F. Positive and constructive leadership at the college/school level and within the program's department are especially important to the program's quality. Evaluate this leadership and the interaction between these levels of administration.

The Dean of the School of Computer Science and Engineering assumed that position at the beginning of the Fall 2001 semester. The new dean came to UVU with no previous experience in education but with an extensive background in business and industry. The newly appointed dean was given the job of starting up a newly created school in a new building with all of the administrative and managerial problems that are associated with those events.

In October of 2001 the CS department chair (Dennis Fairclough), who had been in that position for several years, was replaced. The faculty member selected by the dean to assume the department chair position (Charles Allison) was in his first year of full-time teaching and chose to resign from the position after less than a month in that position. The following department chair Ernest Carey assumed that position in the middle of November, 2001. Ernest Carey was teaching a full load when he became the chair and continued teaching his classes for another month while assuming the department chair duties. Ernest Carey had been a member of the department since 1992 and had a good feeling for what was happening in the department and was assisted in his work by Dennis Fairclough.The current department chair is Dave Heldenbrand.

There was some disruption to the progress of the department during the change in department leadership but hard work on behalf of the department faculty, including the five new faculty members, has made it possible to regain the time lost in program development. Differences in educational philosophies have created some areas of friction between the department chair and the dean but they have been able to work their way through those differences to keep the CS programs functioning. There has been some restructuring since November, 2001 that has shifted control of lab resources and budgets from the department level to the school level. Though the department programs have continued to receive the resources necessary for their continuation, there still remains some confusion on how to plan for future needs in these areas.

Faculty and staff in the CS department form a close-knit group dedicated to providing a program that is relevant and valuable to the students. They have supported department chairs and rallied to meet the demands of a new building, a new school and a continually evolving program.