Stepping away from this particular case, what does a well-executed Associate's degree for computer science look like? At top-tier schools (at least in the US, which is all I'm familiar with), there's an expectation that most of the incoming students already have a reasonable familiarity with the basics of programming, but that's unreasonable to expect for everyone entering college. And since it's useful to have some practical familiarity with programming before taking an algorithms class, it further seems like getting some sort of software engineering two-year degree would be a good use of time before either entering the workforce or deciding to cover some theory in the following two years (algorithms, computer architecture, compilers, etc.).
What would a two-year degree like that cover? A variety of useful languages plus their most common frameworks? Basic data structures? Common industry tools (git, CI, docker, linux)? Even though it doesn't fit very naturally into the US college experience, I'm wondering if a well-executed two-year "bootcamp" (for lack of a better term) could actually fill a gap that exists right now. It at least allows people to choose if they're interested in theoretical computer science or not. Theory is quite helpful, but not everyone wants/needs to opt in to math, proofs, etc.
Finland has a model of high school alternate vocational programs. But standards and funding are so low it is mostly useless, places seem mostly day cares for students.
Applied science universities however are not as rigorous as traditional universities, but do offer suitable degrees with practise in actual software development with lighter load on pure computer science or advanced topics.
In the US there are technical high schools in many states. Not sure exactly what the curriculum looks like. I'm sure it involves programming but probably not CS topics.
What would a two-year degree like that cover? A variety of useful languages plus their most common frameworks? Basic data structures? Common industry tools (git, CI, docker, linux)? Even though it doesn't fit very naturally into the US college experience, I'm wondering if a well-executed two-year "bootcamp" (for lack of a better term) could actually fill a gap that exists right now. It at least allows people to choose if they're interested in theoretical computer science or not. Theory is quite helpful, but not everyone wants/needs to opt in to math, proofs, etc.