Certificate of Achievement in Computer Science

Graduates of the two-year program in Computer Science will have the skills required for entry level software development.Upon successful completion of the curriculum, students receive the Certificate of Achievement. This certificate combines both CTE & Transfer outcomes and integrates entry level skills for software development with curriculum insecure coding, hacking techniques, automation of security operations, and DevOps. This Computer Science certificate infuses Computer Science competencies with Cybersecurity competencies and is aligned with curriculum guidance from governing bodies such as the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) and the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE). The curriculum is mapped to the nationally defined Knowledge Units (KU) and articulates into four-year programs in both Computer Science and Cybersecurity. An inventory of Merritt College course mappings is published by the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies (NICCS) at https://niccs.us-cert.gov/training/search/merritt-college  The curriculum includes instruction in the fundamentals of problem solving and analysis, programming, data structures, and architecture. Additional requirements include Calculus, Physics and Discrete Mathematics. This program takes a contextualized approach to the CS major through the choice of language,C++, and the approach to curriculum subjects. It aims to develop skills in the design and implementation of software that operates correctly at extreme scale.It equips the graduate to select strategies and develop programs that solve complex problems within appropriate constraints such as time, connectivity,processing, or storage limitations.

This program also prepares students for transfer to four-year colleges for further study in Computer Science or Cybersecurity,as well as related areas such as Computer Engineering. Students who are interested in transferring after completion of the two-year certificate program should consult with the departmental faculty chair, read the “Transfer Information” section of the college catalog, and discuss heir plans with their program advisor or counselor. If you wish to substitute one class for another because of specific requirements of the transfer institution you will attend, consult with your articulation counselor. Four-year universities may have additional or different course requirements for completion of lower division courses. The web site www.assist.org can provide additional information about applicable courses for transfer.

For Merritt College the Chancellor's Office Data Mart (www.cccco.edu) lists 3 sections of Physics and 28 sections under the MATH TOP code, only 2 out of the 28 MATH sections, and one of the Physics sections are program applicable. The enrollment for these courses were taken from the Merritt College enrollment reports for those courses. With a new program like Computer Science, it is not possible to know the how many students will persist and move forward through the required sequence of major courses. The program is multidisciplinary and relies on successfully enrolling in math and physics courses that already service many other programs. Inability to enroll in a required math or physics class will delay student progress. Absent evidentiary data, an optimistic assumption of 66% retention for a starting cohort of 28 puts the estimated number of annual completers at 18.

The Certificate of Achievement in Science in Computer Science is a Career  Education (CE) and Transfer certificate that enables the student to join the software development workforce at the entry level. It includes instruction in the design of software and the implementation of software designs. It incorporates study in Mathematics and Physics to enable the student to design models of systems that often cannot be directly measured and observed. This enables the creation of algorithms; an unambiguous specification of how to solve a class of problems.It also includes instruction in implementation (coding) of software designs using a strongly typed programming language. These two distinct skill sets form the basis for successful software development in the work force as well as continued study in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, and related fields. 

Course	Title	Units	Year/Semester (Y1 or S1)
CIS 6 or	Introduction to Programming	5	S1
CIS 7	Control Structures and Objects	4	S1
MATH 3A	Calculus I	5	S1
ENGL 1A or	Composition and Reading	4	S1
ENGL 5	Critical Thinking in Reading and Writing	3	S1
MATH 3B	Calculus II	5	S2
CIS 33	Software Architectures and Algorithms	4	S2
PHYS 4A	General Physics with Calculus	5	S2
CIS 11	Discrete Structures and Logic	4	S3
CIS 78	Digital Architectures for Computation	4	S4

The program includes instruction in the fundamentals of problem solving and analysis, programming, data structures, and architecture. Additional requirements include Calculus, Physics and Discrete Mathematics. This program takes a contextualized approach to the CS major through the choice of language, C++, and the approach to curriculum subjects. It aims to develop skills in the design and implementation of software that operates correctly at extreme scale. It equips the graduate to select strategies and develop programs that solve complex problems within appropriate constraints such as, time, connectivity, processing, or storage limitations.

The program Narrative above is for a student completing the Certificate of Achievement in Computer Science with no electives. Sets of restricted electives are available that prepare students for distinct workforce sectors including: Cybersecurity, DevOps, Blockchain Services, Mobile Applications, Agile Project Automation and Continuous Integration, High Performance Computing (HPC), Data Science and Artificial Intelligence 

Providing optional course sequences in Cybersecurity as restricted electives follows the ACM Guidance dated 6/30/2017. The proposed Merritt College Computer Science program has the potential to significantly improve the local workforce by preparing graduates to apply software to security operations permitting intrusion detection, prevention, and mitigation to grow and scale by an order of magnitude.

There are 10 community colleges in the Bay Region issuing 145 awards annually on TOP 0707.00 - Computer Software Development and TOP 0702.10 - Software Applications. There are three colleges in the East Bay sub-region issuing 32 awards annually on these two TOP codes. Based on all available data, there appears to be a significant undersupply of Computer Science workers compared to the demand for this cluster of occupations in the Bay region and in the East Bay sub-region (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties). The gap is about 17,900 students annually in the Bay region and about 2,040 students annually in the East Bay sub-region.