a large-scale undergraduate programme in computer science
In the early 1960's, the University of Waterloo recognized a growing need in society both for computer specialists and for non-specialists having some familiarity with computers. Programmes initiated at that time have grown so rapidly that computer science courses are now attended by approximately 4000 Waterloo undergraduates, about 1000 of whom may be regarded as computer science majors. Courses have been designed upon the premise that hands-on experience is one of the most effective vehicles for teaching the practice of computer science. Many of the courses require that a student write programmes and run between 100 and 500 jobs through the computer. The objective of providing prompt service to student programmers entailed major operational difficulties for the University Computing Centre as the volume of work approached a level of 1 million student jobs per year.
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