CS 151 Fall 2026 and Course Scheduling Announcements: Difference between pages

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CS 151 Introduction to Computer Science is taken by CS majors during their first term, along with ECT 130.
This page contains announcements of changes from the normal scheduling of courses.


This page contains the syllabus for CS 151 for the most recent offering (fall 2026). Previous terms - [[CS 151 Spring 2026]], [[CS 151 Fall 2025]], [[CS 151 Spring 2025]], [[CS 151 Fall 2024]], [[CS 151 Spring 2024]], [[CS 151 Fall 2023]].
Note that when a course substitution needs to be made because a regularly offered course is not offered, you should choose a CS course that is at the same or higher level.


Note that all sections of the course will use the same homeworks and lab assignments. Quizzes and exams may be slightly different for the online versus face to face students.
=2026-2027 Academic Year=
* 8/3/2026 - Students were informed earlier in the spring that once again CS 210 is not being offered, and that students who need it should register for ECT 373 instead.
* 5/14/2026 - CS faculty and courses will remain in Root Hall for fall 2026, and will be moving back to TC for spring 2027.
* 5/14/2026 - CS 600 is being added to the schedule so new CS MS students can take it. New CS MS students should take CS 600, CS 501 (if they haven't taken CS 401 already), and pick between AI 601, AI 602, or another CS 500/600 level course they are prepared for.
* 5/14/2026 - Two new courses will be offered in the fall, AI 601 Ethics of AI, and AI 602 Prompt Engineering Theory and Application. These have no prereqs and are intended for a general audience. CS student can take them and have them count as electives. See the schedule of classes for more details.
* 5/14/2026 - CS 617 will not be offered in the fall. Students who need it should register for AI 601 or AI 602 instead. TBD when CS 617 will be offered again.


Link to OneDrive folder with lecture slides and other files: '''[https://sycamoresindstate-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/jeffrey_kinne_indstate_edu/EiJJbQVND3FMr25IAoHydnUBADrC7z-tZH_OTaD1h_A8Ow OneDrive link]'''
=2025-2026 Academic Year=
* 11/30/2025 - CS courses and faculty are moving temporarily to Root Hall for spring and summer 2026. The third floor of TC is getting renovated. CS faculty updated room numbers are at [[ISU CS People]].
* 11/12/2025 - CS 401, 456, 457, 458 - these all have lab sections that go with them. The prerequisites were updated for the lecture course but were not properly updated for the lab sections. If you are able to register for the lecture course but get a prereq error for the lab course (e.g., you can register for CS 401 but get a prereq error for CS 401L) we will do a prereq override to allow you to register for the lab. You can notify either myself or Emily Miller (if she is one of your advisors), and we will request a prereq override for you.
* 6/24/2025 - the CS MS is getting updated for the start of the 2026-2027 academic year. Starting in Fall 2026, concentrations will no longer be required. The program requirements will be: Core Courses (9 credit hours - CS 500, CS 501, and CS 600), Culminating experience (3 credit hours - CS 685, CS 695, or CS 699), CS electives (12 credit hours), general elective (3 credit hours in CS, ECT, MATH, BIO, or PHYS). Students will be able to choose electives from their interests, and we will continue to offer courses from across CS, data science, bioinformatics, etc. The total # of credit hours required will be 30 (is 33 currently), and at least 15 credit hours need to be 600 level.
* 6/2/2025 - CS 210 is being replaced with ECT 373 for the fall term. The content is similar, and ECT 373 will count in place of CS 210. CS BS students in the information science concentration should register for ECT 373 rather than CS 210.
* 6/2/2025 - CS 500 and CS 600 are being canceled for the fall term. These are normally for new CS MS students. New CS MS students will take CS 501 and choose two other 500/600 level courses. CS faculty will discuss and let you know which ones.
* 6/2/2025 - CS 602 is being canceled for the fall term. ECT 636 is similar, so students interested in the content should register for ECT 636 instead (and it will count towards the CS MS).
* 4/4/2025 - Going forward, for CS online courses where there is also a face to face section, we will only allow distance students to register for the distance section. Individual instructors can choose how flexible to be with attendance in these cases, but this makes it so that face to face students are required to take exams and quizzes in person (which we need to help prevent cheating).
* 4/4/2025 - For those taking ECT 437 (which is replacing CS 499) in the fall, you should register for one of the sections that has Jeff Kinne as instructor.
* 3/12/2025 - ECT 437 and ECT 438 - note that ECT 437 is offered only in the fall, and ECT 438 is offered only in the spring. For those who graduate in a spring term, you will take ECT 437 in your last fall and ECT 438 in your last spring. For those who graduate in a fall term, you will take ECT 437 in your second last fall, and ECT 438 in your last spring. For 2025-2026, the following should take ECT 437 in the fall: anyone graduating in spring 2026 or in fall 2026.
* 3/12/2025 - ECT 437 and ECT 438 are replacing CS 499 for all CS students starting in the fall. Students that started in Fall 2024 or later already had ECT 437 and ECT 438 in their MySAM. Remaining students that still needed to take CS 499 in the fall or spring have now had their MySAM updated to require ECT 437 and ECT 438 instead. Those who needed one more term of CS 499 will take ECT 437 in the fall. Those who needed two terms will take ECT 437 in the fall and ECT 438 in spring 2026.


=Welcome and Getting Started=
=2024-2025 Academic Year=
An introduction to the course is given during the first week of classes. Look for an announcement and link to a recording. Slides are also available '''[https://sycamoresindstate-my.sharepoint.com/:p:/r/personal/jeffrey_kinne_indstate_edu/Documents/Courses/Jeff%20Kinne%20Lecture%20Notes/cs151/week%2000%20-%20course%20introduction.pptx?d=wef20c8e1c04d43e19956f03de52bd501&csf=1&web=1&e=A0ecC0 here]''' with the most important information.
* 8/18/2024 - Even though many CS courses still have TBA for instructor, they will all run. Faculty have been hired to teach them, they are just in the process of being added. We will also have one of the tenured faculty added to each of these courses, so you have someone to communicate with in the meantime. That should be setup by the end of the first day of classes.
* 8/13/2024 - For undergrad students in the information science concentration, three of the courses that are required might show up as CS or CSS in your MySAM. These are CS 210, CS 211, and CS 331. If these show up in your MySAM as CSS, then taking the CS version will not make MySAM happy, and we'll put in a substitution for them. So, take the CS version of the course, and let your advisor know that you'll need a substitution.
* 8/9/2024 - The following courses have been changed to be offered during the second 8 weeks of the fall term - CS 401&L, CS 501, CS 602, CS 617.
* 8/1/2024 - Most CS courses for the coming year will have a face to face section and an online asynchronous section. If the online asynch section is taught by the same faculty member as the face to face section, it is very likely that the faculty member will have the face to face section available to join online synchronously and will record these for those who don't join live. This is the way most CS courses have been running, but now the online section will not have an official meeting time listed. Each faculty member can decide how they want to handle this.


=General Information=
=2023-2024 Academic Year=
'''Course website''' - https://cs.indstate.edu/web/index.php/CS_151
* CS 600 will be offered every term (previously was fall only) so new CS MS students can take it their first term, including for those entering in the spring.
* 12/14/2023 - students in the information science concentration, for the courses CS/CSS 210, 211, 331 - make sure to register for the one that shows in your MySAM. They are cross-listed, so it is the same either way, but you need to register for whichever is listed in your MySAM (CSS 211 if it says that, CS 211 if it says that).
* 11/28/2023 - CS 302 will not be offered in the spring anymore. Students who need to take courses in the fall that require CS 302 as a prereq will be granted prereq overrides to take those courses concurrently. Students taking courses in spring 2025 will not need prereq overrides because they can take CS 302 in the fall.
* Pending potential changes to the CS major (for students who start in 2024)... Count CS 210/211/331 or CSS 210/211/331 for information science concentration (either one would be fine). To get ready to move CS to the ECET department: information science concentration - CS 101 no longer required, replace CS/CSS 331 with ECT 301; all concentrations - drop CS 499, add ECT 130, 430, 437, 438.
* 9/25/2023 - 4+1 accelerated BS+MS program for computer science is now in effect. A student in their third last semester of their BS can apply for the CS MS and take a limited number of graduate courses during their senior year in order to potentially finish the CS MS in an additional year at ISU. See here for more details: https://cs.indstate.edu/info/programs.html
* 9/22/2023 - for students in the information science concentration, when registering for the courses CS 210/211/331 or CSS 210/211/331 you should register for the one that is listed in your MySAM (for most of you, it lists CSS). If you ended up taking the CS counterpart, notify your advisor so they can submit a petition to have MySAM properly count the CS course.
* 8/3/2023 - there will be many students getting prereq errors due to some courses changing numbers. CS 202 has been changed to CS 302 (Data Structures and Algorithms), and CS 303 has been changed to CS 203 (Discrete Math and COmputing Theory). Any courses that have either of those as prereqs may give prereq errors even when you took them. If you think you are getting a prereq error for either of these even though you did take the course (and got a C or higher), let your advisor know which course you are trying to register for (and your id #, as always).


'''Your Instructor'''
=2022-2023 Academic Year=
Dr. Sternfeld is retiring with his last term being Spring 2022. Steve Baker is also leaving ISU. So we will be down from 7 full time CS faculty to 5. We have plans to run a faculty search to replace one or both of them, but for 2022-2023 we need to make do with fewer full time faculty. To make the schedule work we are making the following changes.
* ''Part time lecturers'' - increase the number of courses taught by part time lecturers.
* ''Canceling a few courses'' - the following courses would normally be offered but will not be for the upcoming academic year - CS 305 Computer Science Teaching Methods, CS 452/552 Software Engineering, CS 619 Trends in Computer Science, CS 658 Algorithms II, CS 671 Operating Systems II. If your concentration requires any of these courses, please consult your advisor to decide on substitutions.


[https://kinnejeff.com Jeff Kinne], [mailto:jkinne@indstate.edu jkinne@indstate.edu] <br>
Changes made after the schedule was originally released...
''Office:'' Root Hall A-165 and in Microsoft Teams, phone 812-237-3394 <br>
* 11/13/2022 - '''CS 151 Introduction to Computer Science''' - now has a prereq of B- in CS 101 or passing the CS 151 placement test.  For more, see https://cs.indstate.edu/web/index.php/FAQ#CS_101_versus_CS_151
''Instructor Office Hours:'' I am normally in my office between roughly 8:30am-3pm when I am not in class or meetings. I am normally available for online meetings - MTWRF 8am-4pm, SMTWR 8-10pm if I am not in class or a meeting. I have class/meetings the following days/times (so not available these times): MWF 10-11am, MW 1-3pm, T 3:30-4:30pm, TR 11am-12:30pm. <br>
* 10/28/2022 - '''CS 303 Discrete Math and Computing Theory''' - prereq is being updated to be just CS 151, so CS 303 can be taken along with CS 201 after CS 151.  This will be official for next academic year, and for spring 2023 we will do prereq overrides to allow students to register.  If you want to wait to take CS 303 until when you originally had it planned, that is okay too.
''Schedule a Meeting with Me:'' https://cs.indstate.edu/jkinne-meeting
* 9/23/2022 - Due to a staffing shortage this year, we are '''canceling''' the following for the '''spring''' term - '''CS 256 Structured Design''' and '''CS 602 Mobile and Cloud Computing'''. If you need to take either of these, be in touch with your advisor  to discuss your options.
* 9/23/2022 - Math '''will be offering MATH 503 Linear Algebra and Modeling''' after all in the spring, so data science students who have not taken it should take it. If it is not possible to fit it into your schedule, check with your advisor.
* 8/1/2022 - A course '''CS 510 Fast Track Into to Programming''' has been added to the fall and spring schedule. This is meant for those with little to no previous programming experience, those who want a refresher before taking other CS courses, or those looking to get ready to apply for the CS MS.  See [[CS 510]].
* 5/20/2022 - It appears that the math department will not be offering <del>MATH 503 Linear Algebra and Modeling for Data Science and</del> '''MATH 540 Statistics for Data Science''' during the next academic year. This is required for the data science concentration. If you are completing the data science concentration you should take CS 600 to use this as a replacement for the course.
* 4/11/2022 - Changing '''CS 417 Machine Learning''' to be in the spring rather than the fall. A section of '''CS 459 Topics in CS: Big Data / Data Mining''' is being added to the fall schedule (should show up within a day or so). The prereq for that will be CS 401 and can be used in place of CS 417 if you cannot take CS 417 in the spring; write to the your advisor to ask to be granted an override to register for the course.
* 4/11/2022 - '''CS 473/573 Computer Networks''' in the fall has been changed to be a synchronous online course with meeting day/time of Tuesday 6-8pm.


'''Lecture, Exam'''
=2021-2022 Academic Year=
''Lab sections'' - New this year, the following courses have required lab sections - CS 401, 456, 457, 458. These are required as co-requisites regardless of what your MySAM says (i.e., your MySAM does not list CS 456L as a requirement, but you need to register for it to take CS 456). These extra lab sections can count as electives of substitutions for those who need 400 level CS credits.


''Lecture:'' MWF 10-10:50am in Root Hall A-109, over Teams (link in Canvas/Teams, see below), and recorded<br>
''Credit hours'' - A few courses have had their number of credit hours: CS 303 is not 4 hours, CS 499 is now 2 hours. If your catalog year was for the smaller number of hours, then the additional hour can be counted towards electives or substitutions.
''Exams:''  every three weeks on Wednesdays (Sep 2, Sep 23, Oct 14, Nov 4), during lecture time (10-10:50am) for face to face section, available from this time until midnight for the online section.<br>
''Final exam:'' Monday, Dec 7, 10-11:50am. ''(For those in the online section with another class at that time, your exam time will be decided after the term starts.)''<br>


'''Supplemental Instructor/Hours''' There likely will be a supplemental instructor for the course. Details will be posted before classes start.
''Courses not offered'' - In order to offer required courses in the revised BS and MS programs every year, the following courses will not be offered for the foreseeable future: CS 420/520 Theory of Computation, CS 421/521 Formal Methods. Current students who have this listed as required should consult with your advisor to decide on substitutions. After substitutions are decided, your advisor will submit a petition so the substituted courses will show up in your MySAM (for undergrads) or plan of study (for grads).


'''Graduate assistant help''' There likely will be graduate assistant help for the course. Details will be posted before classes start.
''Courses not offered'' - Due to staffing changes this year, the following courses that are required in the CS MS data science concentration are not being offered: Math 503 Linear Algebra and Modeling for Data Science, Math 540 Statistics for Data Science. Consult your advisor to decide on courses to substitute for these. We expect these courses to be offered again in the next academic year.


'''Prerequisites''' - none.
''Courses online'' - CS programs are now offered completely online. For each required course in any of the CS programs, it will be offered at least once per year online. Most courses are offered in hybrid fashion - a combined section that has face to face students in the classroom, online synchronous students participating via Zoom or Teams, and asynchronous online students watching recordings and scheduling meetings as needed. Some courses are offered with a single asynchronous online section where all students participate asynchronously.


'''CRN numbers''' - 53090 for the face to face section, 51027 for the online section.
''Help lab online'' - The CS help lab (aka the Unix Lab) is now available completely online. Lab assistants with hours during the day are in the help lab
 
and also available online. There are normally evening hours that are available online only. For more, see [[Labs and Office Hours]]
'''Required text'''
We will use selections from the following free online sources.
* Automate the Boring Stuff with Python (available free at https://automatetheboringstuff.com/2e/). We use the 2nd edition of the book (not the latest, which puts the topics in a different order than we will follow).
* [https://www.khanacademy.org/computing/ap-computer-science-principles Khan Academy AP CS Principles], in particular unit 1 digital information and unit 4 algorithms.
* Additional online sources as needed.
* [https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ccy6CXrdP9415bDEbzcI773cyDNI7p3rr3yA76QmgtQ/edit#slide=id.g877391eabf_0_116 turtle graphics]
 
'''Class notes''' - Notes during class will mostly be kept in the documents in '''[https://sycamoresindstate-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/jeffrey_kinne_indstate_edu/EiJJbQVND3FMr25IAoHydnUBADrC7z-tZH_OTaD1h_A8Ow this OneDrive folder]'''.  Note that you will need to authenticate with your ISU account to view the folder. Some files from lecture may be kept at https://cs.indstate.edu/~cs151/ which can also be seen when you are logged into the terminal by doing: <code>cd ~cs151/public_html/</code>.
 
'''Technology Requirements'''
* Desktop or laptop computer (Windows, Mac OS, Linux, or Chrome OS) with the ability to save files and install programs.
* Your ISU account, to access Canvas and course notes.
* Free programs you will install: https://www.python.org/downloads/
 
'''Programming practice''' Challenge problems...
* [https://leetcode.com/explore/learn/card/the-leetcode-beginners-guide/692/challenge-problems/4421/ LeetCode beginning problems]
* [https://open.kattis.com/problems?f_language=-1&show_more_filters=on&f_min_difficulty=&f_max_difficulty=2&order=difficulty_data Open Kattis problems]
 
=Supplemental Instruction=
This course uses a supplemental instructor (SI) to provide extra sessions to help students who can use additional instruction beyond the regular lecture hours. The SI is a student who previously took the course and did well, and who works closely with the instructor to help students. SI sessions review content from lecture and what is needed for homework assignments. The SI is part of the course in Canvas so you can communicate with them that way if you like.
 
=Announcements/Assignments/Quizzes/Exams=
'''HW'''
These are posted in Canvas or on the CS server. Some HWs are due the next lecture day, some are due a week after assigned. All times are Eastern US time.
 
'''Rules'''
Rules for HWs, quizzes, exams are in the course policies below.
 
'''Announcements'''
Announcements will normally be posted to the course in Canvas (and will probably be emailed to your ISU email address if you have the default settings for notifications in Canvas).
 
=Course Description and Content=
 
'''Course Description'''
 
The official description of this course from the catalog is 
 
"Core concepts that are foundational in computer science, including programming, use of computers for dealing with files and programs, how data is stored, number systems. Focus on building skills needed for programming and further study of computer science, and intermediate mastery of a particular programming language."
 
'''Course Outline'''
 
This course outline is subject to change. 
 
'''Weeks 1-6'''
* Setup accounts
* Intro to Linux
* Variables
* I/O
* Flow Control
* If-statements
* Turtle
* Loops
 
'''Weeks 7-14'''
* Functions
* Chapter 4 - Lists
* Chapter 5 - Collections
* Chapter 6 - Strings
* Bits, Bytes, Base and Logic
* Intro to algorithms
* Chapter 9 & 10 (Files)
 
'''Week 15-16'''
* Final project and interviews
 
'''Learning Outcomes'''
* Able to use Linux systems and terminal - managing files, running code, using utility programs.
* Basic mastery of core programming concepts - data types, conditionals and loops, Boolean logic, functions, string operations, reading and writing files. In particular,
* Can take a specification and produce code implementing it.
* Can take code and "play computer" to determine the precise results of running the code on a given input.
* Can take a partially complete program and specification for how it should work, and complete it.
* Can take a program with syntax or logical errors and fix the errors.
* Understanding of good coding style and able to practice good coding style - use of functions to avoid redundant code, whitespace formatting, variable and function names, comments.
* Understanding of base systems, including ability to convert between binary, hex, octal, and decimal.
* Understanding of and ability to explain different file types - text versus binary.
* Able to read and write data with programs, including parsing simple file formats (e.g., csv).
* Understanding of sorting algorithms - able to "play computer" to execute sorting algorithms that were covered in class on small test cases.
 
=Assignments=
 
'''Start Assignments and Exam Studying Early''' -
I suggest attempting an assignment the day it is given, or the day after, so that if you have a problem you can ask early. If you continue to have problems in trying to complete the assignment, you will have time to ask again. Many of the assignments require thought and problem solving, which takes "time on the calendar" not just "time on the clock". By that I mean that spending an hour on 3 consecutive days is likely to be more productive than trying to spend 3 hours at once on the assignment.
 
'''Expected Amount of Work''' -
If you take this class seriously and get what you should out of it, some weeks you will likely be spending around '''6-10 hours or more''' on the class.  The students who get A’s in their CS courses and have an easier time finding jobs do spend this much time on this course.  Not everyone would need to spend this much time and not all weeks will be the same, but you should plan on putting in whatever time it takes.  Note that the federal government definition of 1 credit hour as requiring 2 hours worth of time on the course for each credit hour of lecture, so you should think of this as the default for all of your courses.
 
'''Note - your classes in your major should ideally be more important than your part-time job.'''
 
'''Each week''', you will normally have at least one assignment, often more than one (in particular at the beginning when the assignments are pretty small).
 
=Grade Meanings=
The letter grades are intended to have the following rough meaning. For letter grades I will use the usual breakdown as a starting point (90 is A-, 80 is B-, etc.), but will raise letter grades above this if I think it is needed (e.g., if assignments, exams, and quizzes are really tough).
* A+/A: You understand everything and probably could teach the course yourself.
* B+/A-: You understand nearly everything, and should be all set to use this knowledge in other courses or in a job.
* C/C+/B-/B: Some things you understand very well and others you don't (more towards the former for a B and more towards the latter for a C).
* D-/D+/C-: You did put some effort in, and understand many things at a high level, but you haven't mastered the details well enough to be able to use this knowledge in the future.
* F: Normally, students that get an F simply stopped doing the required work at some point, or cheated on something in the course.
 
{{:Jeff Kinne Course Policies}}
 
{{:Policies}}
 
{{:ISU Syllabus Items}}

Revision as of 15:32, 3 August 2026

This page contains announcements of changes from the normal scheduling of courses.

Note that when a course substitution needs to be made because a regularly offered course is not offered, you should choose a CS course that is at the same or higher level.

2026-2027 Academic Year

  • 8/3/2026 - Students were informed earlier in the spring that once again CS 210 is not being offered, and that students who need it should register for ECT 373 instead.
  • 5/14/2026 - CS faculty and courses will remain in Root Hall for fall 2026, and will be moving back to TC for spring 2027.
  • 5/14/2026 - CS 600 is being added to the schedule so new CS MS students can take it. New CS MS students should take CS 600, CS 501 (if they haven't taken CS 401 already), and pick between AI 601, AI 602, or another CS 500/600 level course they are prepared for.
  • 5/14/2026 - Two new courses will be offered in the fall, AI 601 Ethics of AI, and AI 602 Prompt Engineering Theory and Application. These have no prereqs and are intended for a general audience. CS student can take them and have them count as electives. See the schedule of classes for more details.
  • 5/14/2026 - CS 617 will not be offered in the fall. Students who need it should register for AI 601 or AI 602 instead. TBD when CS 617 will be offered again.

2025-2026 Academic Year

  • 11/30/2025 - CS courses and faculty are moving temporarily to Root Hall for spring and summer 2026. The third floor of TC is getting renovated. CS faculty updated room numbers are at ISU CS People.
  • 11/12/2025 - CS 401, 456, 457, 458 - these all have lab sections that go with them. The prerequisites were updated for the lecture course but were not properly updated for the lab sections. If you are able to register for the lecture course but get a prereq error for the lab course (e.g., you can register for CS 401 but get a prereq error for CS 401L) we will do a prereq override to allow you to register for the lab. You can notify either myself or Emily Miller (if she is one of your advisors), and we will request a prereq override for you.
  • 6/24/2025 - the CS MS is getting updated for the start of the 2026-2027 academic year. Starting in Fall 2026, concentrations will no longer be required. The program requirements will be: Core Courses (9 credit hours - CS 500, CS 501, and CS 600), Culminating experience (3 credit hours - CS 685, CS 695, or CS 699), CS electives (12 credit hours), general elective (3 credit hours in CS, ECT, MATH, BIO, or PHYS). Students will be able to choose electives from their interests, and we will continue to offer courses from across CS, data science, bioinformatics, etc. The total # of credit hours required will be 30 (is 33 currently), and at least 15 credit hours need to be 600 level.
  • 6/2/2025 - CS 210 is being replaced with ECT 373 for the fall term. The content is similar, and ECT 373 will count in place of CS 210. CS BS students in the information science concentration should register for ECT 373 rather than CS 210.
  • 6/2/2025 - CS 500 and CS 600 are being canceled for the fall term. These are normally for new CS MS students. New CS MS students will take CS 501 and choose two other 500/600 level courses. CS faculty will discuss and let you know which ones.
  • 6/2/2025 - CS 602 is being canceled for the fall term. ECT 636 is similar, so students interested in the content should register for ECT 636 instead (and it will count towards the CS MS).
  • 4/4/2025 - Going forward, for CS online courses where there is also a face to face section, we will only allow distance students to register for the distance section. Individual instructors can choose how flexible to be with attendance in these cases, but this makes it so that face to face students are required to take exams and quizzes in person (which we need to help prevent cheating).
  • 4/4/2025 - For those taking ECT 437 (which is replacing CS 499) in the fall, you should register for one of the sections that has Jeff Kinne as instructor.
  • 3/12/2025 - ECT 437 and ECT 438 - note that ECT 437 is offered only in the fall, and ECT 438 is offered only in the spring. For those who graduate in a spring term, you will take ECT 437 in your last fall and ECT 438 in your last spring. For those who graduate in a fall term, you will take ECT 437 in your second last fall, and ECT 438 in your last spring. For 2025-2026, the following should take ECT 437 in the fall: anyone graduating in spring 2026 or in fall 2026.
  • 3/12/2025 - ECT 437 and ECT 438 are replacing CS 499 for all CS students starting in the fall. Students that started in Fall 2024 or later already had ECT 437 and ECT 438 in their MySAM. Remaining students that still needed to take CS 499 in the fall or spring have now had their MySAM updated to require ECT 437 and ECT 438 instead. Those who needed one more term of CS 499 will take ECT 437 in the fall. Those who needed two terms will take ECT 437 in the fall and ECT 438 in spring 2026.

2024-2025 Academic Year

  • 8/18/2024 - Even though many CS courses still have TBA for instructor, they will all run. Faculty have been hired to teach them, they are just in the process of being added. We will also have one of the tenured faculty added to each of these courses, so you have someone to communicate with in the meantime. That should be setup by the end of the first day of classes.
  • 8/13/2024 - For undergrad students in the information science concentration, three of the courses that are required might show up as CS or CSS in your MySAM. These are CS 210, CS 211, and CS 331. If these show up in your MySAM as CSS, then taking the CS version will not make MySAM happy, and we'll put in a substitution for them. So, take the CS version of the course, and let your advisor know that you'll need a substitution.
  • 8/9/2024 - The following courses have been changed to be offered during the second 8 weeks of the fall term - CS 401&L, CS 501, CS 602, CS 617.
  • 8/1/2024 - Most CS courses for the coming year will have a face to face section and an online asynchronous section. If the online asynch section is taught by the same faculty member as the face to face section, it is very likely that the faculty member will have the face to face section available to join online synchronously and will record these for those who don't join live. This is the way most CS courses have been running, but now the online section will not have an official meeting time listed. Each faculty member can decide how they want to handle this.

2023-2024 Academic Year

  • CS 600 will be offered every term (previously was fall only) so new CS MS students can take it their first term, including for those entering in the spring.
  • 12/14/2023 - students in the information science concentration, for the courses CS/CSS 210, 211, 331 - make sure to register for the one that shows in your MySAM. They are cross-listed, so it is the same either way, but you need to register for whichever is listed in your MySAM (CSS 211 if it says that, CS 211 if it says that).
  • 11/28/2023 - CS 302 will not be offered in the spring anymore. Students who need to take courses in the fall that require CS 302 as a prereq will be granted prereq overrides to take those courses concurrently. Students taking courses in spring 2025 will not need prereq overrides because they can take CS 302 in the fall.
  • Pending potential changes to the CS major (for students who start in 2024)... Count CS 210/211/331 or CSS 210/211/331 for information science concentration (either one would be fine). To get ready to move CS to the ECET department: information science concentration - CS 101 no longer required, replace CS/CSS 331 with ECT 301; all concentrations - drop CS 499, add ECT 130, 430, 437, 438.
  • 9/25/2023 - 4+1 accelerated BS+MS program for computer science is now in effect. A student in their third last semester of their BS can apply for the CS MS and take a limited number of graduate courses during their senior year in order to potentially finish the CS MS in an additional year at ISU. See here for more details: https://cs.indstate.edu/info/programs.html
  • 9/22/2023 - for students in the information science concentration, when registering for the courses CS 210/211/331 or CSS 210/211/331 you should register for the one that is listed in your MySAM (for most of you, it lists CSS). If you ended up taking the CS counterpart, notify your advisor so they can submit a petition to have MySAM properly count the CS course.
  • 8/3/2023 - there will be many students getting prereq errors due to some courses changing numbers. CS 202 has been changed to CS 302 (Data Structures and Algorithms), and CS 303 has been changed to CS 203 (Discrete Math and COmputing Theory). Any courses that have either of those as prereqs may give prereq errors even when you took them. If you think you are getting a prereq error for either of these even though you did take the course (and got a C or higher), let your advisor know which course you are trying to register for (and your id #, as always).

2022-2023 Academic Year

Dr. Sternfeld is retiring with his last term being Spring 2022. Steve Baker is also leaving ISU. So we will be down from 7 full time CS faculty to 5. We have plans to run a faculty search to replace one or both of them, but for 2022-2023 we need to make do with fewer full time faculty. To make the schedule work we are making the following changes.

  • Part time lecturers - increase the number of courses taught by part time lecturers.
  • Canceling a few courses - the following courses would normally be offered but will not be for the upcoming academic year - CS 305 Computer Science Teaching Methods, CS 452/552 Software Engineering, CS 619 Trends in Computer Science, CS 658 Algorithms II, CS 671 Operating Systems II. If your concentration requires any of these courses, please consult your advisor to decide on substitutions.

Changes made after the schedule was originally released...

  • 11/13/2022 - CS 151 Introduction to Computer Science - now has a prereq of B- in CS 101 or passing the CS 151 placement test. For more, see https://cs.indstate.edu/web/index.php/FAQ#CS_101_versus_CS_151
  • 10/28/2022 - CS 303 Discrete Math and Computing Theory - prereq is being updated to be just CS 151, so CS 303 can be taken along with CS 201 after CS 151. This will be official for next academic year, and for spring 2023 we will do prereq overrides to allow students to register. If you want to wait to take CS 303 until when you originally had it planned, that is okay too.
  • 9/23/2022 - Due to a staffing shortage this year, we are canceling the following for the spring term - CS 256 Structured Design and CS 602 Mobile and Cloud Computing. If you need to take either of these, be in touch with your advisor to discuss your options.
  • 9/23/2022 - Math will be offering MATH 503 Linear Algebra and Modeling after all in the spring, so data science students who have not taken it should take it. If it is not possible to fit it into your schedule, check with your advisor.
  • 8/1/2022 - A course CS 510 Fast Track Into to Programming has been added to the fall and spring schedule. This is meant for those with little to no previous programming experience, those who want a refresher before taking other CS courses, or those looking to get ready to apply for the CS MS. See CS 510.
  • 5/20/2022 - It appears that the math department will not be offering MATH 503 Linear Algebra and Modeling for Data Science and MATH 540 Statistics for Data Science during the next academic year. This is required for the data science concentration. If you are completing the data science concentration you should take CS 600 to use this as a replacement for the course.
  • 4/11/2022 - Changing CS 417 Machine Learning to be in the spring rather than the fall. A section of CS 459 Topics in CS: Big Data / Data Mining is being added to the fall schedule (should show up within a day or so). The prereq for that will be CS 401 and can be used in place of CS 417 if you cannot take CS 417 in the spring; write to the your advisor to ask to be granted an override to register for the course.
  • 4/11/2022 - CS 473/573 Computer Networks in the fall has been changed to be a synchronous online course with meeting day/time of Tuesday 6-8pm.

2021-2022 Academic Year

Lab sections - New this year, the following courses have required lab sections - CS 401, 456, 457, 458. These are required as co-requisites regardless of what your MySAM says (i.e., your MySAM does not list CS 456L as a requirement, but you need to register for it to take CS 456). These extra lab sections can count as electives of substitutions for those who need 400 level CS credits.

Credit hours - A few courses have had their number of credit hours: CS 303 is not 4 hours, CS 499 is now 2 hours. If your catalog year was for the smaller number of hours, then the additional hour can be counted towards electives or substitutions.

Courses not offered - In order to offer required courses in the revised BS and MS programs every year, the following courses will not be offered for the foreseeable future: CS 420/520 Theory of Computation, CS 421/521 Formal Methods. Current students who have this listed as required should consult with your advisor to decide on substitutions. After substitutions are decided, your advisor will submit a petition so the substituted courses will show up in your MySAM (for undergrads) or plan of study (for grads).

Courses not offered - Due to staffing changes this year, the following courses that are required in the CS MS data science concentration are not being offered: Math 503 Linear Algebra and Modeling for Data Science, Math 540 Statistics for Data Science. Consult your advisor to decide on courses to substitute for these. We expect these courses to be offered again in the next academic year.

Courses online - CS programs are now offered completely online. For each required course in any of the CS programs, it will be offered at least once per year online. Most courses are offered in hybrid fashion - a combined section that has face to face students in the classroom, online synchronous students participating via Zoom or Teams, and asynchronous online students watching recordings and scheduling meetings as needed. Some courses are offered with a single asynchronous online section where all students participate asynchronously.

Help lab online - The CS help lab (aka the Unix Lab) is now available completely online. Lab assistants with hours during the day are in the help lab and also available online. There are normally evening hours that are available online only. For more, see Labs and Office Hours

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