Computer science accreditation reaffirmed

ABET, Incorporated, formerly known as the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology, announced recently that the Computer Science program in the College of Sciences is accredited through September 30, 2013.

It also reported that "no deficiencies, weakness, or concerns" were found.

"Of course we are proud of this achievement. Our accreditation again proves that our students are well prepared for the competition and nuances in the computer science field," said

Ebrahim Khosravi, chair of the Computer Science Department.

"The University's administration assistance along with the team spirit of our faculty and staff helped make this happen," Khosravi said. "The ultimate beneficiaries are our students and Southern University."

ABET, Inc., is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation since 1997. Currently, ABET accredits some 2,700 programs at more than 550 colleges and universities nationwide.

ABET accreditation is assurance that a college or university program meets the quality standards established by the profession for which it prepares its students. For example, an accredited computer science program must meet the quality standards set by the computing profession.

Why is accreditation important:

* Accreditation helps students and their parents choose quality college programs.

* Accreditation enables employers to recruit graduates they know are well-prepared.

* Accreditation is used by registration, licensure, and certification boards to screen applicants.

* Accreditation gives colleges and universities a structured mechanism to assess, evaluate, and improve the quality of their programs.

Southern's Department of Computer undergraduate program offers students the scientific option and the information systems option, both leading to the bachelor of science degree.

Students pursuing the degree through the information systems option may concentrate their studies in e-business.

The graduate program allows students to focus on detailed research and to refine software development and database management skills and concentrate in programming languages, software engineering, operating systems, architecture, algorithms and theory of computing, and digital data communications.