Faculty retention has been stable, even in times of increased national demand for Computer Science educators. Currently, faculty recruitment and hiring is very difficult. Salaries and compensation commensurate to desirable areas in industry and some other institutions are too low and MSU faculty responsibilities too great. The Department is fortunate to have recruited one new faculty with a Ph.D. in Computer Science for the '98-99 year. Searching for another faculty member is ongoing.
Faculty represent diverse ethnicity.
A student survey is currently under development. Many younger students come with lower SAT scores than expected for a degree with substantial mathematical, computational, and writing components. Many older students come with discipline and well defined goals, but lack prerequisites. They want the degree and will take any course in any order to obtain the credits. Since there are fewer course offerings in the evening, it is difficult for them to have a timely and consistent program.