Ministry of Education

Identified Competency Focus Areas and Core Courses for

National Exit Examination

Program: - Bachelor of Science in Computer Science

By: - Shumet Tadesse, [email protected], University of Gondar

August, 2022
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
 Revision History
No Revision History Date
1 First Draft July 19, 2022
2 Validated On August 10, 2022
3 Approved On

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 Table of Contents
1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 1
1.1. Objectives of the Exit Examination .................................................................................................. 2
1.2. Significance of the Document ........................................................................................................... 2
2. Expected profiles of graduates .............................................................................................................. 3
2.1. Knowledge .................................................................................................................................... 3
2.2. Skills ............................................................................................................................................. 4
2.3. Attitudes ........................................................................................................................................ 4
3. Competencies and learning outcomes ................................................................................................... 4
3.1. Core competencies ........................................................................................................................ 4
3.2. Mapping between core Competencies and Selected Courses ....................................................... 5
3.3. Learning outcomes ........................................................................................................................ 6
4. Courses to be included in the exam ...................................................................................................... 6
5. Categorizing courses into themes ......................................................................................................... 7
6. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................ 8
References ..................................................................................................................................................... 8

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 1. Introduction
We live in the digital age, where computers pervade every aspect of our daily lives. It is believed
that the potential of computers and the benefits they can bring to society are only just beginning
to be realized. Computer scientists are at the forefront of figuring this out, with the goal of
improving existing solutions as well as developing entirely new ones. The development of
theories, as well as the design and implementation of software and hardware solutions, all
necessitate the involvement of computer scientists. As a result, universities both locally and
globally teach computer science in an effort to produce the scientists and engineers of
tomorrow.

Most Ethiopian higher education institutions offer computer science as a four-year degree
program, with the goal of contributing to the country's overall growth by producing needed
manpower. In line with this, to avoid irregularities on the graduation profile a harmonized
curriculum is in practice which is implemented across all universities. The curriculum states
that the minimum requirement for graduation is a CGPA of 2.0, which does not measure the
overall learning output of the program but rather individual courses. As a result, a framework
that guarantees the fulfillment of the curriculum's graduate profile, as well as the production of
qualified labor for the local, national and international markets is needed. To this end, the
Ministry of Education (MoE) devised an exit exam as a framework to achieve the
aforementioned and other goals, such as creating a conducive environment for stakeholders’
proper engagement and assessing students’ achievement in their major area.

There are various settings in which an exit exam may be defined. In our case, it is described as
a form of assessment that higher education institutions utilize to examine the basic level of
competency obtained by its students. It is an assessment that is given to students towards the
end of their higher education tenure. Exit exams, according to studies [1], improve student
performance, have a positive impact on the job market, and result in faster economic growth.
As a result, computer scientists who have completed their higher education can use the exit
exam to demonstrate that they have the skills, knowledge, attitudes, and general compet encies
required by stakeholders worldwide.

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 1.1. Objectives of the Exit Examination

Computer science curriculums are designed to offer high-quality basic and advanced courses to
help students obtain broad knowledge and expertise in computer science. The major objective of
the exit exam is to evaluate graduates competency as per the computer science curriculum
objectives and demand that are expected by local and international industries. The national
computer science exit exam shall have the following specific objectives:

 To produce skilled and competent manpower to national and international market

 Assessing students’ educational achievement in major areas of computer science
 Ensuring whether the graduation profile of computer science curriculum have achieved
at least common standards of knowledge and practical skills
 Improving public trust and confidence in computer science activities of professionals
 Facilitating the efforts of students to revise the core learning outcomes of the courses
covered by the exit examination
 Ensuring all graduates from HEIs satisfy the requirements of the labor market and
employability through the national wide implementation of competency-based exit
exam
 Creating competitive spirit among computer science departments in Ethiopia with the
vies to encouraging them to give due attention to the national standards
 Providing inputs and suggest further ways forward for the policy makers based on the
exit exam outcomes

1.2. Significance of the Document

It is important to set competency areas of the subject matter (program) in order to measure the how
much graduates are acquired with skills, knowledge and attitudes. The following shows us the
significance or setting competencies and identifying core courses of the program;

 To set competencies that helps to assess the basic skills, knowledge and attitude of
graduating students;
 To systematically identify the core courses which will be included the exit exam;
 To evaluate and certify the competency of computer science graduates in line with the
identified computer science program focus areas;

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First and foremost, this competency and exit exam guideline for the BSc degree in computer
science program at higher education institutions in Ethiopia outlines the expected profiles of
graduates, such as knowledge, skills, and attitudes. The core competencies are then identified
and their course mapping is presented. The courses to be included in the exam are then listed
and organized into themes. Finally, concluding remarks are communicated.

2. Expected profiles of graduates

The three profiles of knowledge, skills, and attitudes are universally acknowledged as being
necessary for graduates [2].

 Knowledge ("know-what") is the mastery of fundamental ideas and concepts as well as the
application of learning to new situations
 Skills ("know-how") is the ability to complete tasks with predictable outcomes
 Attitudes ("know-why") are intellectual, social, or moral tendencies

The expected graduate profile of computer science graduates is outlined below in terms of the
three basic metrics mentioned above.

2.1. Knowledge

Graduates of computer science are expected to understand both the theoretical and practical aspects
of field, as well as the role of computing systems in general. To this end, the ability to apply or
justify concepts, methods, and computational proficiency in the field is required. It is, therefore,
critical to have comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the following topics:

 The fundamental concepts, principles and theories of computation and the application of
computers.

 Software Fundamentals and programming languages

 Systems architecture and infrastructure
 Systems modeling
 Structuring of data and information
 Hardware
 Trends and developments in computer science

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 2.2. Skills

The following skills are also expected from computer science graduates:

 Remembering emerging technologies

 Understanding computer architecture and operating systems
 Applying programming languages and software tools to address issues in the real world
 Analyzing existing computing infrastructures and architectures
 Evaluating systems in terms of general quality attributes and potential tradeoffs
 Creating computer artifacts to solve societal problems by applying system modeling,
development, and implementation principles

2.3. Attitudes

Graduates of computer science are expected to have a wide range of transferable skills (attitudes),
including

 Teamwork: Capable of making a valuable contribution to a development team.

 Communication: Briefly explain technical problems and how to solve them to a range of
audiences.

 Handling Ethical Issues in Computer Technology: Recognize and follow the social,
professional, and ethical issues that arise from the use of computer technology.

3. Competencies and learning outcomes

3.1. Core competencies

The term competency refers to workplace performance, or what a graduate should bring to a
job. The concept glues together the above mentioned expected graduate profiles, i.e.,
Competency=Knowledge + Skills +Attitudes. The core competencies for computer science
graduates are listed as follows:

 Design a computer system application, process, or protocol to meet the requirements of

users or stakeholders.
 Use a variety of operating systems, programming languages, and software tools effectively.
 Use formal reasoning to justify the correctness of computer science results

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  Manage and administer computing systems and resources
 Identify any risks or safety issues that may be involved in the operation of computing
equipment in a given context.
 Evaluate systems in terms of general quality attributes and potential tradeoffs presented
within the context of the given problem.
 Create a substantial technical document that describes work and plan of a project.

3.2. Mapping between core Competencies and Selected Courses

The mapping of core competencies to core courses is shown in Table 3-1. Competency, as
previously stated, is expressed in terms of knowledge, skills, and attitudes. The skills are described
using Bloom's levels of skill [3], which are composed of six cumulative degrees of skills including
remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating.

Table 3-1 Mapping of core competencies to courses

Computer organization and architecture

Automata and Complexity Theory

Introduction to Artificial Intelligence

Network and System Administration
Data Communication and Computer

Design and Analysis of Algorithms

Data Structures and Algorithms

Object Oriented Programming

Competency Vs Courses
Computer Programming

Software Engineering
Web Programming

Computer Security

Database Systems

Operating System
Compiler Design
Networking

Knowledge Element Skills

Programming Languages Understanding, X X X
Applying
Structuring of data and Analyzing X X
information
Systems Modeling Evaluating, X X
Creating
Analyzing, X X X X X
Systems architecture &
Evaluating
infrastructure

Software development Applying, X X X X

Creating

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Software Fundamentals Understanding, X X X X X
Applying
Hardware Understanding, X X
Remembering
Concepts, principles X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
and theories of Understanding,
computation and the Remembering
application of
computers
X
Trends and
developments in
computer science

3.3. Learning outcomes

 Apply computer science theory and software development fundamentals to produce

computing-based solutions;
 Use appropriate programming techniques to implement a solution to a problem;
 Develop a software system using the appropriate design principles and patterns;
 Analyze a complex computing problem and apply computing principles to solve it;
 Use analytical and empirical methods to assess the solutions to technological issues;
 Analyze current issues in the evolving field of computer science;
 Articulate the social, professional, ethical, and legal facets of a computing environment.

4. Courses to be included in the exam

A computer science graduate should take 52 courses to graduate, according to the current
curriculum. However, including all courses in the competency and exit examination is unrealistic.
To that end, the following courses were chosen from among all available options for the
competency and exit examination.

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 Table 4-1: List of selected Courses

No Course Name ECTS

1 Computer Programming 5
2 Database Systems1 10
3 Object Oriented Programming 5
4 Computer organization and Architecture 5
5 Data Communication and Computer Networking 5
6 Data Structures and Algorithms 5
7 Web programming 7
8 Operating System 5
9 Software Engineering 5
10 Design and Analysis of Algorithms 5
11 Introduction to Artificial Intelligence 5
12 Computer Security 5
13 Network and System Administration 5
14 Automata and Complexity Theory 5
15 Compiler Design 5
Total 82

5. Categorizing courses into themes

Table 5-1: Courses organized into themes

Theme Courses
Software Engineering
System Development Web Programming
Database Systems
Computer Programming
Object Oriented Programming
Programming and Algorithms
Design and Analysis of Algorithms
Data Structure and Algorithms
Data Communication and Computer Networking
Computer Networking and Security Computer Security
Network and System Administration
Intelligent Systems Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
Computer Architecture and Operating Operating System
Systems Computer organization and architecture
Compiler and Complexity Automata and Complexity Theory
Compiler Design

1
Fundamentals of Database Systems and Advanced Database Systems

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 6. Conclusion
Core competency and exit examination courses for the computer science BSc degree program
were presented in this guideline. Sixteen courses were chosen from a pool of more than 52
courses to assess students' competencies. The courses are further categorized into six themes
for comprehension purpose. The courses on the list are fundamental courses that prepare
students to compete in the global marketplace.

The exam that is going to be prepared from these courses should focus on concepts that guide
for long term knowledge and transfer skills instead of detailed assessment. Furthermore, the
courses are subject to change in the event of a curriculum update.

References
[1] Woessmann, Ludger. "Central exit exams improve student outcomes." IZA World of
Labor (2018).
[2] Clear, A., A. Parrish, J. Impagliazzo, P. Wang, P. Ciancarini, E. Cuadros-Vargas, S.
Frezza et al. "Computing curricula 2020 (CC2020) paradigms for global computing
education." ACM: New York, NY, USA (2020).
[3] Anderson, L.W. et al., A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of
Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives, abridged edition, (White Plains, NY
Longman, 2001).