The Computer Science Department moves the following changes to their graduate
theory courses.

1. Add the new course CS 5003.

2. Slightly modify the course description for CS 503.

--------------------------------------------------------------
CS 5003. Foundations of Computer Science: an Introduction

This is the study of mathematical foundations of computing, at a
slower pace than that of CS 503 and with correspondingly fewer
background assumptions.  Topics include finite automata and
regular languages, pushdown automata and context-free languages,
Turing machines and decidability, and an introduction to
computational complexity.  Prerequisite: an undergraduate course in 
discrete mathematics.

CS 503. Foundations of Computer Science

This is the study of mathematical foundations of computing.
Topics include finite automata and regular languages, pushdown
automata and context-free languages, Turing machines and
decidability, and an introduction to computational complexity.
Prerequisites: Knowledge of discrete mathematics and algorithms
at the undergraduate level, and some facility with reading and
writing mathematical proofs.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Rationale

For comparison, the current CS 503 course description follows the
motion.

The introduction of CS 5003 is in recognition of the widely
varying backgrounds of our incoming graduate students.  This new
course will provide an introduction to the mathematical
foundations of computer science for students who seek an MS in
Computer Science and who don't have a strong mathematical
preparation.  CS 503 will continue to be the recommended class
for PhD students and for any student desiring deeper insight into
the use of formal methods.


Resources
---------

It is anticipated that the FTE currently dedicated to CS 503 will
be distributed in the future between CS 5003 and CS 503.  Since
students cannot get credit for both CS 5003 and CS503 the
introduction of CS 5003 will entail no new faculty resources.

Current CS 503 description
==========================

CS 503. Foundations of Computer Science

The foundations of computer science are presented here. These
form the basis for a more complete understanding of and
proficiency in computer science. Topics include logic,
computational models, formal languages, computability and
complexity theory. (Prerequisite: undergraduate or graduate level
discrete structures such as CS 2022, CS 501 or MA 2201.)