Computing curricula 1991 its implications for software engineering education

Abstract

The report Computing Curricula 1991 contains curricula recommendations for baccalaureate programs in the area of computing, which includes programs with the titles "computer science," "computer engineering," "computer science and engineering," and other similar titles. Its recommendations provide a uniform basis for curriculum design across all segments of the educational community — schools and colleges of engineering, arts and science, and liberal arts. That report is also the first comprehensive undergraduate curriculum report to be jointly prepared and endorsed by the Association for Computing Machinery and the Computer Society of the IEEE.

The guidelines provide coverage of new and updated subject matter, including a detailed breakdown of individual lecture and laboratory topics. Fundamental areas of concern in curriculum planning are also addressed: program goals; course design and sequencing; integration of laboratory work; the role of programming and other related educational experiences.

Because the computing field is changing and because guidelines must be applicable to a variety of programs, the report focuses on the process of curriculum design in the discipline of computing. Instead of providing a detailed design for a curriculum in computing, the report provides a set of requirements for programs of study in this area. These include a collection of computing subject matter topics to be included in every student's program and a set of advanced elective subject matter topics. Also included are course requirements in mathematics and science.

This paper considers the implications of the report for programs specializing in software engineering. The basic recommendations of the report are presented and discussed. A comparison of the implementation with the SEI Undergraduate Curriculum in Software Engineering will be given.