Northface University - Computer Science in Half the Time?

prostoalex writes "Associated Press runs a nationwide story on Northface University. The school, founded by a pair of venture capitalists and former technology chief found a niche with its highly intensive curriculum and corporate software development specialization. For example, a BSCS degree can be completed in a little over 2 years, and it comes with IBM's WebSphere and Microsoft's MCSD certification. Northface is also promoting its corporate partnerships, which allow current students to feel more secure about future employment. Grady Booch from IBM is quoted to be 'jazzed up' about the program, although there are many who oppose such approaches to college education."

a new breed of super-nerds

[kalpol]

As if it wasn't hard enough for computer people to learn social skills. There's gonna be a new crop of CS people graduating from a total-immersion CS program with nothing to talk about except computers. Wait, that's what we do now. Hooray for nerds!

Another One

[mzkhadir]

Oh my god, another Devry

Re:Everything will be half

[ari_j]

Right, because Physics, Calculus, Economics, and even Latin have no bearing whatsoever on real-world employment.

Re:Accredited?

[Anonymous Coward]

Bzzzz! You did not read the article. Try again!

Secret revealed

[Otter]

A 52-ounce mug of Mountain Dew stands at the ready as Northface University instructor Carolyn Sorensen helps student Robert Pace, left, with his project Friday, July 16, 2004, in South Jordan, Utah. In addition to the soft drink, other popular refreshments packed with caffeine that many students prefer include Dr. Pepper and Coca-Cola.

Apparently that's their secret -- double the caffeine, halve the time needed for a CS degree. Or is a 52 ounce Mountain Dew now a standard beverage for normal college students?

Let me guess

[themoodykid]

Their textbooks are the "Teach Yourself XYZ in 24 hours" series?

Re:Everything will be half

[Anonymous Coward]

Sounds about right to me. I've never used any of those things on the job. Econ is good to know, but not directly job related. Now if they had a CYA class, or a dealing with idiots class, that would be useful on the job.

Re:Everything will be half

[Rei]

Yes, but does a Northface University Notice of Failure to Graduate carry as much weight as, say, a Coney Island Community College Notice of Failure to Graduate?

Re:this is just a damn shame

[Jahf]

You're right!

And my friends who finished their BA in fine arts have very little knowledge that a BACHELOR ARTIST should have.

Like my Retail Manager Wife, who will never know how to survive as a single male oil painter.

There is such a thing as being too literal. Sure you weren't an literary major?

Re:Everything will be half

[FirstTimeCaller]

I really don't think that I could have built up an acceptable level of tolerance to alchohol in only two years. Heck, it took me over five years (but I did get a MS out of it too).

Re:Everything will be half

[tchuladdiass]

...dealing with idiots...
That would be business psych.

Re:Secret revealed

[Dr Rick]

What happened to the days when a can of Jolt was all that was needed? God I must be getting old...

Yeah I am glad I took Art History...

[gatkinso]

..while it doesn't come in handing here at work I did get get laid a few time.

The Rest of the Story

[warrendodge]

"I'm jazzed about the Northface program," said IBM research fellow Grady Booch, a member of the school's advisory board. "Northface is producing a far better match for the skill sets IBM needs." "Of course, my name is for sale to the highest bidder, I'll advertise anything. So, I don't know why anyone would listen to me," continued Mr. Booch.

A recruiter representing the school's sponsors, IBM, Oracle, Microsoft, and Unisys, added, "These companies aren't really looking for people, as such, to work for them. They much prefer pre-fab, pre-integrated, CPU's or 'Carbon Programming Units.' These CPU's represent the ultimate achievement of our modern educational system. They have been super efficiently manufacturededucated to have exactly and only the skills required of them to meet the job descriptions that Fortune 1000 managers request."

Northface spokesman John Smith explained, "Let's say you are a manager at a large company and you need a CPU to work on your PeopleSoft general ledger system. You would send an order to the school with the appropriate boxes checked. In just two to four weeks, we will ship you a carbon programming unit that meets your exact specifications! This unit will know all about PeopleSoft general ledger work. And it won't come with any extraneous skills that would just get in the way. It won't know anything about data structures or algorithms. It won't be burdened with knowledge of Visual Basic or Java or English. In fact, it won't even really know how to survive by itself -- it's up to you, the manager, to be sure to instruct your janitorial staff to clean the unit at night to prevent unwanted organic residue buildup. You should also assign someone to supply the unit with vending machine coffee and fuel, such as candy bars. Then, when your company switches from PeopleSoft to SAP a few months later, you can just dispose of the unit with a simple layoff. No severance is required -- all units are preprogrammed to be grateful just to have the chance to work for someone like yourself! Open the door and the unit will activate its secondary programming. It will seek out the nearest McDonalds and become a burger flipper. No troublesome human resources issues! What could be more thrilling?"

Asked why General Electric wasn't participating in the school, CEO Jeff Immelt expounded, "We were using domestic carbon programming units years ago, but found they were too expensive. A school like Northface costs almost $87 per unit. We've now constructed a factory in Singapore, with future expansion plans in China, that can construct almost unlimited numbers of units for us at a cost slightly less than a dollar each. That's the power of 6smegma in action! That tremendous cost savings is the engine that has fueled the exponential growth of this company's officers' personal investment portfolios. That's where the future lies! No longer will a CEO, COO, or CFO's portfolio be limited to double-digit growth per year. This kind of forward thinking exploitation of the carbon unit race will drive wealth creation for the privileged few to undreamed-of levels."