School of Computing and Software Engineering
Southern Polytechnic State University
Dean's Update August 2011
START OF NEW SEMESTER
On August 17, SPSU started its fall semester. As have been the case over the last
few years, SPSU again saw a significant increase in enrollment (overall up 4% over
fall 2011). However, the enrollment growth in CSE has been nothing short of spectacular.
CSE now has 1,316 degree and certificate students, up from 1,116 a year ago. While
we have seen growth in most of our programs, the program with the largest gains are
the MS programs in Information Technology (now the largest graduate program at SPSU),
the MS in Software Engineering (which grew by almost 50%), the BAS in Information
Technology and the BS in Computer Game Design and Development. Clearly, these enrollment
numbers are a good omen when it comes to our first strategic goal, namely to increase
the number of CSE graduates who are well prepared
for work and life to better serve the community. I want to thank all who have worked
so hard to achieve this tremendous enrollment growth and all the CSE faculty who have
shown remarkable flexibility as we struggled to accommodate all the students. At
the same time, while increasing our recruitment is a positive development, we need
to work even harder to make sure that we retain our students and help them graduate.
WELCOME (BACK) PARTY
As part of our efforts to improve retention, CSE will be hosting a welcome back party
for its students on September 13. There is plenty of evidence that students who are
more engaged with their institution are more likely to be academically successful,
and events such as these, in addition to being fun, are one way of improving levels
of engagement. At the same time, we cannot use any state funds for social events,
and I would of course welcome it if you or your company would be willing to sponsor
the event. If you are, please get in touch with me at hreichge@spsu.edu or on 678-915-7399
GEORGIA GAME JAM
From September 23 to September 25, SPSU will again be the site for a game jam. As
you will recall, game jams are 48 hour events in which students work in teams to develop
games, either computer games or board games. There is a video which captures the&
spirit of the internal game jam that was held earlier this year here.
Thanks go to Jon Preston and Jeff Chastine for making this happen and to the many,
many volunteers who work with Jon and Jeff to make all this posible. Again, Jon has
identified some sponsors but, as always, he is looking for more. If you are interested
in sponsoring the event, please contact Jon at jpreston@spsu.edu or on 678-915-4982. You can of course also contact me.
RUTHERFOORD APPOINTED AVPAA FOR INSTITUTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS
Dr Becky Rutherfoord of the Department of Information Technology was recently appointed
to the new position of Associate Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness. This
is a half-time administrative position in the office of the Vice President for Academic
Affairs, and Dr Rutherfoord will fortunately remain as a professor in IT for the other
half.
Dr Zvi Safran, SPSU's Vice President for Academic Affairs, created the new position
partly in reaction to the increasing emphasis at the federal, state, accreditation
agency, and Board of Regents level for greater accountability from universities, in
particular when it comes to providing evidence that our students actually learn what
we would like them to learn. Dr Rutherfoord is an expert in assessment, and took
the leadership role in SPSU's recent successful SACS reaffirmation. This appointment
recognizes the critical work that Dr Rutherfoord has been doing and ensures that she
will be able to continue to do so into the future.
Clearly, this new appointment will be a loss to the Department of Information Technology
and to CSE. On the other hand, I have no doubt that SPSU as a whole will benefit
greatly and I hope you will join me in congratulating Dr Rutherfoord.
AND FINALLY ...
If you see something in this update that you want to comment on, please send me an
email at hreichge@spsu.edu or call me on 678-915-7399 . Also, if you know of somebody who might be interested
in receiving the Dean's updates, please ask them to send me an email. We will gladly
add them to our mailing list. Finally, if you prefer not to receive the Dean's updates,
please let me know as well.
Han Reichgelt
Dean, School of Computing and Software Engineering