Using Socially Relevant Computing to Attract and Retain Computer Science Majors

西北密苏里州立大学为追求计算机科学或交互式数字媒体专业计算机科学学士学位的有才华但经济困难的学生提供25个S-STEM奖学金。学者们将得到广泛的指导，包括由教师、同行和行业专业人士提供的针对特定文化的指导，以及职业规划方面的帮助。特别活动包括研究和实习机会，实地考察，参加国家会议，ACM会员资格和辅导。我们特别鼓励来自弱势群体的学生申请这些奖学金。在西北密苏里州立大学，计算机的社会相关方面已经被整合到计算机课程中。这个项目将衡量使用这种方法提高学生保留率的有效性。针对特定文化的指导的效果也将被衡量。作为该项目的一部分，西北密苏里州立大学的教职员工与地区K-12教师合作，将计算机整合到K-12课程中。这些联系将计算机引入了潜在学者的不同群体，并改善了该地区K-12学校对计算机概念的接触。此外，通过该项目开发的资源可供其他学院和大学使用，以便在西北大学取得的成果可以在其他机构复制。

Northwest Missouri State University provides twenty-five S-STEM scholarships to talented yet financially disadvantaged students pursuing baccalaureate degrees in computer science or the computer science track of the interactive digital media major. Scholars receive extensive mentoring, including culturally specific mentoring by faculty, peers and industry professionals as well as career-planning assistance. Special activities include research and internship opportunities, field trips, attendance at national conferences, ACM membership and tutoring. Students from underrepresented groups are especially encouraged to apply for these scholarships.Socially relevant aspects of computing have been integrated into the computing curricula at Northwest Missouri State University. This project will measure the effectiveness of using this approach to improve student retention. The effects of culturally specific mentoring will also be measured.As part of the project, Northwest Missouri State University faculty members work with area K-12 teachers to integrate computing into the K-12 curriculum. These ties introduce computing to a diverse pool of potential scholars and improve exposure to computing concepts in area K-12 schools. In addition, the resources developed through this project are available to other colleges and universities so that results obtained at Northwest can be replicated at other institutions.