Bringing students back to the future

C of C hopes to pique interest in revamped computer science department

College of Charleston freshman Benjamine Scott Jr. is considering a career as a computer game programmer.

He'll take a class in game programming next semester. This semester, he's taking a course about the creative side of computing called Computers, Music and Art.

Scott, 23, said he hadn't expected to find a class like that at the College of Charleston. "The first thing I did was hurry up and register," he said.

This year, the college is offering courses "in a more exciting, less pedantic way," computer science department Chairman Chris Starr said. Professors hope that will entice more students to become computer science majors, he said.

According to the Computing Research Association, the number of new computer science majors in the fall of 2006 was about half of what it was in the fall of 2000.

The drop was even more severe at the College of Charleston, Starr said, suggesting it's probably because it's a liberal arts school. In the fall of 2000, the college had 250 computer science majors. That number fell to 115 in the fall of 2006. "I believe we've seen the bottom," Starr said.

At the same time the number of students enrolled in computer science programs declined, demand by employers for computer graduates grew, Starr said. And the jobs pay well, he said.

The average starting salary for computer science students who graduated last spring was $52,000.

Several factors likely contributed to students moving away from the major, Starr said, including:

--The misconception that most computing jobs have moved offshore.

--The misconception that computer jobs are boring, repetitive and solitary.

--The realization by many students after the "dot.com bust" a few years ago that "you're not going to be a millionaire by the time you're 25."

In addition to adding some courses that merge computer science with other subjects, including the arts, the department is expanding a common area in the J.C. Long Building. The new space will have computers and game consoles such as the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

Students will be able to study there, play games or just hang out, Starr said. Students hung out around the department more in the 1980s, before "computers were everywhere," he said. That camaraderie will help them better connect to the department, he said.

Such connections are important, especially for women, said RoxAnn Stalvey, a professor in the department. She teaches a class using social networking sites such as Facebook.com and MySpace.com as well as a programming class using the visual, three-dimensional Alice program.

Computer science programs lose a lot of students early on, she said. In an introduction to programming class, there's usually a group of male students who are very comfortable with computers, she said. Often, students outside that group feel intimidated. "We want to level the playing field," she said.

Freshman computer science student Brittany Johnson, 18, said so far she's met only three or four other women at the college also majoring in computer science.

Johnson is taking a visual and computational thinking course, which merges computer science with art history.

She said she feels at ease around computers but knows many students don't.

"Lots of people don't get it," she said, "so mixing computer science with other subjects helps."

Reach Diane Knich at 937-5491 or dknich@postandcourier.com.