41.1 F
Clarksville
Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeEducationAPSU's Computer Science program leads TBR institutions in graduating women, minorities

APSU’s Computer Science program leads TBR institutions in graduating women, minorities

Austin Peay State University - APSUClarksville, TN – For nearly a century, Austin Peay State University has been committed to providing higher education to students of all backgrounds, and the results of recent data from the Tennessee Board of Reagents System (TBR) serves as further proof of APSU’s success.

APSU’s Department of Computer Science and Information Technology was recently noted for graduating the highest number of computer science majors in the TBR system, with a total of 81 graduates in 2014-15. The total represents a 20-percent improvement over the previous academic year.

Departing computer science graduates represent a diverse group, including women, who comprise over 30 percent of graduates. That dramatically eclipses the national average (18 percent), and is over 20 percent higher than any other TBR institution, including Middle Tennessee State University and the University of Memphis.

Nearly 27 percent of computer science degrees were awarded to underrepresented minority groups, surpassing the national average of 19.4 percent. Of that group, 10-of-22 degrees were awarded to black students. With the exception of Tennessee State University, APSU has graduated the highest percentage of black computer science students (12.3 percent) within the TBR system.

APSU is proud of its tradition of bringing higher education to non-traditional and military-affiliated students, and 2014-15 continued that mission with at least 52 percent of non-traditional students (54 percent in total) reporting as military affiliated. In 2013-2014, non-traditional students made up almost 63 percent of all computer science majors.

“It is always exciting for me to look at the successes of our college and (the computer science major) is a great example,” Dr. Karen Meisch, associate dean of the College of Science and Mathematics, said. “I am very proud to be a part of a University where success of women and minorities in areas like computer science is amongst some of the top in the nation.”

Overall, the computer science major has experienced a tremendous four-year growth rate of 70.9 percent. In the past year alone, the major has grown over eight percent in terms of overall enrollment.

APSU’s Department of Computer Science and Information Technology now offers a master’s degree in computer science.  The new degree is open to students holding a bachelor’s degree in any field of study.

For more information on the Department of Computer Science and Information Technology, visit online at www.apsu.edu/csci, or call at 931.221.7840.

RELATED ARTICLES

Latest Articles