Proposal for Community-Building Meetings for the National Science Foundation's Broadening Participation in Computing Initiative

CEIS特别项目-FY06id：CNS 0622450PI：Edee Wiziecki(NCSA)标题：国家科学基金会扩大参与计算倡议的社区建设会议NCSA获得了CEISE特别项目奖，将召开一次PI会议和关于CEISE扩大参与计算(BPC)倡议的信息外展会议。BPC的目标是建立机构和组织的广泛联盟，以设计和执行全面的计划，解决计算学科中代表性不足的问题。国际和平倡议会议是第一批受资助项目的启动活动。通过接入网格举行的情况介绍会议和外联活动是非正式会议，旨在包括广泛的参与。这些会议为与会者提供关于BPC计划的信息，使他们能够为传播成功的计划而会面，并建立联盟联系。这个项目的学术价值在于，将在扩大计算参与领域具有广泛专业知识的有思想的个人聚集在一起，将产生协同效应。这些会议是由各国领导人组织的，他们在基于当前研究和最佳实践的扩大参与的方案方面拥有丰富的经验。由此产生的联盟以及相关的评估和传播可以提供关于项目的有价值的见解和研究，这些项目可能是解决计算代表不足问题的潜在国家模式。更广泛的影响在于对计算机教育的潜在影响，以及对全美范围广泛的学生的推广。近年来，计算机学科专业的学生数量有所下降，尽管这些学科毕业生的就业需求继续攀升。值得注意的是，考虑主修计算机专业的女性和少数族裔学生的数量甚至大幅下降，进一步限制了可用的人才库。动员有关领导人结成联盟，以确定和实施创新战略，以吸引和留住计算机学科的广泛学生，不仅在加强国家经济方面，而且在维护机会平等方面，可能会产生巨大影响。

CISE Special Projects - FY06Id: CNS 0622450PI: Edee Wiziecki (NCSA)Title: Community Building Meetings for the National Science Foundation's Broadening Participation in Computing InitiativeNCSA has received a CISE Special Projects award to convene a PI meeting and informational outreach meetings on the CISE Broadening Participation in Computing (BPC) initiative. BPC aims to build broad Alliances of institutions and organizations to design and carry out comprehensive programs that address under-representation in the computing disciplines. The PI meeting is the kickoff event for the first group of funded projects. The informational meetings and outreach through the Access Grid are informal meetings designed to include broad range of participation. These meetings provide participants with information about the BPC program and enable them to meet for dissemination of successful programs and to establish alliance connections. The intellectual merit of this project lies in the synergies that will follow from bringing together thoughtful individuals with wide-ranging expertise in the area of broadening participation in computing. The meetings are organized by national leaders with significant experience in programs to broaden participation based on current research and best practices. The resulting alliances and associated evaluation and dissemination could provide valuable insights and research about programs that are potential national models for addressing under-representation in computing. The broader impact lies in the potential impact on computing education and outreach to a broad range of students across the United States. The number of students majoring in computing disciplines has declined in recent years even though employment demands for graduates in these disciplines continues to climb. Significantly, the number of women and minority students who consider the possibility of majoring in computing has fallen even more dramatically, further restricting the pool of available talent. Mobilizing concerned leaders to form alliances that can identify and implement innovative strategies to attract and retain a broad range of students in computing disciplines could have enormous impact not only in terms of strengthening the nation's economy but also in preserving equality of opportunity.