* Computer Science (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; CISE Department)
* Computer Engineering with Software Emphasis (College of Engineering; CISE Department)
* Computer Engineering with Hardware Emphasis (College of Engineering; ECE Department)
* Electrical Engineering (College of Engineering; ECE Department)
* Computer Information Sciences (College of Business; CISE Department).
So basically, the CISE department was answerable to three different colleges, and some of those colleges offered very-closely-related degrees that weren't in the CISE department.
As for myself, I started out in Computer Engineering with Software Emphasis. I later switched to Computer Science. The reason for this change was that I wanted to double in Mathematics, which belongs to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Having a double major is a lot easier when both majors are in the same college, because you then don't have to worry about satisfying conflicting and redundant gen. ed. requirements.
So, as a CISE alumnus, I have a vested interest in maintaining the reputation of that department, and this reorganization sounds likely to damage it. However, the status quo (as of 2007) is a mess, and this change might overall be for the better.
I plant 4 tomato plants every spring. In a few weeks I pull up 2 of them, even if they are thriving. There is only so much soil, water and sunlight to go around.
The department may have problems, but shutting down research throws the baby out with the bathwater. Degree consolidation would go a long way to improving student enrollment.
Also, just a department update: the our department accepted its last PhD class for the foreseeable future this year because of money and declining faculty. Denslow is retiring after this semester.
There was no "Computer Science" major available; the traditional CS curriculum was known as "Computer and Information Sciences", which, due to the acronym, can be confused with a MIS-equivalent degree (I once had a manager who insisted that I show him the course catalog for my major to prove I studied the relevant CS topics). The MIS/IT curriculum was offered as "Decision and Information Systems".
And despite the CISE department being a part of the College of Engineering, the CS curriculum was offered as an independent major only by the liberal arts and business colleges. I opted for the business college, so my actual degree is "Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in Computer and Information Sciences", wording which is rather poor at conveying that this is indeed a CS degree.
I don't think they got around to renaming the degrees until 2004-2005.
The two Computer Engineering Degrees (software and hardware) are to be combined into one that has N (not yet decided) tracks that will be supported by "certificate programs."
So, now you reduce by one clearly defined separation and increse by n-1 less well defined certificate programs.
The department chair at the time, Sartaj Sahni, responded by cutting teaching funding and letting some of the best teachers go. UF had a few teachers without PhDs, which reduces a university's ranking in US News & World Report. Of course, these teachers were the ones that REALLY cared about teaching, since they didn't have research distractions. These teachers were replaced with postdocs who lack the experience needed to teach at a major institution.
I don't know how you can have a solid program if you slash your best teachers to save research, then slash your research to save teaching. Doesn't make sense.
If not for him, there would be far fewer students from my school who would have stuck with programming. In 2004, we made a facebook group called "Everything I know about C I learned from [insert guy's name]". From what I can tell, the number of former students in this group keeps growing every year. He is beloved by all his current and former students, and I would vehemently protest to the school/department if he ever got cut prematurely for any reason.
Does this really happen? This attitude that if you don't have a PhD you must be stupid is incredibly annoying.
Many schools suffer the issue of CS being extra-engineering, and then having a "computer engineering" department within engineering, and you end up with quite a bit of duplication. I'm hoping that this is simply part of a consolidation process.
U of Calgary still has a software engineering program within engineering, which I think is the situation OP is talking about.
With that said I'm in the computer science program and it is still very computer sciencey so I think we've avoided the duplication.
Is Gainesville really that fertile a ground for software startups? Moreover, will reducing research funding at University of Florida necessarily make the existing environment for startups worse? For example, what if the savings are invested into a greater emphasis on teaching?
UF has a very strong entrepreneurial community. Grooveshark[0] and Hype Machine[1] were both founded by Gator alums.
I can imagine that reduced research --> lower quality RA opportunities --> reduced interest from undergrads, thus shrinking the number of undergrads interested in CS or tech startups.
People in Silicon Valley don't worry about what happens in LA.
So, yes the UAA gives ridiculous amounts of money to coaches, but they are making a decent ROI.
We also did some nice research in my Masters, a lot of concepts(Grid/cloud) which we are currently using in our Startup.
In any case, I just hope the department and the University come through this with their reputation intact.
As an aside, what does your degree actually say? The '98 catalog didn't actually have a "computer science" program, and the CS curriculum was offered as "Computer and Information Sciences" via either the business school or CLAS. Do you ever get people confusing your undergrad degree with the equivalent of MIS? (IIRC, the MIS-equivalent was DIS at that time.)
Core competence and all that.
It even has an odd name like CISE (Computer and Information Science and Engineering).
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20120411/ARTICLES/1204198...
As a 2010 graduate (CISE - I wanted a mix of engineering and liberal arts), this is quite troubling to me. I remember when they announced that they would be laying off a number of faculty members (mostly lecturers) -- some of whom were the best instructors in the entire department. Now they're getting rid of research in the name of teaching? What a farce.
Step 1: move graduate programs to ECE
Step 2: make faculty ask to be in other departments (with the dean's approval of course)
Step 3: make all faculty who can't get other departments to take them have a 100% teaching appointment and set TA budget of the department to $0. Effectively convincing all those cranky guys you wanted to get rid of to leave the university.
Step 4: ???
Step 5: Success!
Then add the Ph.D. program back in and wait 25 years for it to rebuild.
Sounds like a great plan to me.
Perhaps, instead, you should concern yourself with your personal professional achievements and credentials post graduation and how those reflect on you. To me that seems like a MUCH more productive use of your time.
This seems like a concern to future and current students; rather than alumni.
// Light-hearted jab at UF alumni
Leave it to a Gator grad to be worried about keeping-up appearances.
Go Knights!
Some of us just don't believe in pulling up the ladder after we've climbed up it. Having an active department turning out competent graduates is good for us as alumni, good for Florida, and good for the field of computer science.
Go Knights!
"Engineering department taught by non-engineers" You mean because CISE profs don't take the FE/PE? Is it because they haven't taken the order of the engineer oath? What makes one an engineer?
God I hate that state. The most idiots per capita I've ever encountered.
I left Gainesville in 2010 and that entire freaking town has one of the most ANTI-progress sentiments I've ever seen.
The one shining star on the horizon will be the construction of the University's 40 acre tech hub. Let's hope they don't flub that one.
It doesn't!
Take this:
CISE, the only department at UF engaged in Computer Software research, will become
a teaching only department, and inevitably, its ranking, reputation and enrollment
will plummet.
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20120331/ARTICLES/1203399...
Can you say "diploma mill"? Good; I knew you could.