Using systems design to construct a new freshman course

A new first year course must satisfy many requirements in addition to its technical content. In order to meet these expectations, a systems approach was used to set the scope, interfaces and interactions for the first offering in a new four-year degree track. The course is called "An Introduction to Electronic Systems". A life cycle model for the course incorporated the wide range of incoming student capabilities, the outcomes criteria and the role of the course to set expectations for the following program of study. The first delivery in fall 2005 was treated as a prototype within the systems model. While retaining the same scope, the topics will be expanded in 2006-07 to provide a well-rounded 6 SCH first year program. The process used to plan, analyze and record progress is also being applied more generally to overhaul the whole curriculum.