I don’t think that’s quite right. You’re not going to expect someone majoring in French to not have studied any French before college.
It seems completely reasonable to expect someone to be comfortable finding their way around a computer if they’ve chosen to major in computer science.
I’d also expect an entering electrical engineering major has studied more math than just “some secondary school algebra”. They’ve probably already studied some calculus or at the very least are ready to as soon as they start their first semester.
It’s a bit of a red flag to have no foundations in a subject you’ve decided to focus on for the next four years. That said, sufficiently motivated individuals can catch up and overcome their initial lack of preparation.
You have to put yourself back into your 18yo self, right? The kind of people who think a degree in management will make you a manager, and if they let you on to your course they must know what the requirements are and you must satisfy them.
At that time in your life your entire world has been school, and everything you did in school led to another thing in school. Why wouldn't you assume you'd get taught programming when you applied for a CS course, whose prereq was math that you did in school?
everything they teach you in a CS degree is useful and broadens your knowledge of the space, and all of it might potentially come in handy as your career develops, though much of it might not.
Doesn't mean you'll be a great programmer or archtect or planner or teacher. Right? you might drop it and go into something else.
Same is actually true of a management degree, everything they teach has been well thought out and is applicable to managing a company. Doesn't mean you'll be any good at it or work in all those departments. It is not a useless degree, though many useless people might pursue it.
It seems completely reasonable to expect someone to be comfortable finding their way around a computer if they’ve chosen to major in computer science.
I’d also expect an entering electrical engineering major has studied more math than just “some secondary school algebra”. They’ve probably already studied some calculus or at the very least are ready to as soon as they start their first semester.
It’s a bit of a red flag to have no foundations in a subject you’ve decided to focus on for the next four years. That said, sufficiently motivated individuals can catch up and overcome their initial lack of preparation.