BoG Revamps Educational and Professional Activities
LOS ALAMITOS, Calif., 7 February, 2008--The IEEE Computer Society Board of Governors has voted to establish a new board to govern professional activities and reorganize the board overseeing educational activities.
The BoG’s 6 February unanimous vote paves the way for creation of the Professional Activities Board (PAB) and reorganization of the Educational Activities Board (EAB).
PAB will be responsible for formulating Computer Society policies and practices in support of computer-related professional disciplines. It will tackle bodies of knowledge, competencies, ethics, performance norms, terminology, and other matters.
The EAB is responsible for maintaining programs that address students’ and computing professionals’ educational needs. In particular, the board is charged with increasing interest in computing disciplines, supporting computing educational programs, identifying members’ continuing education and training needs, and developing resources to help meet those needs.
The Computer Society vice president for professional activities will lead PAB. Besides liaisons from other Computer Society boards, PAB will include a representative from IEEE-USA’s Licensure and Registration Committee and up to seven additional members appointed by the PAB chair.
The EAB is chaired by the vice president of educational activities and shall include representatives from K-12 and university educational programs, as well as computing professionals.
Elevation of professional activities to board status underscores the Computer Society’s renewed emphasis on professional development. An important component of PAB will be a committee dedicated to certification.
The Certification Committee will oversee the Computer Society’s certification programs and compile a handbook spelling out how the programs will be operated. To complement the established Certified Software Development Professional (CSDP) certification for mid-career professionals, the Computer Society last May launched the Certified Software Development Associate (CSDA) credential for entry-level professionals.
A second body within PAB, the Professional Activities Planning Committee, will be responsible for evaluating and recommending new programs to support particular professional disciplines. To ensure an ethical separation, a Certification Training Committee will reside within the newly configured EAB.
About the Computer Society
With nearly 85,000 members, the IEEE Computer Society is the world’s leading organization of computing professionals. Founded in 1946, and the largest of the 39 societies of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the Computer Society is dedicated to advancing the theory and application of computer and information-processing technology, and is known globally for its computing standards activities.
The Computer Society serves the information and career-development needs of today’s computing researchers and practitioners with technical journals, magazines, conferences, books, conference publications, and online courses. Its Certified Software Development Professional (CSDP) program for mid-career professionals and Certified Software Development Associate (CSDA) credential for recent college graduates confirm the skill and knowledge of those working in the field. The CS Digital Library (CSDL) is an excellent research tool, containing more than 250,000 articles from 1,600 conference proceedings and 26 CS periodicals going back to 1988.