Computer Science Transitions From Elective to Requirement – US News and World Report

Great to see this coverage!  Computer science is increasingly becoming a requirement at universities, says a piece in US News.  This is likely the most powerful way to get CS into high schools — require it in colleges and universities, to send the message that it’s valued and ought to be part of the general education in high school.  My colleague, Charles Isbell (Sage of Threads), gets quoted a good bit in the article.

Every student at Montclair State University in New Jersey must complete a computer science in order to graduate. For most students, that course is Introduction for Computer Applications: Being Fluent with Information Technology. (Music majors take Music and Computer Technology I.)

The course is designed to teach students majoring in subjects such as fashion, dance, or art history about network security, artificial intelligence, databases, and e-commerce, says Michael Oudshoorn, chairman of the computer science department at Montclair.

“It’s not aimed at making them experts; it’s aimed at making them aware,” Oudshoorn says. “They do live in a digital age … They have an obligation to know something about the technology.”

via Computer Science Transitions From Elective to Requirement – US News and World Report.