

At 'Geek Heaven,' students are skilled in tech, if not talk - jmillikin
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-geeks15-2009may15,0,3660861,full.story

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jmillikin
Although it seemed like a good idea when I read the headline -- get a bunch of
engineering students, cram them into one school, and see what happens --
actually reading the article was disappointing. Their "core" course listing[1]
is heavily stacked towards "enterprise" languages and buzzwords. Where I would
have expected a heavy emphasis on maths, there is XML, UML, and Java. The
"Math" section itself is anemic, and contains the sort of classes that could
be found at any community college.

Furthermore, the culture appears to value immaturity and irresponsibility.
All-night Warcraft "raids"? Pervasive hygiene issues, to the point where
students are proposing mandatory showering? This sounds less and less like a
school, and more like a sugar-fueled gaming convention.

[1] <http://www.neumont.edu/education/programs/courses.html>

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endtime

      * CSC105 Using Modern Operating Systems
      * CSC160 .Net I: Introduction to Windows Forms Development
      * CSC260 .Net II: Introduction to ASP.Net Web Development
      * CSC263 Advanced .Net Programming with C#
    

These all come from the "Computer Science Core". This is not really a CS
program...

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ewanmcteagle
I live nearby and the curriculum is very weak. No studying operating systems.
No compilers. No proper survey of languages. Algorithms is very weakly taught.
But you do get all the certs you want before you finish. They do get some
gifted students. Unfortunately those are the students who would be better
served in a more challenging environment. The rest get what they want, a more
respectable sounding form of a technical certificate.

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wolfmanstout
Sure, they get a job when they're 20, but what about ten years down the line
when their language/framework-specific training is obsolete?

Also, it's hard to imagine that such narrow training is going to produce
creative engineers. Although great schools like MIT may focus on science/tech,
they have more than just CS as a major, and a lot of what comes out of these
places is interdisciplinary.

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rsheridan6
It's questionable whether the extra work time they get by graduating early
will is worth the high tuition anyway, when they could do just as well at a
state school or maybe even a community college.

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tokenadult
It seems to be a proprietary college with an essentially open admission
policy.

[http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/search/CollegeDetail.j...](http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/search/CollegeDetail.jsp?collegeId=4721&profileId=0)

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vyrotek
I graduated from Neumont in 07... I can tell you the school was VERY different
just a couple of years ago. I blame their marketing department going after
only highschool kids now.

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sachinag
This comment could be upmodded with details. Lots of them. I'll guarantee you
one vote per detail.

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vyrotek
Details? Like what? When I was there, I loved the school. The original
founders of the school had a great vision and knew what the industry wanted
out of new grads. Sadly, the board of directors wanted to take it a different
direction to make a profit sooner.

In the past they constantly brought in companies and literally asked them what
technologies they wanted new grads to know.

Almost all the students had jobs lined up months before they graduated. Many
even had multiple $60k+ job offers.

I loved the time I spent there. I met many ambitious students and worked on a
ton of side projects with them learning technologies that were never taught.
The school definitely attracts a wide range of students. From the entrepreneur
to the basement WoW addict.

I hope things work out. Its a great concept, and employers are definitely
happy with the students Neumont produces.

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spitfire
"In the past they constantly brought in companies and literally asked them
what technologies they wanted new grads to know."

So it's a trade school then. Lets see how you do 10 years out.

Basically it's compucollege, with a more friendly name. And after seeing that
picture (Didn't load for me at first), I won't be hiring from there.

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aswanson
The picture of Logan with the silly expression is so gratuitous.

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zackattack
Was that picture really necessary? Oh, man.

