Alex Schedel

EECS Department, University of California, Berkeley

Technical Report No. UCB/EECS-2023-177

May 15, 2023

http://www2.eecs.berkeley.edu/Pubs/TechRpts/2023/EECS-2023-177.pdf

The demand for a degree in computer science has exploded exponentially in recent decades, creating massive pressure on universities to scale up the size of their CS programs. The efforts of the UC Berkeley Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) Department to facilitate this expansion while maintaining academic quality stand out as a unique insight into the considerations and consequences of developing and maintaining a program at scale. This report details three aspects of course structure which require fundamental overhauls in order to be run at scale: systems for extensions and late work, mechanisms for running office hours, and techniques for proctoring and facilitating exams. Each of these subsections contain a number of considerations and case studies into the efforts of specific courses to facilitate themselves at scale in an effective manner. As a whole, this report serves as both a record and a guide for instructors of university courses, at UC Berkeley or otherwise, on the basics of running courses at scale.

Advisors: Joshua Hug

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BibTeX citation:

@mastersthesis{Schedel:EECS-2023-177,
    Author= {Schedel, Alex},
    Editor= {Hug, Joshua},
    Title= {Computer Science at UC Berkeley: The Consequences and Considerations of Running Courses at Scale},
    School= {EECS Department, University of California, Berkeley},
    Year= {2023},
    Month= {May},
    Url= {http://www2.eecs.berkeley.edu/Pubs/TechRpts/2023/EECS-2023-177.html},
    Number= {UCB/EECS-2023-177},
    Abstract= {The demand for a degree in computer science has exploded exponentially in recent decades, creating massive pressure on universities to scale up the size of their CS programs. The efforts of the UC Berkeley Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) Department to facilitate this expansion while maintaining academic quality stand out as a unique insight into the considerations and consequences of developing and maintaining a program at scale. This report details three aspects of course structure which require fundamental overhauls in order to be run at scale: systems for extensions and late work, mechanisms for running office hours, and techniques for proctoring and facilitating exams. Each of these subsections contain a number of considerations and case studies into the efforts of specific courses to facilitate themselves at scale in an effective manner. As a whole, this report serves as both a record and a guide for instructors of university courses, at UC Berkeley or otherwise, on the basics of running courses at scale.},
}

EndNote citation:

%0 Thesis
%A Schedel, Alex 
%E Hug, Joshua 
%T Computer Science at UC Berkeley: The Consequences and Considerations of Running Courses at Scale
%I EECS Department, University of California, Berkeley
%D 2023
%8 May 15
%@ UCB/EECS-2023-177
%U http://www2.eecs.berkeley.edu/Pubs/TechRpts/2023/EECS-2023-177.html
%F Schedel:EECS-2023-177