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Status: following text will be sent to the department, in request for feedback.
Dear Colleagues,
The Curriculum Committee has proposed a revision to our first-year curriculumthe first two years of the EE and CE curricula. At the Department Meeting where I presented this proposal, concerns were raised. I am therefore asking for feedback about the proposed curriculum change, preparatory to a vote of the department.
Context: The Department of Mathematics believes that the current content of Math 415 (Linear Algebra) could be, and should be, taught to first and second-year students. In accord with that view, one of its current sections (Math 415PL1: syllabus attached) is a prototype of a proposed new course with the number Math 257. Mathematics faculty have expressed the wish that Math 257 could be a pre-requisite for Math 285, so that Math 285 could include treatment of linear systems of differential equations. Many ECE faculty have expressed the wish that ECE students should take a 3-hour linear algebra course, instead of the one hour of matrix manipulations currently provided in Math 286. At the ECE Department Meeting on 10/6/2020, several faculty expressed concern that adding two hours to the first two years of the ECE Curriculum would place an undue burden on students entering our program without AP Credit. In response, the Curriculum Committee proposes a change to the Junior Eligibility rule that will have the net effect of reducing the number of hours that are absolutely required of all students in the first two years.
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Please send your feedback on these two proposals to Mark Hasegawa-Johnson, jhasegaw@illinois.edu. Concerns raised during this open discussion period will be discussed by the Curriculum Committee, with your participation if you agree, with the intention of formulating a proposal text that is acceptable to all members of the faculty and that will enhance the value of Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering degrees earned at the University of Illinois.