Communications of the ACM
Computer Science Classes Gets Their Groove Back
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A new report from the Computing Research Association (CRA) found that student enrollment in computer science (CS) has risen for the first time in six years. The CRA report found that the average number of new students majoring in CS has jumped 9.5 percent.
CRA director Peter Harsha says the increase in enrollment is important to both the technology industry and the economy. Harsha says the CS field has led to many innovations, and he notes that most of the increases in worker productivity between 1995 and 2000 can be attributed to information technology. "Technology is just sort of cool again," Harsha says. Plus, he says that "it appears if you graduate with a CS degree, you'll get a job."
The U.S. Department of Labor reports that computer science graduates earn 13 percent more than the average college graduate. Microsoft Research's Kevin Schofield says Microsoft has been concerned about the drop in computer science graduates and has been working with ACM, the National Center for Women and Information Technology, and the Computer Science Teachers Association to raise awareness. "It really takes a village to build a piece of software," Schofield says. "The message is finally getting out that this is really a super-exciting field."
From Seattle Post-Intelligencer
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