General Background: Name:_______________________ Year of graduation:_______ Email address _________________ May we list you (with your email address) on the CS Department's Web page? Yes___ No ____ No email ____ I. What have you been doing educationally and/or professionally since leaving Earlham? How satisfied are you with your present position? (circle the most appropriate number): Very dissatisfied Entirely satisfied 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 II. Evaluation of teaching: Rate your overall satisfaction with teaching of CS at Earlham. Very dissatisfied Entirely satisfied 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Overall, how would you rate the CS Department at Earlham on each of the following criteria? Put one X on each line: No basis for Poor Fair Good Excellent evaluation a. Quality of teaching | | | | | | b. Faculty knowledge of field | | | | | | c. Faculty accessibility to students | | | | | | d. Advising on your coursework | | | | | | e. Advising on your course schedules | | | | | | f. Advising on graduate school | | | | | | g. Advising on a career | | | | | | h. Compatibility with participation | | | | | | in extracurricular activities i. Compatibility with participation | | | | | | on off-campus study Comments on teaching: Do you think that the course material was presented in a way that was accessible to you? What changes (if any) would you recommend about the style of presentation of material? Did the course sequence in CS increase your ability to be an "independent learner?" What helped most in developing your ability to learn independently? What changes (if any) would you recommend to help students become more independent as learners by the time they graduate? Did the course sequence in CS increase your ability to think critically---to develop and trust your own criteria for assessing importance of data and/or ideas? What helped most in developing your ability to think critically? What changes (if any) would you recommend to help students become better critical thinkers by the time they graduate? III. Applied and Research Groups Did you participate in any CS applied or research groups (listed below) while at Earlham? Yes No organized applied groups existed while I was at Earlham They existed, but I was not interested They existed, I was interested but I did not have time They existed, I applied but I was not selected Did you work in a Post-Baccalaureate position while here? Did you work in a similar job with ECS while a student or immediately post-baccalaureate? (If these groups did not exist while you were here, you may move to the next section.) In your assessment, how much of a role did these groups have in the structure and culture of the CS Department while you were here? (If you did not participate in the applied or research groups or with ECS while at Earlham, move to the next section.) Which applied and research groups did you participate in? When? (Give semesters and/or summers in which you participated.) WebDB/Database Interfacing Group ___________________________________ Hardware Interfacing Project ___________________________________ Pedagogical Tools Group ___________________________________ Content Administrators ___________________________________ System and Network Administrators ___________________________________ Cluster Computing Group ___________________________________ Theory Group ___________________________________ Post-Bac (What capacity?) ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ECS (What did you do?) ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Did you participate in any summer projects? (List group/year.) How important were these experiences to your education at Earlham? How important were they to your overall experience at Earlham? Are there skills or knowledge that you gained via these experiences that you would not have otherwise obtained at Earlham? Which? Has your experience in these groups influenced your subsequent career? Do you work or study in a related area? Did you discuss your experience in job or grad school apps? Do you think your experience had an influence in your hiring/admission? Have you used the knowledge and/or skills you developed in your subsequent career? Describe the most personally rewarding or educationally productive thing you did as part of an applied or research group? Describe the least rewarding and productive thing you did as part of an applied or research group? What other applied or research areas would you have found enjoyable or helpful? What other changes would your recommend to help make the applied and research groups more rewarding and productive for future participants? IV. Preparation for a CS-related career or graduate study: (If you did not pursue a graduate work or a CS-related career after leaving Earlham, move to the next section) How would you assess your undergraduate CS training relative to that of others in your field/graduate program? Very dissatisfied Entirely satisfied 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Comments on your CS training at Earlham - e.g.: were there topics that you needed in your career or graduate studies that were not covered (or were covered in insufficient depth) in your studies at Earlham? Were there CS courses you took at Earlham that you feel, in retrospect, were unnecessary? Have you completed any courses beyond your Earlham baccalaureate? (Circle all that are appropriate.) a. Classes not directed toward a degree? CS Non-CS b. Classes towards a Graduate degree? CS Non-CS c. Completed graduate degree? CS Non-CS What degree? Where did you take these courses? V. Preparation for a non- CS-related career. (If you stayed in CS or a closely related field after leaving Earlham, you may move to the next section.) What aspects of your Earlham CS education have proven most beneficial to you in a non- CS-related context? What aspects of the Earlham CS program do you think should be changed? Have you completed any courses beyond your Earlham baccalaureate? (Circle all that are appropriate.) a. Classes not directed toward a degree? Non-CS CS b. Classes towards a Graduate degree? Non-CS CS c. Completed graduate degree? Non-CS CS What degree? Where did you take these courses? VI. Evaluation of balance in the CS curriculum: The undergraduate CS major requires a large number of courses, in both Math and CS. While in college, students sometimes feel that the large number of technical courses limits their options to take non-science courses, to go on off-campus programs, or to participate in extracurricular activities including involvement in sports, performing arts, or campus governance. After graduation, perspectives may change. We would like to know your present opinion about the balance between science and non-science courses for the CS major: Did you participate in an off campus program? ______ If so, which one: In retrospect, what were the advantages and disadvantages of being off campus for a semester? Did you participate in extra-curricular activities? ______ If so, which ones: In retrospect, what were the advantages and disadvantages of such participation to your overall education? To your CS education? What suggestions, if any, do you have on whether (and how) the balance between science courses and non-science courses should be shifted for the CS major? VII. Advising: Very dissatisfied Entirely satisfied 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 How would you evaluate the advice and support you received in deciding what to do after leaving Earlham - whether that was graduate study, technical employment, or a career unrelated to CS? What suggestions, if any, do you have for how such advising could be improved? VIII. Beyond the evaluation, we'd be interested in hearing about your life - successes, challenges, gossip, trivia - anything you'd like us to know. Note anything that you would NOT put on the web page to share with your friends - otherwise, we may end up sharing your news broadly. Thanks for your time.