Briefs

InformationWeek (08/23/04) No. 1002, P. 36; Chabrow, Eric

Undergraduate computer-science enrollments at U.S. universities are suffering a sharp decline, spurred by students' fears for job stability due to layoffs and offshore outsourcing, and by IT positions' loss of prestige and compensation due to the dot-com bust. Another factor in the enrollment fall-off is the growing prominence of biotechnology and other fields. The number of inbound undergraduate computer-science majors at Ph.D.-granting schools dipped from approximately 24,000 in 2000 to 17,700 in 2003, according to the Computer Research Association. This trend could spell trouble for the U.S. IT industry, as breakthrough innovations in robotics, artificial intelligence, and other emergent fields necessary for sustained economic advantage could slip, while a lack of skilled domestic IT staff could encourage U.S. companies to continue to offshore IT operations to countries where talented tech graduates are abundant. Another threat to computer science is the idea that students will not pursue IT careers because they think that all the cool research has already been done or that all the jobs have been offshored, though former ACM President Stuart Zweben of Ohio State University insists this is not the case.

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