The following is the opinion of Prof. Conlon, and does not necessarily reflect the official opinions of Slippery Rock University.
You need to select your college both for its qualities as a college (since about 75% of your degree work will be outside your major) and on the basis of the qualities of your major department (since more of your degree work will be done there than anywhere else).
Why come to SRU to study Computing?
There are two kinds of college or university: teaching institutions and research institutions. Any institution which calls itself college is probably a teaching institution. Institutions which call themselves university are usually research institutions. Nonetheless, SRU is a teaching institution.
Research Institutions: These are places whose primary function is to perform research. This is a good thing--research is vital to our nation and our world. However, it is not necessarily a good thing for the undergraduate student (candidate for a bachelor's degree). In the broad sense, research includes teaching graduate students, doing any activity that creates new knowledge (especially if the results are published in professonal journals), and anything which results in outside funding being funneled into the university. Most research institutions emphasize the importance of teaching undergraduates in their public pronouncements. Often, however, they actually treat undergraduates merely as sources of tuition money who can be "taught" by inexperienced graduate assistants, while the professors perform their research and bring in external funding.
How can I tell if a research institution is not committed to undergraduate education?
Most colleges and universities have an award, typically called "The President's Award for Excellence in Teaching." In a true research institution, professors who win the award never get tenure. Another sure way to guarantee you don't get tenure at a research university is to dedicate yourself to supporting student projects such as interscholastic engineering design competitions, computer programming contests, etc..
Here's a quote from MIT's student humor magazine from somewhere in the late 1960's: "Wanted: professor for great American university. No teaching ability required. Thick accent preferred."
While I'm sure that no instution has ever really used such a want ad, to undergraduate students at real research institutions it may seem so. At my undergraduate institution, I had a professor who was a renowned mathematician in number theory. In our number theory class he never once came to class prepared with a lesson. He would enter class late, face only the chalkboard, and write some scribblings with his right hand, always immediately erasing them with his left hand. His thick accent didn't bother me, since he sounded like my grandfather, but still I can't say I ever learned anything from him. I did have several good professors there, but the best one was denied tenure.
Find out who teaches the freshmen and sophomores. Ask "What percent of undergraduate courses are taught by graduate students and adjuncts?" While some of these graduate students and adjuncts are excellent teachers, graduate students lack experience and sometimes motivation: some that "taught" me were really interested in being researchers and taught only to pay their tuition expenses. Adjuncts normally are more experienced and better motivated, but only full-time people do the curriculum development work to keep the course offerings abreast of the times. Sometimes adjuncts are hired because they possess expertise not otherwise available; other times they are hired mostly because they are cheaper than full-timers.
Teaching Institutions: These are places whose primary function is to deliver quality instruction to undergraduates.(SRU is such a place.) Research is still performed, but only professors who prepare their classes and teach effectively get tenure. Typically, the teaching load is too heavy for those who would rather do research than teach. Often such institutions don't need a "President's Award for Excellence in Teaching," because quality teaching is emphasized and recognized throughout the institution. Let me emphasize that you cannot do effective college teaching if you don't keep abreast of your field. Therefore, while teaching institutions do research, the reason for the research is to improve teaching--often, the research involves (rather than ignores) the undergraduate students.
How can I tell if a college or university is dedicated to quality teaching?
Find out who does the teaching. If there is a minimal dependence on adjuncts and graduate students, that is a good sign.
Visit the halls where the faculty offices are, between 1 and 4 p.m. on a school day. Are the faculty doors open? Are there students in and around these offices? Are the offices located near the students' labs? If the answers are "yes," that's a very good sign.
Ask if and how undergraduates are involved in faculty research. Ask how many faculty members attend the meetings of the departments' student clubs (Computer Science Club, English Club, etc.). Ask whether faculty members go places with students--professional meetings? Student competitions? Picnics?
SRU meets or passes all of the above tests. It is a place where an undergraduate student will find a welcome and a good education.
Why come to SRU to study Computing?
While I offer you the above reasons to choose CS/IS/IT at SRU as a student, they are actually the same reasons that I chose to join the Computer Science faculty at Slippery Rock myself.
If I have convinced you to consider Slippery Rock University for Computer Science, Information Systems, or Information Technology, your next step is to visit our office of Admissions, or, for students from other countries, our International Initiatives office.