Introduction.
The computer science education in our university has a long experience. In 1961 the first department of computer science was created. The education was common for all departments (mathematics, computer science, mechanics) in the first 3 years, and in the last 2 years there were 2 special courses for each department. In computer science, because of lack of computers, the education was focused on algorithms. To describe algorithms the flowcharts and the language ALGOL-60 were used. The only computer in our town in this period was a DACICC-1, a Romanian made, second generation computer, without compilers. This first period was until 1971, when the departments were restructured. In the same year the first computer (an FELIX C-256, which was the Romanian version of the French IRIS-50) appeared in Cluj, but our university has got a similar computer only in 1976.

In the second period of the computer science education, since 1971 until 1989, the classical subjects as: programming (mainly FORTRAN, COBOL and later Pascal languages), operating systems, data bases, formal languages and compilers, information systems were taught. Since 1990 we have got PC's and workstations. In 1994 we have been connected to the Internet [BB]. Now we have 6 laboratory, each with 12 computers linked in a Novell network, and 2 laboratory with 10 computers each, linked in a Windows NT network. From each laboratory, students can access the UNIX machines which realize the Internet-connection. We have a laboratory with 9 workstations and 6 X-terminals too. Each year 100 new students which learn in Romanian and 25 which learn in Hungarian enter the Computer Science Department.

Only a part of students graduating our computer science department becomes teachers, the rest of them work in economic and industrial fields. Since 1990 the number of high-schools that include computer science as ordinary (8 hours per week) or optional (2 hours per week) courses was considerably increased. Because of lack of teachers in computer science, in lot of schools, teachers in mathematics or physics teach this discipline without the all rights of computer science teachers. To remedy this situation in Romania, the University of Bucharest has initiated in 1996 a 3-year Tempus Structural Joint European Project entitled Restructuring of the (re)training of school teachers in computer science, in which our university is a partner. The main aim of this project is the organization of post-graduate studies in computer science to convert teachers in mathematics in teachers in computer science. The recently modified Romanian Law of Education states that retraining of school teachers is part of continuing education and is done within universities. It stipulates different types of post-graduate studies, between these the distance education too.

Beginning the second semester of the 1997/98 academic year we intend to organize a 3-semester distance education post-graduate course in computer science for teachers in mathematics. The other Romanian universities in the above mentioned Tempus-project (Bucharest, Iasi, Brasov, Constanoa) will organize a similar post-graduate course as an evening education.

Post-graduate distance education course in Computer Science.
Because this course is intended for active teachers in mathematics that live in different part of country, we consider that the most adequate form for it is the distance education. The curriculum of the post-graduate course is listed in the following table:

IInd. semester
Advanced methods of programming
Data bases
Operating systems
Birotics
Formal languages and compiling

IIIrd. semester
Parallel and concurrent computing
Computer networks
Artificial intelligence
Multimedia
Methodology of teaching CS

The lectures are written by the professors who have benefited or will benefit of mobility program. The mobilities are in University of Hamburg (Germany), University of Sheffield (England), University of Granada (Spain) and University of Aalborg (Denmark). The professors will have permanent contact with students by homework, that all students have to prepare each month. A distribution list will be available for students too, so they can communicate with professors and other students by e-mail. We hope that the number of schools connected to the Internet will increase at least at the rate as in previous years, such that at the end of the century all high-schools will be on the net. At the beginning, for students which work in schools without Internet-links we offer monthly a face-to-face consultation in the laboratory equipped thanks to the TEMPUS-project.

For the second semester we plan to realize a homepage of the course with the lectures in HTML (or other adequate format) and in downloadable compressed postscript format. In such way all lectures will be available free of charge for all interested person in the subject, but who wants to get a diploma must pay the corresponding tax. Such a system is not our innovation, similar systems already exist [Be].

For assessment, at this time, we consider that the classical face-to-face examination will be satisfactory. We intend to introduce more efficient and more related to distance education examination mode later. At Michigan State University a system for homework assignments and examinations has been implemented. The CAPA (Computer-Assisted Personalized Approach) [Ca] is used successfully in an Internet-based course on Beam Physics offered by the Department of Physics at Michigan State University [Be]. Such a system may increase the efficiency of the distance education.

References

[BB] Babes-Bolyai University homepage, http://www.ubbcluj.ro/ ,
        DE in CS http://math.ubbcluj.ro/~infodist
[Be] Martin BENZ, Béla ERDÉLYI, Jens HOEFKENS, Large Scale Remote Graduate
        Instruction in Beam Physics, Proceedings of the Romanian Internet Learning Workshop
        -- Internet as a Vehicle for Teaching, Ilieni, Romania, 9-14 June 1997, pp. 105-110.
        http://oc1.itim-cj.ro/rilw/Papers/Erdelyi.html
[Ca] CAPA homepage, http://www.pa.msu.edu/educ/CAPA/