Conclusions

• Placement program has been a great success

  • Letters sent to incoming students and advisors
  • Online Web form allows prospective students to explore possible placements
  • Results as good or better than faculty (before in-person interviews)

• Placements refined through follow-up students

  • What did students actually take?
  • How well did students do in their first course?

• Technical Strategy

  • Rule-based system (expert-system approach from artificial intelligence)
  • Inference engine based on backtracking algorithm
  • MySQL database to store records from Registrar's Office
  • PHP/LaTeX/HTML/SQL for system framework

• Collaborative effort involving CS faculty, math faculty, stat faculty, CS students, in-house consultants

• Approach likely applicable at many schools,
  but placement rules specific to local environment

created 19 October 2010 last revised 19 October 2010

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