{"id":1442,"date":"2020-06-19T07:44:04","date_gmt":"2020-06-19T14:44:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/?p=1442"},"modified":"2026-02-25T12:08:43","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T20:08:43","slug":"online-computer-science-more-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/online-computer-science-more-online\/","title":{"rendered":"Online computer science program now more online than ever"},"content":{"rendered":"

Oregon State Ecampus program shines in a changed world<\/h2>\n
Editor’s note:<\/strong> This story was originally published<\/a> by the OSU College of Engineering’s School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.<\/div>\n

As the coronavirus pandemic disrupted spring term 2020 courses across Oregon State University, the online applied computer science postbaccalaureate program hummed along as usual. Mostly.<\/p>\n

When businesses began shutting down and people were losing jobs, Ben Brewster, online program director for computer science, checked with students to see how they had been impacted.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though the online classes are all running like normal, all of these individual families are still touched in the same ways that yours and mine are,\u201d Brewster said. \u201cSo, they\u2019re stuck at home, they\u2019re having to homeschool, their jobs are stressful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most instructors in the online applied computer science postbaccalaureate program<\/a> work remotely, so they were familiar with communicating by Zoom and Slack. Brewster had already been working from home one day a week before Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s March 23 executive order to stay at home went into effect, so he didn’t need to adapt much. The only difference was that his five children were also home, wanting help with schoolwork.<\/p>\n

\u201cWork is more disjointed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

When most of Oregon State’s extracurricular activities were canceled, the OSU Hackathon Club hosted its online hackathon<\/a> as usual. But the global health emergency still influenced the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a lot of submissions that somehow tied to the pandemic,\u201d said Jordan Bartos, postbaccalaureate student in computer science and president of the club. The winning project was a Reading Room app<\/a> to help foster a sense of community when social distancing has become the new norm.<\/p>\n

Big and getting bigger<\/h3>\n

With over 2,000 students enrolled, the online computer science program is by far the university\u2019s largest degree program, according to the fall 2019 enrollment summary<\/a> of the Office of Institutional Research.<\/p>\n

Delivered by Oregon State Ecampus<\/a>, the program has seen steady growth since its inception in 2012. The current health crisis has not slowed that growth. In fact, there were more students admitted to the program for this summer than any previous summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are in a constant state of growth. Training, onboarding, and hiring are daily duties,\u201d Brewster said. \u201cI\u2019d be shocked if we didn\u2019t have at least another 10% increase next term.\u201d<\/p>\n

This fall, Ecampus and the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science will launch another computer science program online that is likely to attract students facing a world changed by social distancing and remote education.<\/p>\n

The new program is for first-time bachelor’s students<\/a>, which is different from the postbaccalaureate program that requires students to already have a degree in another field. Students in the new bachelor\u2019s program will build their own custom curriculum and have the option to add a certificate in cybersecurity.<\/p>\n

Brewster says the popularity of the program could be in part because computer science is a topic that lends itself well to distance learning, since code-sharing and online collaborations are an essential part of programming. He also recognizes the growth is also largely due to the support from Ecampus.<\/p>\n

Leading online education<\/h3>\n

Oregon State Ecampus is a leader in online teaching and learning innovation<\/a>\u00a0and delivers more than 100 degrees, programs and microcredentials online, including two engineering master’s degree programs \u2014 for engineering management<\/a> and radiation health physics<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Over the years, with the help of Ecampus, the online computer science classes have changed dramatically from remote delivery of classroom lectures to a more active type of instruction. Although there are still lectures, they are considerably shorter.<\/p>\n

\u201cA long video is around seven minutes now, whereas in the past, a long video would have been 70 minutes,\u201d Brewster said.<\/p>\n

He describes the active learning as a two-pronged approach that starts with a recorded presentation requiring students to take an action, such as run a compiler or answer a question. Then they go to a discussion forum to communicate and collaborate with other students about what they learned.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s a very different way of thinking about education,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Supporting life transformations<\/h3>\n

The postbaccalaureate program was created with the idea of meeting the needs of Pacific Northwest tech companies<\/a> that could not find enough computer science graduates to fill job openings. But it also turned out to be a way for individuals to change their lives.<\/p>\n

Each of the nearly 2,000 Ecampus computer science graduates has a unique story to tell about how their life was impacted<\/a>. Justin Ihara, who struggled to find a job with a degree in mathematics, has worked the past seven years as a software engineer after receiving his postbaccalaureate degree in computer science.<\/p>\n

At a time when unemployment is skyrocketing, the increased number of admitted students to Oregon State\u2019s program is a promising sign that people are looking for a way to improve their opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really believe in the transformational education motto of the College of Engineering, and the postbac students are a great example of this,\u201d Brewster said. \u201cThey are all reinventing themselves for one reason or another.\u201d<\/p>\n

Want to learn more about computer science?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Request information<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/span> 3<\/span> minute read<\/span><\/span>The setting for Oregon State’s online computer science students may not have changed, but plenty is different this year for its students and faculty. Program director, Ben Brewster shares how he and many students have been affected by COVID-19.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":1443,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,6,9,678],"tags":[160,20],"class_list":["post-1442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-ecampus","category-faculty","category-faculty-and-programs","tag-college-of-engineering","tag-computer-science"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/brewster_cropped.jpg?fit=1200%2C564&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7BNSE-ng","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1760,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/new-center-for-online-engineering-students\/","url_meta":{"origin":1442,"position":0},"title":"New center to advance online engineering education at Oregon State","author":"Keith Hautala","date":"May 5, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Oregon State University College of Engineering and Ecampus have announced a plan to launch a new center on campus for exploring innovation in online engineering education.","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ecampus computer science student, Mark Moore, works happily from his laptop.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Mark-Moore-744x478.jpg?fit=744%2C478&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Mark-Moore-744x478.jpg?fit=744%2C478&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Mark-Moore-744x478.jpg?fit=744%2C478&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Mark-Moore-744x478.jpg?fit=744%2C478&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1988,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/computer-science-student-smart-scholarship\/","url_meta":{"origin":1442,"position":1},"title":"Computer science student earns Department of Defense SMART scholarship","author":"Steve Lundeberg","date":"April 5, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Vidhi Kadakia, a second-year undergraduate in OSU's College of Engineering, has been selected for the Department of Defense\u2019s Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation scholarship program, known as SMART. A computer science student who learns online with OSU Ecampus, Kadakia is eligible for up to five years of full tuition\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Awards"","block_context":{"text":"Awards","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/in-the-news\/awards\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Kadakia-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Kadakia-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Kadakia-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Kadakia-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1768,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/student-support-for-online-computer-science-students\/","url_meta":{"origin":1442,"position":2},"title":"5 ways success coaches support online computer science students","author":"Carly Fredericks","date":"May 27, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"At Oregon State Ecampus, student success comes first. In the case of our computer science programs, a major part of that is success coaching \u2013 one-on-one guidance from a pro, customized to what you need, when you need it.","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/ecampus-news-computer-science-800x450-210524-v1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/ecampus-news-computer-science-800x450-210524-v1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/ecampus-news-computer-science-800x450-210524-v1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/ecampus-news-computer-science-800x450-210524-v1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2477,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/what-kind-of-online-computer-science-degree-should-you-pursue\/","url_meta":{"origin":1442,"position":3},"title":"What kind of online computer science degree should you pursue?","author":"Elena Moffet","date":"February 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Oregon State University offers multiple online bachelor's and master's degrees in computer science. Read our guide to better understand who each program is designed for, skills you'll gain and possible career outcomes.","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A person sitting in front of two computer monitors with code displayed on them.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/News-CS-degree-comparison-AdobeStock_472215511-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/News-CS-degree-comparison-AdobeStock_472215511-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/News-CS-degree-comparison-AdobeStock_472215511-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/News-CS-degree-comparison-AdobeStock_472215511-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1746,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/ecampus-honors-faculty-staff-2021\/","url_meta":{"origin":1442,"position":4},"title":"OSU Ecampus honors faculty, staff for commitment to online learning and students","author":"Carly Fredericks","date":"May 5, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The Oregon State Ecampus Awards showcase OSU Ecampus faculty and staff commitment to online education, student success and course development. Through innovation, iteration and integrity, these Ecampus partners take on life's biggest challenge: shaping this world's future through education.","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Screen-Shot-2021-05-05-at-8.42.41-AM.png?fit=1200%2C693&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Screen-Shot-2021-05-05-at-8.42.41-AM.png?fit=1200%2C693&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Screen-Shot-2021-05-05-at-8.42.41-AM.png?fit=1200%2C693&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Screen-Shot-2021-05-05-at-8.42.41-AM.png?fit=1200%2C693&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Screen-Shot-2021-05-05-at-8.42.41-AM.png?fit=1200%2C693&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1105,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/online-engineering-graduate-programs-top-10\/","url_meta":{"origin":1442,"position":5},"title":"Online engineering graduate programs earn Oregon State top 10 national ranking","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"January 17, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Powered by the expertise of its engineering faculty and the excellence of their students, Oregon State University has been ranked No. 9 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report for Best Online Graduate Engineering Programs. It\u2019s the third straight year OSU has appeared on the list.","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Online engineering graduate programs at Oregon State are ranked No. 9 in the nation","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/online-engeering-graduate-programs.jpg?fit=744%2C496&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/online-engeering-graduate-programs.jpg?fit=744%2C496&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/online-engeering-graduate-programs.jpg?fit=744%2C496&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/online-engeering-graduate-programs.jpg?fit=744%2C496&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1442\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}