I WEATHER: Friday, windy and
cooler. High in the mid-40s. Friday
night, blustery colder with late night
snow flurries Low in the low to mid
20s Saturday, cloudy and cold. High
in the upper 30s.
December 11,1987
Number of computer science majors down
Students jump off technological bandwagon
By Dorothy Pritchard
Senior Reporter
Enrollment in the computer sci
ence department at the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln has dropped dra
matically during the last five years,
partly because students discovered
that learning the nuts and bolts of a
computer is a lot tougher than learn
ing how to use one.
Some computer science majors
balked at the theory and hard-core
math classes while the department
imposed higher entrance standards,
said Roy Keller, chairman of the
computer science department.
There were 665 undergraduates
enrolled in computer science in the
1982-83 school year, according to
UNL’s Institutional Research and
Planning Office, Now 370 under
graduates are enrolled. (
Keller said that when many stu- |
dents jumped on the computer sci- i
ence bandwagon d ring the early i
’80s, there weren’t enough faculty
and resources to handle the increase. I
“There were more majors coming |
in than we could handle,” Keller said. <
As a result, UNL and many other i
universities across the nation put (
“controls” on computer science pro- I
grams, Keller said. The controls in
clude requiring a minimum GPA of l
2.5 for undergraduates and “trying to
be more selective as far as who should
be in” the program, Keller said. He
estimated that before UNL placed
some limitations on the computer
science program, at least half of the
students went into computer science
for the wrong reasons.
Nationally, the percentage of col
lege freshmen aspiring to careers as
computer programmers or analysts
declined by more than half in recent
years, to 3.5 percent in 1986 from a
high of 8.8 percent in 1982, according
to a study done by the Higher Educa
tion Research Institute at the Univer
sity of California in Los Angeles. The
study was reported in a recent article
in The Wall Street Journal.
Many students from the mid-’70s
o early ’80s had exaggerated expec
ations of the computer science field
— when the industry boomed, stu
lents enrolled in computer science
irogramsen masse. Students realized
hat they would be using computers
norc than ever before, Keller said.
What they did not realize was that
hey could learn how to use a com
mter without learning how it actually
>peratcs. Many students don’t expect
he hard-core math and theory
lasses, so they change their majors,
Ccllcr said.
“There is more nuts and bolts than
hey planned on,” he said.
“All the glamour has now worn off
and we probably get the kind of stu
dents we should,” Keller said.
While the number of students en
rolling in computer science classes
has decreased, the number of students
actually graduating with computer
science degrees is increasing, Keller
said. This is because computer sci
ence majors are more serious about
the clashes, he said. Fewer students
drop out by their sophomore or junior
year.
According to Institutional Re
search and Planning records, in the
1982-83 school year, 44 students
graduated with computer science
bachelor degrees. In 1986-87,94 stu
dents graduated with bachelor de
grees.
Despite the increase, there will
always be a shortage of computer
professionals, Keller said, because
there has always been a shortage of
people who can do problem solving,
which is a large part of the computer
world.
Dennis Stelzer, president of Na
tional Bank ofCommercc’scomputer
services department, said he also
believes there is a shortage of com
puter professionals, although he has
not had any trouble filling his com
puter jobs.
“When we have openings, I have
had an abundance ot resumes,” Stel
1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986
■ I1IIIII mill I III M ■ ■■■I , _ —S
1982-1983 1987-1988 1982-1983 1986-1987
665 370 44 94
Sources:UNL Institutional Research and Planning Office and Higher Education Research
Institute, UCLA
Tom Lauder/Daily Nebraskan
zer said. age of computer professionals over
Stclzer said part of the reason all, he said.
Lincoln companies can easily fill “It’s a different kind of person,”
positions is because several commu- Stelzer said. “It is very difficult to find
nity colleges and four-year universi- and develop good problem-solving
tics here offer computer science de- individuals. Most people don’t aspire
grees. However, there is still a short- to it very quickly.”
Some UNL professors decide to make available old tests
By Gretchen Boehr
Staff Reporter
Because some students get copies
of old tests from friends or fraternity
files, some University of Ncbraska
Lincoln professors have decided to
make old tests available to all stu
dents.
Several professors have old exams
on reserve in UNL libraries or for sale
at Kinko’s.
Kathleen Keeler, biology profes
sor, said she provides copies of old
tests and puts past finals on reserve in
the biology library in Manter Hall to
give access to all students.
Keeler said she doesn’t use the
same questions year after year, but the
old tests still give students an idea of
what to study.
“The things I thought were impor
tant last year are important this year,”
she said.
However, John Hibbing, political
science professor, said he does not
make old exams available.
“One of the things students need to
learn is what is important and what is
not important,” Hibbing said.
He said he doesn’t make study
guides for the same reason.
Kinko’s, in conjunction with the
math honorary society at the univer
sity, sells copies of math tests for 10
different sections of Math 104.
Mathematics and statistics profes
sor Jim Lewis said the math depart
ment also sells the last semester’s final
exam at Kinko’s.
But Lewis said he didn ’ t think there
had ever been a problem with students
having an unfair advantage because
they had copies of old tests.
“One cannot legislate fairness.
There’s more a fear of an advantage
than reality,” said Lewis, who is also
UNL Faculty Senate president
The math department sells the old
tests to show students there will be no
surprises on the final exam, Lew ;
said.
But Lewis said the math depart
ment does not make tests available for
upper-level courses.
Making old math tests available tc
students may result in more difficult
tests, Lewis said. Math professors will
work harder on test questions so they
don’t repeat old questions, he said.
Keelersaid it’s sometimes difficult
to make new questions that aren’t on
old tests.
Hibbing said he doesn’t make past
tests available to students so he won’t
have to make a new test every year.
“If you teach the same course for a
while, you’d like to be able to use the
same questions, the good questions
you like from past tests,” he said.
Keeler said requiring all teachers
to provide students with copies of old
tests would “probably be good leach
• _ t*
> ing.
She said this would provide three
angles for studying for a final: the text
book, class notes and past exams.
Like Kinko’s, the chemistry re
source room sells copies of freshman
Chemistry 109 tests.
Patti Lutter, secretary for the
chemistry department, said students
can buy a packet of old tests at the
beginning of the semester for $1.
The chemistry department sold
more than 150 tests this year, she said.
Keeler said professor has their own
quirks when giving tests. By allowing
students to look at past exams, they
will better know what to study, she
said.
Pappas says low pay caused resignation
By Micki Haller
Staff Reporter
State Sen. James Pappas of
North Platte said the reasons for his
resignation Thursday morning
from the Legislature were “eco
nomic.”
“It’s hard to keep up the luxury
of serving at $400 a month,” Pap
pas said.
Pappas called the Legislature a
“rich man’s club” or a “retired
people’s club.” He said the low
salaries deter many people from
serving.
He said if the senators were pai J
minimum wage, they would be re
ceiving $10,000 a year, more than
double the present $4,800 a year.
Pappas said that as a “political
junkie, he would have liked to
continue serving in the Legisla
ture, but accumulative factors
forced him to resign.
“You can live down here on a
meager existence,” Pappas said.
As he was driving from Lincoln
to North Platte last Friday night,
Pappas said, he decided it was ume
to “live like other people, have
boats, go hunting and fishing ”
“I’m looking at a variety of
things," Pappas said about his
plans.
He said he’d like to do research
work for businesses, associations
or the government — in jobs he
said would have been a conflict of
interest while serving in the Legis
lature.
Robert Sittig, a political science
professor at the University of Ne
braska-Lincoln, said Pappas’ res
ignation was “much more compli
cated than the usual resignation.”
Pappas is appealing to the Ne
braska Supreme Court a conviction
of aiding and abetting to false
swearing of a petition circulator’s
signature.
Sittig said the resignations hap
pen “a lot more frequently than
people think,” but the rash of resig
nations by Bill Harris, Lee Rupp
and Pappas in the last six months is
‘‘quite unusual.”
Harris resigned last spring to be
come Lincoln’s mayor, and Rupp
resigned earlier this week to be
come a lobbyist for the University
of Nebraska.
Sittig said the resignations were
not necessarily a trend or the result
of low salaries.
“I’m sure it’s a hardship for
(Pappas) like everyone else,” he
said.
State Sen. Lorraine Langford of
Kearney said she talked with Pap
pas Thursday morning.
‘‘Of course, it’s always sad to
lose a colleague,” she said.
Langford said legislators must
have other income to survive a
term. And it is especially hard for
younger people who don’t have
money, sne said.
“People in the Legislature, of
course, can’t live on their salary,”
she said.
Langford said the salary was
probably one reason Rupp re
signed.
Langford said she didn’t know
of any other resignations.
State Sen. Chris Abboud of
Ralston said Pappas and Rupp were
elected to the Legislature in 1982,
the same year as he was.
“It’s a sacrifice being in the
Legislature,” Abboud said, “a fi
nancial sacrifice.”
Abboud said each state senator
has to make his own decision about
serving.
“If anything else, (the recent
resignations) show the high tuin
over in the Nebraska Legislature,”
he said.
Abboud said he’s concerned
that the resignations will cause a
lack of experienced legislators.
Abboud said it is important to
have experienced legislators who
remember what the Legislature has
done in the past and know how
things work.
Abboud himself is running for
the 2nd District seat in the House of
Representatives.
Abboud said the low salary has .
no bearing on his decision to run for
Congress. Rather, he said, serving
on the House will be a “different
type of challenge.”
Abboud said there has been
some discussion at the Capitol
about resignations.
But he said he doesn’t foresee
any other resignations this year.
Abboud said he doesn’t plan to
introduce any legislation to in
crease the senators’ salaries. But he
said some might be introduced as a
result of the resignations.