(31) Computer Science and Engineering This collaborative Coastline-Seamless Articulation Program for Informatics Recruitment and Intersegmental Transfer (C-SPIRIT) project is creating a fully articulated Informatics program between Coastline Community College and the University of California, Irvine. Informatics is defined as a focus on computing in context. While software engineering is at the heart of informatics, it includes the study of the design, application, use and impact of information technology to real world problems. In addition to a considerable portion of the core of computer science, informatics incorporates significant aspects of other disciplines such as social science, cognitive science, computer-supported collaborative work, human-computer interaction, and organizational studies.
Curriculum and courses that have been developed at UC Irvine for their new BS Degree in Informatics are being adapted for community college students to provide pathways to a BS degree or to enter the workforce after receiving an Informatics Certificate or Associates Degree. Areas of employment include computer support specialist, which is representative of the multitude of jobs available for informatics graduates within the local service area of Orange County. Faculty members at Coastline are being trained in informatics curriculum and methodology. Recruitment processes target women, minorities and first-generation college students. Students entering the program are being organized into cohorts and are supported by the Student Success Center at Coastline. The project is deploying learning strategies to develop students' problem solving and critical thinking skills. Dissemination is through a number of conferences including the Annual Convention of the American Association of Community Colleges, League for Innovation in Community Colleges and through the C-SPIRIT End-of-Project Informatics Conference at UC Irvine.
