SPARCS -- Siena Plan for Attracting and Retaining Computer Scientists

锡耶纳吸引和留住计算机科学家计划(SPARCS)致力于在未来十年内培养100万名拥有STEM学位的大学毕业生，这是总统科学和技术顾问委员会(PCAST)在2012年2月的报告中确立的。SPARCS建立在国家科学基金会S-STEM科技谷学者项目的成功基础上，专注于在高中和大学头两年招聘和留住计算机专业的学生。该计划包括一项高中双重招生计划，将计算机科学教育引入首都区目前没有提供计算机科学教育的高中。该项目通过为高中生提供接触计算机的机会来改善计算机招聘，这样他们就可以更好地评估自己作为大学专业学生对计算的兴趣。其结果是纽约州首府地区拥有更多、更合格的计算劳动力。SPARCS在毕业前招聘和培养新的计算专业学生，重点是在高中和大学头两年招聘和留住他们。高中招生的重点是利用合作伙伴关系，在没有开设计算机课程的学校开设计算机入门课程。大学层面的招生主要针对锡耶纳三所学校(理科、商科和文科)中未申报的学生。招聘的对象也包括在当前专业苦苦挣扎的学生，这些学生在计算机方面表现出了很强的学术潜力，可能没有机会探索计算。留住学生的努力集中于扩大本科生实习，纳入助教，并让学生参与其他旨在培养社区意识的活动。该项目正在由一名外部顾问进行评估和评估，他确定了以下结果作为衡量该计划有效性的标准：向锡耶纳招收计算机专业学生的活动的有效性，SPARCS计划对留在锡耶纳计算机专业的学生的影响，学生在课程和研究项目中的表现质量，来自代表性不足群体的学生数量，以及毕业后进入研究生院或专业劳动力的学生数量。

The Siena Plan for Attracting and Retaining Computer Scientists (SPARCS) is addressing the goal of producing one million additional college graduates with STEM degrees over the next decade, established in the February 2012 report by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). SPARCS builds on the success of the NSF S-STEM Tech Valley Scholars program and focuses on recruiting and retaining computing majors in high school and the first two years of college. The program includes a high school dual enrollment program that introduces computer science education to Capital District high schools that are currently not offering it. The program improves computing recruitment by offering high school students an opportunity to gain exposure to computing so they might better assess their interest in computing as a college major. The result is a larger and more qualified computing workforce in New York State's Capital Region.SPARCS recruits and nurtures new computing majors through graduation, with an emphasis on recruiting and retention in high school and the first two years of college. High school recruiting focuses on using partnerships to institute an introductory computing course at schools that do not have computing courses. College level recruiting focuses on undeclared students in each of Siena's three schools (Science, Business, and Liberal Arts). Recruitment also extends to students struggling in their current major who have demonstrated strong academic potential for computing and may not have been afforded the opportunity to explore computing. Retention efforts concentrate on expanding undergraduate internships, incorporating teaching assistantships, and engaging students in other activities designed to foster a sense of community.The project is being assessed and evaluated by an external consultant who has identified the following outcomes as a measure of the effectiveness of the program: the effectiveness of campaigns to recruit computing students into Siena, the impact of the SPARCS program on students staying in computing at Siena, the quality of student performance in courses and research projects, the number of students from underrepresented groups, and the number of students entering graduate school or the professional workforce after graduation.