Generation CS

Abstract

Across North America, universities and colleges are facing a significant increase in enrollment in both undergraduate computer science (CS) courses and programs. The current enrollment surge has exceeded previous CS booms, and there is a general sense that the current growth in enrollment is substantially different from that of the mid-1980s and late 1990s. For example, since the late 1990s, the U.S. Bureau of Labor data shows that the number of jobs where computing skills are needed is on an upward slope [1], illustrating the increased reliance our society has on computing. We also know that more disciplines are becoming increasingly reliant on large amounts of data, and that handling this data effectively depends on having good computational skills. This makes computer science courses at all levels of greater interest to students from other majors.