Computers play a major role in shaping the information or the knowledge age. They are also becoming essential in almost all activities of human life. Furthermore, with the decline in the price of computer hardware, nations, organizations and individuals that couldn't afford to have computers some years back can now afford to acquire them. However, the acquisition of the hardware is just one step towards computerization. The most important step is to be able to use them properly.

This necessitates for a high number of skilled computer scientists who will develop the necessary applications for the computers, who will administer the computer systems and who will decide on computer system acquisitions of the organizations and all automation processes in general.

Institutions, enterprises, organizations and companies in all sectors, public and private, are directly or indirectly being affected by the overwhelming information flow around the world. The effect goes down to small businesses and even to individuals. Every such unit should be equipped with tools that enable it to survive in such a dynamic world. Ethiopia is no exception and we must get ready to cope up with the influence of the knowledge age in our day‑to‑day life.

A curriculum in Computer Science must be designed in such a way that it addresses the current needs of the country. Currently, the country has no sufficient number of competent computer professionals in the various fields of Computer Science. Various Governmental and other organizations have the desire to use modern information technology. However, there is an acute shortage of technical staff. The failure of many projects in IT in terms of implementation and sustainability is largely attributed to shortage of qualified professionals.

Realizing the importance of Computer Science and the deficiency of skilled manpower in the field, AAU launched a B. Sc. degree program in Computer Science that has been offered within the Department of Mathematics since 1991. In August 2002, the University Senate decided that this program be established as a separate Department, Department of Computer Science. With this decision, the new Department of Computer Science is established within the Faculty of Informatics (FoI) that also has a second department: the Department of Information Science. Since then, the Department has become responsible for the Computer Science programs under the faculty of FoI.

The major objectives of the Department of Computer Science are the following:

• Education: to run Computer Science programs to undergraduate, graduate, continuing and distance education students, as well as to offer Computer Science service courses to other Departments of the University.
• Research: to formulate an integrated research framework  by

-           identifying appropriate research projects for graduate students and staff

-           initiating multidisciplinary research collaborations, and

-           presenting and publishing research results in appropriate  national/international journals and conferences.

 

The first curriculum for the B. Sc. program was designed in 1990. The Department has been evaluating its curriculum over the last years through departmental assessment, peer evaluation and discussions with stakeholders. Hence, the first version of the curriculum has been revised in 2001. In 2004, it has been necessary to revise the curriculum again to adapt it to the new education policy of the country that requires only three years for the B.Sc. program.

 

Although the program has contributed its share in producing the necessary skilled manpower, the need for revising the curriculum is required because of the following major reasons.

•    Curriculum development is an on-going and continuous process. It is specifically true since Computer Science and its applications are relatively dynamic, with new concepts evolving while others getting outdated. Regular assessment and updating of the curriculum in Computer Science programs is vital: to ensure quality and relevance, to cope-up with rapid changes in the field and to adapt the curriculum to the needs and conditions of the country. This requires revising the description of courses, phasing out outdated courses, and introducing new ones.
•    The Department has now learned a lot after running the three year BSc program for several years. The current curriculum has to be revised based on past experience and the feedback acquired in both formal and informal ways from different stakeholders including alumni and employers of graduates.
•    With the three-year duration of the program, students were unable to take important Computer Science and other supportive courses that they are expected to take as a B.Sc. graduates of Computer Science due to the maximum possible credit hours imposed by the short duration of the study. Hence, the Department decided to offer the program for a duration of four years, which in turn requires curriculum revision.

Thus, this curriculum has been revised based on the previous curriculum and by taking into consideration the above reasons.