As I’m writing this, we are in the middle of week 8 of Fall 2023. As the term is coming to a close, this final blog post of the term is going to be a SWOT analysis of CS 467, in which I discuss the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats associated with the course .
Strengths
Despite the limited amount of structured learning in this course, I truly feel like I grew more as a developer this term than any other. From picking up new technologies like the ORM Sequelize, to working on the largest-scale project I’ve ever been a part of, getting more practice with CI workflow with git, and even just communication with teammates, I feel much more career ready than I did going into the term. The periodic extra credit assignments, ranging from career mapping to overhauling your LinkedIn, were a great way to encourage students to put themselves in a good position to secure a job after graduation. In addition, although I went with one of the provided projects, the flexibility to choose your own project ensures that students are able to work on something they’re passionate about and therefore more likely to invest time and effort into.
Weaknesses
Possibly the biggest weakness of this course is it’s reliance on team members. Since a project’s success will be affected by team dynamics, a student may be penalized for the shortcomings of others. However, that’s how working in a group is, and that’s also one of the strengths of the course. Another weakness in the course is the lack of clarity in the resources available to students. Instead of listing them on Canvas, teams had to individually request things like a MySQL instance on the ENGR servers. In addition, instructor interaction in general was fairly limited, partly because there was not a lot of discussion in the associated Ed Discussion board or Discord.
Opportunities
There are certainly some opportunities to improve on weaknesses and capitalize on strengths. Instructors could make more of an effort to be engaging, particularly on Ed. Also, a list of resources available to students related to project hosting would be very helpful to add. I think some modules dedicated to interview prep would add value, as well as some discussion of Leetcode-style questions. Finally, reducing the amount of non-project work would be beneficial in my opinion. Making a 15 minute presentation every week, in addition to periodic blog and discussion posts, does take time that may be better spent working on the project.
Threats
One of the biggest threats to the quality of the course is student engagement. Due to the asynchronous nature of the course, students may not be as reliable as they would be in an in-person program. In these cases, the project suffers, and so will the grades of everyone involved.
Conclusion
I would say the strengths far outweigh the weaknesses in this course. It is an excellent learning opportunity for CS students reaching the end of their degree to prepare them for whatever industry they choose.
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