Welch College has begun offering select courses in Computer Science as part of its B.S. degree in Business Administration, according to Provost Matthew McAffee.
“We are enthusiastic about this new course of study,” McAffee said. “We’re offering the first course during the Fall 2019 semester: CPS 1123—Introduction to Computer Science. This course will take students with little or no computer programming background and introduce them to the world of computing and the fundamentals of programming languages.”
A follow-up course, Computer Science I, will provide detailed exposure to the rapidly growing field of technology and topics such as structured problem solving, program design, 4th generation languages, debugging, and testing.
To spearhead this initiative, Welch has secured the expertise of Dr. David Sayre, who will serve as Computer Science Program Liaison. Dr. Sayre is an accomplished Computer Science educator, researcher, and entrepreneur. He regularly consults with national defense clients and Fortune 100 companies. His work has been recognized in the Wall Street Journal and industry awards in the computing discipline. Dr. Sayre has a heart for computer science education and Welch College.
“These courses in computer science will focus on producing ‘job-ready’ graduates,” Sayre said. “Nashville’s commercial technology sector can’t find enough qualified candidates, with hundreds of jobs going unfilled from month to month. These courses will allow students interested in Information Technology to start immediately in the core subject while they accumulate the prerequisites required for more advanced topics in the field.”
Classes will be offered in a once-per-week, evening format and will be available to daytime and commuter students.
“Our purpose will be to educate technological leaders to serve the wider community with Christian character,” said Stephen Beck, Associate Undergraduate Dean of Education. “The technical skills acquired from this course of study will serve as a differentiator for future employment opportunities, providing students with the basics for future specialization in web development, network or systems administration, or cybersecurity.”
For inquiries about general enrollment, contact Stephen Beck at sbeck@welch.edu or for specific questions about Welch Computer Science courses, contact Dr. David Sayre at dsayre@welch.edu.