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In what ordinarily might seem like a rather sensible decision, given declining state funding (Florida state legislators have cut the budget for by 30 percent over the past 6 years), the University of Florida has decided to save money by eliminating its computer science department. The department is perhaps just too expensive to maintain.
According to an article by Steven Salzberg at Forbes:
Wow, no one saw this coming. The University of Florida announced this past week that it was dropping its computer science department, which will allow it to save about $1.7 million. The school is eliminating all funding for teaching assistants in computer science, cutting the graduate and research programs entirely, and moving the tattered remnants into other departments.
Let’s get this straight: in the midst of a technology revolution, with a shortage of engineers and computer scientists, UF decides to cut computer science completely?
But, well, when you don’t have the money, you just don’t have the money. Oh but wait. Salzberg also reports that, “the athletic budget for the current year is $99 million, an increase of more than $2 million from last year.”
Granted, the athletic department and computer science are not actually funded out of the same pot of money, but come on. These are the priorities of the university. The budget increase for sports alone would more than offset the whole computer science department.
Meanwhile, Florida governor Rick Scott decided that that the state needs new public university,
Florida Polytechnic University, in Tampa Lakeland, because:
At a time when the number of graduates of Florida’s universities in the STEM [science, technology, engineering, and mathematics] fields is not projected to meet workforce needs, the establishment of Florida Polytechnic University will help us move the needle in the right direction.
No word yet on the plans for the football team at FPU.
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David Martin on April 23, 2012 7:09 PM:
The state universities in Florida have been remarkable for their low levels of state funding, combined with extremely low tuition. The state government doesn't quite seem willing to allow the University of Florida or Florida State to drastically raise tuitions (and it's out of the question for the other universities), so the only option seems to be to spend as little as possible on each student.
Masy on April 23, 2012 9:07 PM:
And of course, the only reason that there is a new university being built in Tampa is that the House Speaker threatened to cut USF's funding even more if they objected too loudly. This is his little pet project, and it shows how bad Florida has gotten with one party dominance.
And yes, I know, both sides, yadda yadda.
RSA on April 24, 2012 7:08 AM:
"The department is perhaps just too expensive to maintain."
According to the change.org petition to save the CISE department, CISE brings in 17% of the revenue of the College of Engineering but takes up just 10% of the College's budget.
boatboy_srq on April 24, 2012 8:40 AM:
Florida may say it needs technical professionals, especially computer scientists, but it's chasing out the ones already there as fast as it can: low salaries, horrid working conditions, indifferent management and absolutely no understanding from the rest of the business community. I lost track of the number of clients I had who gaped at how low my consulting firm's rates were - until they had to pay those rates themselves, when they suddenly became exorbitant. Florida has no business courting high tech.
What Florida desperately needs now is construction jobs. Most of the layoffs of the last few years came from the construction sector of the economy, which (no surprise) was hammered by the real estate crash. Unfinished office buildings, condos and subdivisions dot the landscape, and the investors have either backed out or gone bankrupt; with no housing restart in the near future, all the workers who came to build houses need to be put to work doing something.
So while FL may not need another university, it does need to build things; otherwise all those construction workers who can't afford to leave will stay on unemployment and give Governor Voldemort yet another black eye. Seen that way, FPU isn't an investment in education, but corporate welfare for the construction industry - and a bribe for all those Conservatist PMs, superintendents and laborers who without those jobs would be on public assistance and debating fresh Death Eater alternative candidates governor in 2014.
Lakisha Rubert on October 03, 2012 11:45 AM:
Hmm, I personally don't think that it is a good decision for the school to eliminate their computer science department. With the fast-paced life that we are having nowadays, there is basically a need for this department. And the more alarming thing here is that, the $2 million increase for the sports budget can offset the budget for their computer science department. But, let's wait for the results of this concern.