2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Rapid enrollment growth in our Computer Science program over the past five years has led to surging class sizes, rising student-to-faculty ratios, and a noticeable decline in classroom engagement which has been further compounded by the rise of generative AI tools. This growth has also exposed the lack of structural guidelines within our core curriculum, where reliance on informal faculty coordination is no longer sustainable. Courses have evolved inconsistently, without shared learning outcomes or frameworks to ensure continuity and quality, leaving faculty to manage large teaching teams without adequate structure, training, or support. To address these challenges, we propose a new structure for our four core programming courses, consisting of three integrated efforts: (a) a Revamped Programming Core to standardize frameworks and outcomes, (b) a Collaborative Teaching Model to support instructional teams, and (c) the Igniting Minds Program which is an optional workshops designed to support students with less prior programming experience. This poster presents the early design and preliminary data from this initiative, offering insights into the structural, pedagogical, and engagement-related impacts observed during initial implementation.