Experiences that Shape Undergraduate Computing Trajectories: A Equity-Focused Longitudinal Study at Center for Inclusive Computing Institutions

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The Momentum: Accelerating Equity in Computing and Technology research program at the University of California, Los Angeles will conduct a study to produce knowledge that can guide departments’ decisions about recruitment and retention in computing, especially with regard to ensuring equitable structures and opportunities for students who have been historically minoritized. While responding to workforce demands for trained computer scientists, undergraduate computing programs are also increasing their focus on cultivating opportunities for participation among women and students of color (specifically, students who identify as Black or African American, Hispanic or Latinx, Native American, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander). The urgent need to address equity issues in undergraduate computing departments is more salient now than ever before, as U.S. colleges and universities currently face a turbulent road to navigate operations amid and after the coronavirus pandemic. This study will provide timely data that can inform undergraduate computing’s recruitment and retention efforts in the current contexts. In collaboration with Northeastern University’s Center for Inclusive Computing (CIC), the Momentum team will survey first- and second-year students who enroll in computing courses at approximately 20 colleges and universities in the spring of 2021. This survey will ask a variety of questions ranging from students’ backgrounds and precollege experiences to their computing experiences in the 2020-21 academic year. Then, they will survey these students again in the spring of 2023 to assess how their experiences with computing have changed and the role these experiences play in shaping their future plans. The project team will analyze these data to understand the specific experiences that shape students’ trajectories in computing, especially the pathways of women and students from historically minoritized groups. The findings from this study will be disseminated widely within the computing and higher education community to inform best practices to recruit and retain students in computing majors and ultimately into computing careers.The Momentum research program at the University of California, Los Angeles will conduct a longitudinal study of first- and second-year students who enroll in computing courses at institutions involved in Northeastern University’s Center for Inclusive Computing (CIC). The research represents a partnership between Momentum and CIC to engage in research on collegiate experiences that promote recruitment and retention in computing, particularly for marginalized students in computing such as women of color. Leveraging Momentum staff expertise and survey instruments to address key gaps in our knowledge, the project team will first administer a baseline survey to first- and second-year students enrolled in computing courses at CIC institutions. This survey (administered in spring 2021) will focus on a variety of factors, ranging from students’ background characteristics and pre-college experiences to their transition to college and their first-year experiences in computing. Then, two years later, in students’ third or fourth year in college, the project team will administer a follow-up survey. The follow-up survey will focus on the specific experiences known to shape students’ trajectories in computing, including course experiences, interactions with instructors/faculty, and extracurricular computing experiences (e.g., involvement in computing organizations, undergraduate research, computing-related internships). This survey will also focus on students’ longer-term plans, such as pursuing graduate school or careers in computing. This study will contribute to knowledge about broadening participation in computing in several ways. First, it will provide insights to scholars, administrators, and policymakers about how students who take computing courses in the first- and second- year of college may engage with the computing department and how this engagement may differentially shape the trajectories of students from various gender and/or racial/ethnic groups. Additionally, following up with these students longitudinally will enable us to learn how these students’ experiences and perceptions change over-time, as well as to study the longer-term role played by a variety of computing environments and outcomes. Overall, this study aims to build on existing literature about what works to promote desirable outcomes for computing students and provide more data on how and why certain experiences work (or do not work), thereby providing actionable findings to stakeholders designing interventions to promote broadening participation efforts in computing.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.