Self Assessment Report (SAR)

M.Sc. (Computer Science)

Self Assessment Report (SAR)

Table of Contents

Criterion 1: Program Mission, Objectives and Outcomes 5

Standard 1-1:. 5

About IMSciences 5

IMSciences Mission Statement 5

The MSc. (Computer Science) Programme Mission Statement 6

Objectives of the MSc. (Computer Science) Programme 6

Standard 1-2:. 7

MSc. Programme objectives vs Outcomes: 7

Criterion 2: CURRICULUM DESIGN AND ORGANIZATION 8

DEGREE TITLE: 8

Definition of Credit Unit 8

Degree Plan 8

ASSESMENT OF THE MSc. COMPUTER SCIENCE 9

Standard 2-1:. 9

Standard 2-2: Theoretical background, problems. 10

Standard 2-3: core requirements for the program. 10

Projected Plan, MSc. Computer Science 11

Standard 2-4: major requirements for the program as specified by HEC 12

Standard 2-5: Information Technology Contents 13

Criterion 4: STUDENT SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE 14

Introduction 14

Courses 14

Standard 4-1: Sufficient Frequency of Course Offering 14

4.1.1. Core Courses 14

4.1.2. Elective courses 14

STRUCTURE OF COURSES 15

Standard 4-2: Effective Faculty/Student Interaction 15

Guidance to Students 15

Standard 4-3: Professional Advising and Counselling 15

4.3.1 Students counselling system 15

Criterion 5: Process Control 17

Standard 5-1 17

Admission criteria of the program: 17

Transfer 17

Standard 5-2: 17

Students’ academic progress is monitored by continuous assessment: 18

a. Attendance: 18

b. Evaluation and Grading: 18

Standard 5-3: 18

Procedure for recruiting new professorial rank faculty and lecturers 19

Faculty Evaluation 20

To retain qualified faculty, the university offers the following support and financial incentives: 21

Standard 5-4: 21

Standard 5-5: 21

Degree Requirements 22

GPA Requirements 22

Duration 22

Criterion 6: FACULTY 23

Standard 6-1: 23

Faculty of CS/IT (Having PhD Degree) 23

MS degree holders 23

Faculty of IT (On Study Leave) 24

Full-Time Faculty Information: 25

Standard 6-2: 25

Standard 6-3: 26

Criterion 7: INSTITUTIONAL FACILITIES 27

Standard 7-1: 27

Standard 7-2: 27

Standard 7-3: 28

Criterion 8: INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT 29

Standard 8-1: 29

Faculty Support and Resources: 29

Secretarial Support, Technical Staff and Office Equipment 29

Standard 8-2: 30

Standard 8-3: 30

Library: 30

Laboratory and Computing Facilities: 30

Criterion 1: Program Mission, Objectives and Outcomes

Standard 1-1: The program must have documented measurable objectives that support Faculty / College and institution mission statements.

About IMSciences

The Institute of Management Sciences, based in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, is a young, innovative, and an enterprising business school en route to compete with the foremost management schools of the country. The Institute is dedicated to its unique approach (at least in the region) of providing management and economics education based in cutting-edge research and comprehensive training. Unlike conventional academic institutes, IMSciences broadens its educational focus in response to new trends in the developing field of management and applied economics. Based on the social values of integrity, honesty, professional excellence and a broad vision of life, the Institute aims to provide an educational experience that transforms its students into business leaders at par with international managers, executives, and entrepreneurs. Since its inception in 1995, the school’s academic rigor and avant-garde approach to management and economics education have produced alumnae that shape the world of business and economics at regional, national, and international level.

IMSciences Mission Statement

The Institute’s comprehensive mission is to establish a self-conscious, learned, and self-regulating society in which individuals recognize their roles as accountable to the public good. More specifically, the institute aim to provide advanced knowledge of the art, science, and technology of business and economics through teaching, research, and training in order to produce leading executives, managers, software engineers, professional economists as well as computer scientists that can venture to shape the practice of business in every industry and become a catalyst for social and economic development.

To achieve this, the institute:

1.  Offer diverse programs based on curriculum that is in line with the varying management and economic trends.

2.  Provide exceptional faculty that aims to advance management economic theory and practice by analyzing knowledge through learning, research, classroom application, and service in public and private sectors.

3.  Attract students with outstanding intellectual ability that is dedicated to personal as well as social, and economic development of Pakistan.

The institute’s all-encompassing mission is to attest to the world the fact that a relatively underprivileged region has the potential to reach beyond social, political, and security barriers to educate and produce outstanding leaders for tomorrow.

The MSc. (Computer Science) Programme Mission Statement

To produce a pool of skilled IT professionals and learned practitioners to address the technological challenges of modern knowledge era.

Objectives of the MSc. (Computer Science) Programme

1.  To equip students with scientific and engineering methodologies in order to enable them to perform analysis of problems and the design, implementation and evaluation of computer based solutions.

2.  To build students competence and efficiency when working on individual or team projects.

3.  To equip student with persistent concepts in computer science to understand and be able to effectively utilize current platforms and tools.

4.  To enhance the students skills of effective use of oral and written communications in their interactions with clients, colleagues, management and subordinates.

Standard 1-2: The program must have documented outcomes for graduating students. It must be demonstrated that the outcomes support the program objectives and that graduating students are capable of performing these outcomes.

MSc. Programme objectives vs. Outcomes:

Criterion 2: CURRICULUM DESIGN AND ORGANIZATION

DEGREE TITLE:

Master of Sciences (Computer Science) (MSc. Computer Science)

Definition of Credit Unit

An academic semester represents 16 weeks of classes, exclusive of three monthly and one comprehensive exam.

Degree Plan

MSc. Computer Science is a 2 year extensive degree aimed to provide a thorough knowledge in the field of theoretical and practical Computer Science. The program provides comprehensive training in various areas of computer science to equip the students for the industry as well as for further degree in computer science. The main objectives of the program are as follows:

1.  To understand the basics of science, and specifically the scientific method to possess sufficient fundamental knowledge of computer science.

2.  To be a life-long learner to understand the social and ethical issues which face computer scientists, and thus be able to contribute to society in a positive and productive manner.

3.  Apply scientific and engineering methodologies to the analysis of problems and the design, implementation and evaluation of computer-based solutions.

4.  Utilize their breadth and depth of theoretical computer science and mathematics to adapt to emerging technologies and the ever changing needs of industry or the cutting edge of computer science research.

5.  Exploit their awareness of persistent concepts in computer science to understand and be able to effectively utilize current platforms and tools.

6.  Make effective use of contemporary industry computing tools and industry standards.

7.  Make effective use of oral and written communications in their interactions with clients, colleagues, management and subordinates.

8.  Display competence and efficiency when working on individual or team projects.

9.  Reflect on their understanding of the ethical and societal impacts of computer technology as it pertains to their current position.

10.  Continue to enhance their technical skills and their development as computing professionals through life-long learning.

ASSESMENT OF THE MSc. COMPUTER SCIENCE

Standard 2-1: The curriculum must be consistent and supports the program’s documented objectives.

The curriculum supports the program objectives and is consistent with the industry requirements and standards. The graduates of the program get specialization in different field of computing such as, Computer Networks, Programming and Software Engineering. Graduates of the MSc. Computer Science program have the skills to utilize their breadth and depth of theoretical computer science and mathematics to adapt to emerging technologies and the ever changing needs of industry or the cutting edge of computer science research.

Table: Courses vs. Program outcome

Standard 2-2: Theoretical background, problems analysis and solution design must be stressed within the program’s core material.

The MSc. Computer Science programme emphasizes on the application of problems solving techniques. Students are introduced to a number of programming languages such as C++, JAVA, Assembly Language and .NET. Students are required to implement their problem solving approaches using these programming languages. Students have access to the computing facilities in the Institute’s Computing Labs. The Institute has many computing laboratories with hundreds of computers that are network linked and equipped with major social standard software packages.

Standard 2-3: The curriculum must satisfy the core requirements for the program, as specified by the respective accreditation body.

This program aims at training competent computer scientists and potential theoretical researchers. To achieve this objective, the program is designed to strike a good balance between advanced theoretical and programming courses. We endeavor to ensure that our graduates are able to analyze computational problems relevant to their work and develop algorithms to cope with the industry and/or research problems. Specifically, this program equips graduates with:

1.  Advanced training in analytical and critical thinking skills for solving computational problems.

2.  Exploit their awareness of persistent concepts in computer science to understand and be able to effectively utilize current platforms and tools.

3.  Make effective use of contemporary industry computing tools and industry standards.

4.  Display competence and efficiency when working on individual or team projects.

Projected Plan, MSc. Computer Science

First Year

Second Year

Standard 2-4: The curriculum must satisfy the major requirements for the program as specified by HEC

The MSc. Computer Science program has been designed to develop critical thinking, logical reasoning and problem solving using different tools. This is accomplished by a rigorous and demanding curriculum and a brilliant and committed faculty. The foundation for problem solving is laid with courses in Programming Fundaments and Numerical Analysis. These skills are further enhanced through a diverse array of colloquia that provide detailed knowledge of specific areas of computing besides facilitating additional experience in computer networks and computer architecture.

Standard 2-5: The curriculum must satisfy general education, arts, and professional and other discipline requirements for the program, as specified by the respective accreditation body.

The MSc computer science programme meets the general requirements as specified by the HEC except for providing adequate English communication skills to students.

Standard 2-6: Information Technology Contents

The program includes courses that help students to utilize the advance computing technology. This includes providing different operating system environments, programming frameworks and specialized networks such as Cloud. The contents of the courses are focused on the program objective. These outlines are systematically developed as per HEC criteria by highly qualified faculty members and experts from industry in order to meet the desired standards.

Standards 2-7: Oral and written communication skills of the student must be developed and applied in the program

The MSc computer science program currently lacks the courses to equip its students with oral and written English communication skills.

Criterion 3: Laboratories and Computing Facilities

3.1: Introduction

The students of M.Sc (CS) programme have the opportunity to take benefit from the institute’s extensive computer and information technology facilities. The labs are conveniently located on all floors (two labs on each floor) of the academic building. Out of a total eight labs, four labs have at least 30 computers each and four labs have more than 80 computers each. Apart for computer labs, students have been provided access to computers in the library as well. The institute maintains a wireless network, allowing the students to connect to the internet from their mobile communication devices such as laptops and tablets. Students can access to HEC digital library and online research databases such as Emerald, Blackwell-Synergy, JSTOR, through the institute’s computers and wireless network. Students are also facilitated in the acquisition of registered statistical software packages (such as SPSS, STATA, and EViews), and Microsoft products through the Microsoft Digital Network (MSDN).

Standard 3-1:Laboratory manuals/documentation/instructions for

Experiments must be available and readily accessible to faculty and students.

A detailed document containing instructions on the usage of computer and internet has been provided to students and faculty.

Standard 3-2: There must be adequate support personnel for instruction and maintaining the laboratories.

The support staff in the labs is minimal. In each lab, one personnel designated as ‘Lab Assistant’ looks after the computers in the lab and facilitates the faculty and students when needed.

Standard 3-3: The University computing infrastructure and facilities must be adequate to support program’s objectives.

Computer and information technology is available to Faculty, staff and students alike. Apart from fully equipped labs with branded computers of latest technology and the availability of internet across the campus; the classrooms and lecture theatres have been equipped with modern multimedia and computer technology to be used visual aid. Video conferencing facility has also been setup at the institute through which audio-visual connection can be made with universities and organization across the country and around the globe.