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Establishing
an Articulated Computer Science |
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A National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education Project |
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Bristol
Community College (BCC) and University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (UMD) have established
a formal partnership in computer science for providing a clear academic
pathway for students seeking a baccalaureate degree. Students will start at
BCC, earning an associate of science degree, and then transfer to UMD. Twenty
students will be recruited each year and enrolled in the first two years of
the program at Bristol Community College. Courses in the first two years of
BCC’s computer information systems program will be equivalent academically to
the first two years of the Computer Science program at UMD. Students at BCC
will have additional benefits from starting at the community college,
including smaller classes, more personalized instruction, and tutoring and
other supportive services. They will also receive advising assistance for transferring
to UMD. The
BCC/UMD pathway actually begins at the high school level, as the Bristol Tech
Prep liaison will identify and mentor high school students interested in
high-demand careers in computer science.
The liaison will develop out reach and early start activities for
teachers and parents, as well as students. This
project, which is funded by the National Science Foundation for three years,
is directed by Priscilla Grocer, Chair and Professor of BCC’s Computer
Information Systems Department, who serves as the Principal Investigator, and
Dr. Bolek Mikolajczak, Chair and Professor of UMD’s Computer and Information
Science Program. NSF’s
award, in the amount of $309,632, supports a part-time Project Director, a
graduate student, tutoring, stipends for faculty at BCC and other colleges,
curriculum development, and national dissemination of the program model. Faculty from sister community colleges are
invited to participate in professional development seminars for the six
computer science courses that are being offered during the first two years of
the curriculum at BCC and UMD. This
award establishes the first formal
academic alignment of courses in a transfer program between Bristol Community
College and University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. The project duration is
September 1, 2002 to August 31, 2005. Principal Priscilla Grocer, Chair and
Professor, Computer Information Systems, Investigator: Bristol
Community College Email: pgrocer@bristol.mass.edu Voice: (508) 678-2811 x 2403 Co-Principal Bolek Mikolajczak, Ph.D., Chair and
Professor of Computer and Information Science Investigator: University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Email: bmikolajczak@umassd.edu
Voice: (508) 678-999-8350 Contact:
Elizabeth S. Palter, Ph.D.,
Director of Grant Development, Email: epalter@bristol.mass.edu
Voice: (508) 678- 2811 x 2280 |
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