Patrick Anderson’s article last Friday on the state’s push for more tech jobs includes this interesting enrollment note from DSU president José-Marie Griffiths:
Enrollment in Dakota State’s Beacom College of Computer and Cyber Sciences accounted for no more than 39 percent of students when Griffiths first started with the university in 2015, she said.
Four years later, the institution has worked to grow its degrees and programs in tech, and Beacom enrollment now makes up nearly 60 percent of the student body [Patrick Anderson, “Betting Big on Tech: State, City Leaders Focus on ‘Next Generation’ of Jobs,” that Sioux Falls paper, 2019.11.22].
In the 2015 school year, DSU’s fall total headcount enrollment was 3,047. 39% of that would have been 1,188. This year’s fall enrollment is 3,268. Nearly 60% of that is nearly 1,960. But that means enrollment in other programs at DSU has dropped from 1,859 to 1,308. Oh well—a school has to have its priorities.
But in good news, the tech push may reawaken interest in a key part of the humanities:
In addition to cyber operations and other tech-focused degrees, the university also offers a degree in cyber leadership and intelligence, which includes a foreign language requirement and emphasizes the strategic element of cyber security [Anderson, 2019.11.22].
Yes! The languages of the future aren’t just Python and Java; the best-prepared cyberclimbers will also know French, Farsi, and Mandarin.
Yes indeed. It’s critical to be fluent in the languages of the major players.
¡No olvida español, Cory!
~ SHAYNA BASZLER, though …