Preparing Highly Qualified Students with Financial Need for Careers in Computing and Cyber-Security through Evidence-Based Educational Practices

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The NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program supports the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need. This S-STEM project is a collaboration between New Mexico State University and New Mexico Tech, in collaboration with four two-year colleges: Dona Ana Community College, Eastern New Mexico University Ruidoso, New Mexico State University Alamogordo, and New Mexico State University Grants. These institutions are Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) and members of an existing backbone organization, the Computing Alliance of Hispanic Serving Institutions, which focuses on promoting recruitment, training, and career advancement of Hispanic students in computing. Over a five-year period, this S-STEM project will fund 66 scholarships, in three groups of 22 students who are pursuing Associate and Bachelor's degrees in computing-related disciplines. The project will apply practices that the investigators developed over two previous multi-year awards and that have been shown to support the development of students' technical and professional skills in computation. Implementing these practices will guide students along pathways from two-year programs to four-year degrees in computing, and to successful careers and/or graduate studies in computing. The students' professional and technical skills will be enhanced through a structured model that guides development of skills in computer science, research, team work, and communication. These skills will be refined through projects and activities in cybersecurity, a critical computing area with nationwide implications. The skills development activities, coupled with integrated mentoring initiatives, will contribute to the advancement and success of the scholars. The partnering institutions aim to prepare low-income, academically high-achieving students to enter the computing workforce or graduate computing degree programs. To this end, the project will provide the selected scholars with co-curricular activities, grounded in evidence-based pedagogical strategies, to strengthen technical and professional preparation. The strategies build on multi-level mentoring, team work, and active involvement in the scientific community, to build social capital among the scholars, and self-efficacy and confidence in computing. The project will also contribute to advancing the knowledge base about: (1) factors affecting the retention and success of students in computing at HSIs and (2) factors that facilitate the adoption and sustainability of evidence-based reforms that serve low income, highly qualified students in computing. The program will contribute to the training of talented students who can contribute to growing U.S. workforce needs in computing and cybersecurity. The focus on low-income students, and the predominantly Hispanic student population of the partnering institutions, will contribute to building a computing workforce with greater diversity of participants. The program will also contribute to reinforcing the pathways from two-year colleges to four-year academic programs across New Mexico, opening new opportunities for students, and advancing the economic development of the state.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.