Abstract:

With the rapid advancements in computing, many colleges are introducing new majors such as Cybersecurity and Data Science. In small colleges and universities, Mathematics and Computer Science departments are often combined and the presence of a limited number of faculty poses a challenge in incorporating the math courses necessary to meet the increasing demands of the new computing majors while also catering to existing Mathematics (and other) majors and general education requirements. This paper reviews the essential mathematical concepts for students in the fields of computer science, cybersecurity, and data science (as proposed by the Association for Computing Machinery and the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) and explores how smaller departments can develop curricula that address these needs while ensuring the continued quality of education for all majors.

Within this paper, we compare the mathematics requirements for the above majors with math courses usually taught in the undergraduate curricula. We investigate the time constraints imposed and the impact on faculty load, the difficulty of managing course conflicts in small schools, classroom availability, and other resources necessary and available to teach the required math courses. We consider the trends in higher education and the impact of increased course need on student-to-professor ratios, course load, and meaningful instruction time including lecture, lab, and office hours.

Keywords:

Computing, Education, Mathematics, Faculty loads, Curriculum development.