 5 hours in the classroom. The Internship Coordinator/Career Specialist at Clinton Community College has been working closely with area businesses to expand internship opportunities for the students and help the students choose and apply for their internships.

Departmental Procedures for Development, Review and Evaluation of courses:

There are no formal procedures for review and evaluation of courses in the Business/ Technology department. Course evaluations are done by students for most courses, but these tend to focus more on faculty performance. If substantial changes in a given course were needed, or if there were a need to develop a new course, a proposal would have to be developed by the sponsoring faculty member. The proposal would then have to be presented and approved by the Business/Technology division, the Curriculum Committee and the College Faculty Council. Approval would then have to be obtained by the Vice President for Academic Affairs and the College President. In the Fall semester of 2002 the college started implementing it’s General Education assessment plan. Eventually all courses will be assessed by student learning outcomes.

Advisement Procedures and Assessment:

New full-time students are assigned an advisor and provided with advisor contact information by the Counseling and Advisement office. To the extent possible, students are matched to faculty advisors who teach in the program that they have selected. The faculty contract specifies that each faculty member advise a maximum load of 30 students. This maximum can be increased for faculty who agree to advise more students (with additional remuneration), at the discretion of the Academic VP. Faculty advisors in specialized areas often have more than 30 advisees. While every effort is made to match advisors and students within a program of study, this is not always possible. Students may be assigned to advisors who do not teach in their chosen program of study. In this case, advisors are trained. Students also have the option to request a specific advisor, contingent upon the availability and willingness of the faculty advisor and the approval of the Academic VP (if the maximum load is exceeded).

In addition to students being assigned a faculty advisor, the availability of an advisement handbook, annual advisor training, advisor contact of students with follow-up on any reported concern, notification by an advisor that midterm grades may be picked up, and encouragement of students to schedule a pre-registration appointment are all activities surrounding the advisement process.

In the CIS program, the two full time faculty members handle all of the advising. Both advisors send out letters to each of their advisees informing them of the time frame for pre-registration for the next semester, office location and hours of availability of the advisor.

Periodically, student satisfaction with the advisement is assessed. The SUNY Student Opinion Survey asks a question about advisement. There is, however, no routine in-house assessment of advisement effectiveness from either the students’ or faculty advisors’ perspective. CCC students who responded to the 2000 SUNY Student Opinion Survey rate their satisfaction with academic advising at 3.75 on a 5-point scale. Overall, students at Clinton Community College are more satisfied than most other students in SUNY community colleges; specifically, CCC is ranked 6 out of 30 for overall satisfaction with academic advising. Student satisfaction with the value of the information provided by advisors and advisor availability were rated at 3. 68 and 3.64 respectively, both slightly above the SUNY average.

Assessment

Effectiveness in Achieving Outcomes:

In October, 2002, eight surveys were sent to graduates of the CIS program, six were returned. A copy of the survey is included in Appendix C. The goal of these surveys was to aid in the assessment of the program outcomes. Each program outcome is listed with the results of its assessment.

To address this outcome, persistence is defined as students that are still enrolled in the CIS program or have graduated with a degree in CIS. Completion of CSC 121 is defined as receiving a passing grade in the course. It does not include withdrawals. The outcome was defined this way since CSC 121 is the first course that students take that exposes them to the field. A number of students start this course not realizing the content of the program or the rigor expected, and soon drop out. It was the intention of the outcome to access persistence of students who have these understandings. For students enrolled in the CIS program in the Fall 2001 semester 34 out of 46 completed CSC 121. Out of those 34 students 25 have either graduated or are still enrolled in the CIS program. This indicates a persistence rate of 73% which is well above the overall persistence rate of students attending Clinton Community College.

2. At least 85% of all Clinton Community College CIS graduates will report program satisfaction to be satisfactory or better.

The results of the following question that was included in the survey sent to graduates of the program is described below (A copy of the survey can be found in Appendix C):

Overall, how satisfied were you with the training/education you received in Computer Information Systems Program?

Very satisfied4 responses

Moderately satisfied2 responses

Somewhat unsatisfied0 response

Very unsatisfied0 responses

The first two responses; Very satisfied and Moderately satisfied were considered to be rating the program to be satisfactory or better. 100% of the graduates who returned surveys rated the program to be satisfactory or better.

3. At least 85% of employers who rate Clinton Community College CIS graduates will do so with job performance ratings of satisfactory or better.

At the time of the writing of this report two of the eight CIS graduates had attained employment in a computer related filed. The Employers of those two graduates were surveyed. Summary results of the employer survey are shown below. (A copy of the employer survey can be found in Appendix C):

Rating Scale

1 – Excellent

2 – Very Good

3 – Satisfactory

4 – Poor

5 – Not Applicable

Graduates from the Computer Information Systems Program demonstrate the following skill levels of knowledge:

Employer1Employer 2

General Knowledge of Computer Hardware31

Computer Hardware Troubleshooting 2-33

General Knowledge of Computer Networks 43

Computer Networks Troubleshooting Software 43

Computer Programming Skills 55

Mathematical Skills 55

Written Communication13

Business and Accounting Skills55

Dependability11

Flexibility23

Team Player21

Initiative12

Please give an overall rating of the CCC Graduate. 22

Both employers who responded to the survey gave the CIS graduates an overall rating of “Very Good” which is above satisfactory. The only skill area where either graduate was rated below satisfactory was in the area of Computer Networks and Computer Network Troubleshooting. Both employers also indicated on the open ended portion of the survey that more hands on network training and hands on computer hardware troubleshooting would have made the CIS graduate more successful.

4. At least 85% of Clinton Community College CIS graduates who transfer to

Baccalaureate programs will maintain a GPA of 2.5 or better.

This data is not available at the time of the writing of this report

5. At least 85% of Clinton Community College CIS graduates who take the A+ Core certification test will pass the test on the first try.

Only 1 CIS graduate has elected to take the A+ core certification test. This person passed the test on the first try.

6. At least 85% of Clinton Community College CIS graduates who take the A+ Network certification test will pass the test on the first try.

Only 1 CIS graduate has elected to take the A+ Network certification test. This person passed the test on the first try.

The CIS program was just approved in the Fall of 2001. At this time we have only had 8 graduates. The six students who completed the graduate survey responded very favorably. All six students rated the program satisfactory or better and the one student who took the A+ certification tests did pass on the first try. We need more data before we can draw any major conclusions from the survey results.

Follow Up Data on Student Placement:

The annual Alumni Survey is the College’s only regular vehicle to assess student outcomes after graduation. This survey is conducted once a year and is used as a one-year follow-up for those graduating in the prior May. It includes information on both transfer and employment. Data from the Alumni Survey are included in this report.

The SUNY system provides the College with data concerning persistence of our graduates, but these data are only available in the aggregate. Persistence for students of individual programs is not available. In general, approximately three-quarters of CCC students who transfer to a SUNY senior institution persist for at least one year. Since the graduating class of 1996, CCC ranks in the top five of 30 SUNY community colleges in one-year persistence rates.

Since approximately 80 percent of CCC students transfer to Plattsburgh State, data received annually from PSUC provide more detail about transfer persistence and success. Seventy-eight percent of all CCC graduates in the classes of 1996, 1997, and 1998 completed one year at PSUC. CCC transfer students who achieved a GPA of 3.0 or higher represented 56%, 72%, and 56% of the classes of 1996, 1997, and 1998, respectively