CHANGE MY LOCATION
Local
California News
Multimedia News
UMBC sees enrollment boost in computer science
SEE HOW THIS STORY DEVELOPED
Related Topics: BALTIMORE
BALTIMORE (Map, News) - University of Maryland Baltimore County’s information systems department enrollment will increase this fall, particularly among women—bucking a national decline in computer science majors.
“I anticipate that the program will continue to grow,” said Andrew Sears, chair of information systems at the college. “I see this as the first step in order to produce the number of graduates that we need.”
The department will enroll 41 new students this fall, a 40 percent increase over the department’s previous four-year average, officials said. About 40 percent of the new students are women. The increase comes as national enrollment in computer science majors continues to drop—newly declared computer science majors fell to 8,000 in the fall of 2006, down from 16,000 in 2000, according to the Computing Research Association, a Washington-based nonprofit organization. Sears attributes the growth at UMBC to his department’s recruitment and education efforts.
“[We’ve done] general outreach to let people know what the information technology job market looks like and to counter misperceptions that there aren’t opportunities out there,” Sears said.
Some prospective information technology students fear they won’t get jobs because of outsourcing, Sears said. But he said there are clear work
force needs in Maryland.
“Every year we have more IT-oriented internships opportunities on campus than we do people looking for internships,” he said.
UMBC’s Center for Women and Information Technology also has made efforts to increase females’ interest in computer science majors.
Women sometimes shy away from IT majors because of existing stereotypes about the technology field—that it’s dominated by men or an anti-social career path, said Bria McElroy, the center’s director of international relations.
But McElroy and her partners at the center have tried to open up young women’s minds about the type of jobs they can get with IT degrees.
“Woman are out there consuming technology, so we think it’s really important that they are involved in the process of designing it,” McElroy said.
mmcilroy@baltimoreexaminer.com
