Computer Science Department to Offer New Minor

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    By David Fellingham

    A new minor coming this fall will help students to have enough computer knowledge to be a bridge between their chosen profession and computer programmers.

    The new minor, being offered by the Department of Computer Science, will open doors for students once they enter the professional world.

    “The big frontier is what do you do with your computer,” said Don Olsen of the Department of Computer Science. “How it changes the way you work.”

    The new minor will give graduates enough of a computer background they will understand what a computer can and can”t do, and some minor skills as to how to program.

    This knowledge will enable graduates to go to a computer programmer and ask for a program that would help them get work done faster and easier. It will allow them to bridge the current gap existing between what people think computers can do – which leads them to ask programmers for the impossible – and a realistic approach to a computer based problem.

    “They will understand clearly what is possible [with computers] even if they can”t do it themselves,” Olsen said.

    Olsen also pointed out that Wal-Mart is able to get flowers three days faster than their competition due to a computer program, allowing them to have a one up on their competition.

    Paul Roper, a professor in the Department of Computer Science, pointed out that computers are in every field of work and that students will have to use them, no matter what they do.

    “Computers are ubiquitous,” Roper said.

    Roper said students with the new minor could enter the technical world with any sort of major and get a job. Students who might major in English would be able to get a technical writing job due to their computer background.

    “It certifies them that they have a certain level of expertise,” Roper said.

    But the new minor is not enough to go out and get a job programming. David Embley of the Department of Computer Science made it clear the minor provides only a basic knowledge of programming.

    “They would know enough to be dangerous,” Embley said.

    Embley hopes students will see the advantage of having the new minor as it has almost a universal application. This minor would give students the skills that would make them more valuable in the work place and maybe a higher starting salary.

    Anyone with an interest in computers and looking to learn more about them would be a good fit for the minor, Olsen said.

    If you would like to learn more about the new minor, call the Department of Computer Science at 422-3027.

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