Univ. of Florida Announces Plan To Save CS Department

New submitter WIGFIELD7458 writes "This appears to be a major change in plans that will save the Computer Science Department. Thanks to everyone in the Gator Nation and beyond for speaking out! The battle isn't over yet, but this is very encouraging news. I would urge the students, faculty, and alumni of UF to continue to express your support for the essential academic mission of your university."

Comments

Sounds like a "Statue of Liberty Play"

[mbone]

If you are the Park Service, and your budget gets cut, one ploy is to close the Statue of Liberty and the Washington Monument, not some campground in South Dakota, hoping to get a reaction and thus get the money back.

Sounds like the University of Florida did the same thing.

Re:Sounds like a "Statue of Liberty Play"

[snarkh]

The Statue of Liberty is not going to go to California, while the professors from the CS department might.

Damage is already done

[pegr]

Why would you even consider getting a CS degree here now?

Re:Damage is already done

[O('_')O_Bush]

Why not? A CS degree is almost the same as a math degree, and most good schools group it either with the math department or the engineering department (though, typically this is not a good idea, since CPEs/EEs look down on CS).

They are simply doing what everyone else does already. UF is a good school in general, not one to simply wave away because of department restructuring.

I'm a VT grad, btw. No bias for or against UF.

Let me guess...

[busyqth]

The Plan:
1) Triple the tuition for traditional students (i.e. nerdy males).
2) Give full scholarships to nontraditional students (i.e. attractive females).
3) Allow nontraditional students to earn extra credit by pretending to be interested in traditional students.
4) Profit!

Does it involve a heist, con, or scheme?

[crazyjj]

Univ. of Florida Announces Plan To Save CS Department

Please tell me that a complex plot is involved, possibly involving George Clooney in disguise.

Re:STEM is the future

[Overzeetop]

$70k/yr CS grads don't send multi-million dollar thank you checks to the University Fund, businessmen do.

And most of the MBAs and Finance majors are doing just fine on Wall Street again. The market has almost doubled in 4 years, so big bonuses all around! The smart ones in the back room are trying to figure out how to pop this current bubble to they can take 2 quarters off without the obscene bonuses, and then have another 100% runup to skim another 10% off the top. Stability is not profitable, volatility is!

Re:But do we really need a separate CS dept anymor

[eclectus]

No. I speak as someone with a MS in CS, so I may be a little biased, but saying CS should just be Math & Engineering is much like saying Physics is just applied math, or chemistry is applied physics. While one is built on the other, there are basic tenets taught in CompSci that would never come directly out of Engineering or Math. While there is a lot of overlap, subjects such as Data Structures or Autonoma Theory (off the top of my head) are VERY different than anything that would be thought of as engineering or math. Core concepts such as these affect the very way that CS majors view the world. It is a different level than just applied math & engineering.

Re:As a member of the faculty of UF

[Black Parrot]

Perhaps they should had closed the CS department if their faculty is trolling Slashdot all the time. Why aren't you trying to get grants, or teaching undergrads?

If you don't get 30 FPs in the first seven years, no tenure.