Computer science enrollment gains p1 - Military - College News and Information - Military Times EDGE

Relief may be on the way for engineering-starved employers. For the first time since the dot-com bust, there is a jump in the number of undergraduate computer-science majors.

New enrollment in North American computer science and engineering programs rose 8 percent during the 2007-08 school year from the year before, the first increase since 2002, according to a report by the Computing Research Association.

“The perception that IT jobs are hard to come by is over, and the field is now considered an interesting place to be,” says Peter Harsha, director of government affairs for CRA. Adding to the surge: Many undergraduates who once considered business and finance majors are focusing instead on computing, says Jeff Hollingsworth, associate chair at the University of Maryland’s computer science department

Eight in 10 U.S. college students see a growing need for more IT professionals as technology advances, according to a survey by IBM and the Marist Institute for Public Opinion.