A proposal for a Computer Science major program is heading to review by the Seaver Academic Council on April 6.
The Computer Science major is currently offered as a joint program with Mathematics or as a minor. A total of nine Computer Science classes exist out of 18 classes from the joint major. The other nine classes are math classes and one physics class.
Computer Science Professor and proposal author Stan Warford said the program is in need of an upgrade.
“[The program as it is] absolutely does not go in-depth since we only have two teachers currently on staff,” he said. “The proposal hopes to change that by adding more courses and two more teachers.”
The proposal came out of the realized non-sustainability of the current program, the limited computer science courses offered at Seaver College (compared to peer colleges) and student demand.
According to the proposal, the program is unsustainable because Computer Science Professor Stan Warford – who teaches six different preparations per year, does academic research, and manages the current program – is past retirement age and virtually irreplaceable.
The proposal also offers evidence that Seaver College weakly represents the computer sciences. In it, a chart depicts the number of students enrolled and science faculty members at Calvin College in Michigan, Valparaiso University in Indiana, St. Olaf College in Minnesota and Seaver College. Seaver College has a median amount of students enrolled, but the fewest Computer Science faculty members with two Computer Science teachers.
In regard to student demand, the proposal refers to “Computer science students lobby for an expanded program,” in the March 10, 2014 issue of the Graphic. The article described how students lobbied to expand the program and mentions how the SGA resolution for the program was passed unanimously.
Sophomore Stephan Salas has been a major advocate of the initiative and worked to get the SGA resolution passed.
“In the fall of last year, I worked with SGA to gain their support for the issue,” Salas said. “I drafted an advocacy resolution with the help of my SGA adviser [SGA Sophomore Class President Edward Adutwum], then presented this resolution, along with a supporting petition of 40 signatures from my fellow classmates. We have since worked together to collaborate with Professor Warford on this issue.”
Computer Science Professor Stan Warford and visiting Computer Science Professor Brad Cupp worked on the proposal during winter break. They gathered necessary information and created a two-phase implementation: Add more computer science classes, then launch the major program.
The program does not currently allow for a deeper look into the field. Salas said the Computer Science major would involve more in-depth theoretical and practical knowledge within computer science. As a result, more Computer Science professors are needed.
“These classes would also be available on more of a regular basis, made possible by increased faculty numbers in the CS division,” Salas said. “It is well known that there is a large skills gap between graduates of the current program and skills in the information technology workforce. I believe that an expanded program would aid CS students in attaining these missing, necessary skills.”
Salas also shared why the computer science program would help Pepperdine as a whole.
“The addition of a Computer Science major program will improve Pepperdine’s competitiveness with other universities, advance [the] mission to prepare students to lives of service in their respective fields and provide sustainability to a growing academic interest within the Pepperdine community,” he said.
Sophomore SGA President Edward Adutwum expressed the importance of the program.
“In SGA, our hopes are that the major will provide students with the necessary courses, knowledge and skills to compete in the workforce and in the future,” he said.
According to Warford and Chief Information Officer Jonathan See, Pepperdine offers experience for Computer Science seniors within the university through an internship program.
“The Seaver College Natural Science Division and Information Technology strategic partnership brings together an internship program that affords Computer Science seniors the opportunity to apply application development theories learned in class to solving real business problems and inefficiencies here at Pepperdine,” See said. “The key ingredient in this internship program is that the students are given real business problems to address and solve.”
The internship is in its inaugural year, but See notices the importance of educated seniors and is very supportive of the creation of the major program.
“With technology so ingrained in all we do at a personal or professional level, it is important for students to have this major as a program option to select as a career path,” he said. “The demand for this is only going to continue to grow.”
Salas shared his convictions on the importance of computer science skills in the world today.
“Whether you are a businessman, a writer, a preacher or a scientist, computer science skills will help you along on your career path,” he said. “In our fast-changing technological world, having a full major at Pepperdine makes sense for a wide range of university constituents who would benefit from what an expanded program has to offer.”
Administration support of the program is essential for obtaining funding and other resources needed for the proposal’s implementation.
“If the administration supports this major proposal, then it will succeed,” Salas said.
The decision from the Seaver Academic Council will be announced April 6.
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