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

CISE特别项目-FY 06 Id：CNS 0622450 PI：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已获得CISE特别项目奖，以召开关于CISE扩大参与计算（BPC）倡议的PI会议和信息外展会议。BPC旨在建立广泛的机构和组织联盟，以设计和实施解决计算学科代表性不足的综合计划。PI会议是第一批资助项目的启动活动。信息交流会和通过Access Grid进行的外联活动是非正式会议，旨在让广泛的参与者参加。 这些会议为参与者提供有关BPC计划的信息，使他们能够聚集在一起传播成功的计划并建立联盟联系。这一项目的智力价值在于将在扩大参与计算领域具有广泛专门知识的有思想的个人聚集在一起所产生的协同作用。 这些会议由国家领导人组织，这些领导人在根据目前的研究和最佳做法扩大参与的方案方面具有丰富的经验。 由此产生的联盟和相关的评估和传播可以提供有价值的见解和研究有关的计划，是潜在的国家模式，以解决代表性不足的计算。 更广泛的影响在于对计算机教育的潜在影响，以及对美国各地广泛学生的影响。近年来，尽管计算机专业毕业生的就业需求不断攀升，但这些专业的学生人数却有所下降。值得注意的是，考虑主修计算机的女性和少数民族学生的数量下降得更快，进一步限制了可用人才的数量。动员有关领导人组成联盟，确定和实施创新战略，吸引和留住计算机学科的广大学生，不仅可以在加强国家经济方面，而且可以在维护机会平等方面产生巨大影响。

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.