Consistent with its mission and guiding principles, Florida Gulf Coast University is committed to academic excellence and continuous quality improvement, as supported by a sound teaching-learning process. Within this process, students and instructors share responsibility for learning that is a movement from the simple to the complex, the concrete to the abstract, and the dependent to the independent. The Academic Learning Compact (ALC) initiative supports the teaching-learning process by clearly identifying expected core student learning outcomes in the areas of content/discipline knowledge and skills, communication skills, and critical thinking skills; aligning curricula with expectations; and using assessment to guide continuous improvement.

Graduates will be able to:

1. Apply knowledge of science and engineering to design and develop computer hardware,software, and systems in personal, industrial and business applications.
2. Design and conduct experiments in selected areas of computing, as well as to analyze and interpret data resulting from these experiments, by comparing them with other published data.
3. Identify, formulate and solve engineering problems encountered in computer system and software development.
4. Communicate effectively and conduct themselves in an ethical manner as computer science professionals.

Content/discipline knowledge and skills are assessed at the program level through papers, exams, and projects in the following required courses: COP 4610 Operating Systems, CNT 4104 Software Project in Computer Networks, and CEN 4935 Senior Software Eng Project.

Graduates will be able to:

1. Employ the conventions of standard written English.
2. Select a topic, and develop it for a specific audience and purpose with respect for diverse perspectives.
3. Select, organize, and relate ideas and information with coherence, clarity, and unity.

Communication skills are assessed as part of the General Education Program through papers, exams, and projects completed in ENC 1101 Composition I, ENC 1102 Composition II, and HUM 2510 Understanding the Visual and Performing Arts.  Communication skills are also assessed in the capstone course CEN 4935 Senior Software Eng Project.

Graduates will be able to:

1. Select and organize information.
2. Identify assumptions and underlying relationships.
3. Synthesize information, and draw reasoned inferences.
4. Formulate an appropriate problem solving strategy.
5. Evaluate the feasibility of the strategy.

Critical thinking skills are assessed as part of the General Education Program through papers, exams, and projects completed ENC 1101 Composition I, ENC 1102 Composition II, and HUM 2510 Understanding the Visual and Performing Arts. Critical thinking skills are also assessed in COT 3400 Algorithms and the capstone course CEN 4935 Senior Software Eng Project.