Updated at 12:04 p.m.:

A 26-year old student was found dead inside a residence hall on Kent State University's campus over the weekend.

The Portage County Coroner's Office identified the student as James Barnes, of Midland, Pa.

Kent State Spokesperson Emily Vincent said Barnes was discovered in Leebrick Hall, in the Tri-Towers complex, at about 4:45 p.m. Sunday.

Kent State Police and the coroner's office are investigating. Police do not suspect foul play at this time.

Family members called the unviersity officials Sunday, to notify they had not heard from Barnes for some time. An autopsy could take place Monday.

Computer design and website design-- Kent State University has a major for that.

This fall, KSU welcomed its first class of students into its School of Digital Sciences.

Two Bachelor degree programs and a Master's degree track is offered in the school. The courses that students will be asked to take include computer design, website design and visual communications.

For students on-the-go, courses will be available online. Kent State's regional campuses will likely offer courses at its regional campuses in the future.

Press Release:

Kent State University’s School of Digital Sciences welcomed its first class of students this fall after Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Jim Petro approved the school’s proposed degrees.

The new interdisciplinary school offers three degrees — a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Digital Sciences. Many of the courses are available online and will likely be offered soon on some of the Kent State regional campuses.

“This is going to be a great degree for a variety of people,” said Robert Walker, director of the School of Digital Sciences at Kent State. “For example, it’s perfect for students who like computers but don’t want to focus exclusively on the programming aspect.”

The bachelor’s degrees offered by Kent State’s School of Digital Sciences are designed for students who are creative, who want to be exposed to a broad range of topics, who want to use computers responsibly to solve problems efficiently and who enjoy working with other people as part of a team. The graduates will be well-rounded, taking courses that span computer design and web design, information science, technology, project management, visual communication design, journalism and more.

Undergraduate students can now officially declare their majors. Starting in the spring semester, 25 to 30 students are expected to be in the program.

At the graduate level, applications for the Master of Digital Sciences will be accepted starting in October for enrollment in the Spring 2012 semester; however, some students started early as guest admission students. There are approximately 14 students from California to New Jersey enrolled in the graduate program.

“The master’s program augments a student’s undergraduate program with targeted depth in one or two additional areas,” Walker said. “It can benefit students from any undergraduate program by giving them valuable skills needed in today’s workplace.”

On the Web: www.kent.edu/dsci
 

Kent State head coach Darrell Hazell is a bit concerned about his offense heading into this Saturday's game on the road against Kansas State.

The Kent State offense managed only one touchdown and one field goal in their 20-12 loss to the University of Louisiana - Lafayette last Saturday night at Dix Stadium.

Hazell says the offense, may be 'checking down' their plays a bit too much, which slows down their tempo. He says they will have to change some things this week in practice so they can get into a groove running the football which will open up the play-action pass for the offense.

Hazell says those changed will allow the quarterback Spencer Keith to play behind the center instead of being in the shotgun formation on every down.

The first year head coach says while he likes his offensive line, they haven't done a 'great job' up front this season.

Hazell says he was most impressed with the play of his special teams this week and the defense. Hazell says they spent 30 minutes before practice talking about special teams.

As for the defense, Hazell says they created three turnovers in the Lafayette game, but were unable to take advantage of the miscues.