Curriculum Committee ("CC") Minutes for 22 May 1996

______________________________________________________________________________


Attending:  Arora, Fleming, Fujimura, Mamrak, Soundararajan, Weide, Yeack
	    
* Discussion of evaluation and possible future of CIS 694P:
  "Object-Oriented Programming"
  
  Neelam reported on his experience in 694P during Wi 96.  This course
  was an exploration of OOP ideas using C++ as the language vehicle.
  Some observations:
  - The course was full (40+) and involved some "lively" discussions
    even at 8:30 AM, indicating student interest.
  - Some topics on the syllabus but not directly related to OOP issues
    (e.g., constructors, destructors, storage management, C/C++ syntax)
    took quite a bit more time than planned because some students did not
    seem too familiar with them.
  - Some topics on the syllabus but not directly related to OOP issues
    (e.g., exception handling) were not covered and probably could be
    dropped as somewhat peripheral anyway.
  - More time should be devoted to the main OOP ideas of inheritance and
    polymorphism, since this is the theme of the course.
  Some conclusions:
  - The course could serve a valuable role for students who graduate
    before the changes to 221/222/321 go into effect, since it might be
    their only decent opportunity to discuss OOP ideas.  It should be
    offered again next year, but the prerequisite should be changed from
    "CIS 560" to "CIS 560; CIS 459.21 or CIS 459.22" so less time is spent
    on C/C++ details and the emphasis can be more on OOP-specific issues.
  - Longer term prospects probably lie in considering the course in tandem
    with 655 to see if there is room to include "alternative programming
    paradigms" (functional programming, logic programming) there.  Is a
    new course needed, or does 655 need an overhaul, or both?
    
  
______________________________________________________________________________


Next meeting: next year.


Respectfully submitted,

	Bruce W. Weide, CC Chair