Document Actions
Education Policy Committee
| The computer science field drives innovations that have created entirely new economic sectors like the World Wide Web, and new technologies that are vital to daily life. Computer science education plays a critical role in providing the workforce with the skills necessary to fuel these innovations and industries. Education policies that promote a first-rate computing and information technology workforce allow countries to compete globally in the 21st Century knowledge economy and foster technological innovation. IssuesThe information technology sector is a vibrant part of the global economy and plays an increasingly important part of US economic growth. The projected demand for computing and mathematical science graduates in the US will far outstrip the supply. The computer science field faces a challenge in filling this need. In recent years, interest in computer science has declined at all levels of the education pipeline -- particularly among women and minorities. Consider the following (see charts in the next column):
Similar troubling trends have been reported in other countries. Broadly increasing participation and interest in computer science is critical to creating the next generation of innovators and closing the gap between supply and demand in computing-related fields. MissionThe Education Policy Committee will engage policymakers and the public on public policy issues in science and math education relevant to computing and computer science. It will focus initially on steps to ensure that computer science education is identified as a critical component of education policy in the U.S. at both federal and state levels. The Education Policy Committee will:
MembersThe Education Policy Committee comprises the following members: Stacey Armstrong, AP Computer Science Teacher Cypress Woods HS Fred Chang, University of Texas Joanna Goode, University of Oregon Susan Rodger, Duke University J Strother Moore, University of Texas Robert Schnabel, Chair, Indiana University Mark Stehlik, Carnegie Mellon University Chris Stephenson, Computer Science Teachers Association Eugene Spafford, ex officio, Purdue University (Chair of ACM's US Public Policy Committee) John White, ex officio, Chief Executive Officer, Association for Computing Machinery For press inquiries contact: Virginia Gold, Public Relations Coordinator, ACM v_gold@acm.org +1-212-626-0505 Resources/Links
|
US Information Technology and Computer Science Data:
|
