Preparing Students for Careers in Computer Science and Math

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The state of Washington has a very high concentration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) jobs and a large skills mismatch as about 45,000 STEM jobs go unfilled each year due to the lack of qualified candidates. These high-paying jobs are vital to the economy of the United States and provide great opportunities for upward economic mobility for low-income students. To address the problem, this Scholarships in STEM (S-STEM) Track 2 project at Western Washington University (WWU), a public masters granting university, is designed to (a) increase retention of low-income academically-talented students in computer science or math (CS/M); (b) support them through graduation, thus preparing them for employment; (c) improve educational opportunities for all students studying CS/M at WWU; (d) study the impact of program activities; and (e) contribute to the development of a diverse, globally competitive STEM workforce. The program will broaden participation by women and minorities in STEM by incorporating program features that research shows increase the retention of underrepresented groups in STEM. Partnerships between industry and WWU will be enhanced by regular participation of industry professionals and the creation of a network of recent WWU CS/M alumni who will mentor scholars. Guidance will be provided to these mentors and experience with the program will make these mentors better future managers and more aware of obstacles to success for people from disadvantaged backgrounds, further improving and diversifying the STEM workforce. Regular formative and summative evaluations will be provided by an external evaluator leading to continuous program improvement. Results will be widely disseminated through conference presentations, publications, and a regional event for current and future S-STEM project teams.Over the life of the project, at least 50 unique students will be selected for the scholarships based on academic potential and leadership qualities. The project expects to retain 85% of the Scholars after the first year and at least 75% through graduation in CS/M at WWU. The objectives will be achieved by several evidence-based strategies including early advising; a first-year program that builds a learning community; faculty, peer and professional mentoring; and regular events designed to preserve this community and prepare students for CS/M careers. Small teams that include students from all cohorts will enhance vertical connections in the community of scholars and enable students to develop leadership skills. This project builds on an earlier award that had similar activities and was successful in that talented, low-income students were recruited and retained, and most graduates are working in CS/M fields. However, the reasons for that success were not formally investigated. This project will seek to understand how all aspects of this program affect important psychological factors that contribute to retention and success in STEM. Specifically the question is: "how, and to what extent, do the program features contribute to the development of self-efficacy, CS/M identity, and sense of belonging?" Further, the project will investigate the effect of early CS exposure (coursework and career awareness in freshman year) on CS/M majors. Because many incoming freshmen have limited knowledge of CS, early CS exposure may attract such students to CS. Evidence from the previous S-STEM grant indicates that early CS exposure also positively impacted math majors as many minored in CS or took more CS courses than required and many opted for a BS in Applied Math or chose upper-division electives with a computational or applied focus. The hypothesis is that early CS exposure will improve the experience of math majors by expanding their awareness of career options and by developing skills that enhance their conceptual understanding and problem-solving capabilities. The knowledge generated by this project will lead to better understanding of the effects of program activities and may inform changes in practice to better support low-income students in CS/M.