Improving Degree Completion and Transfer Rates in Computer Science Through Direct Student Supports and Scholarships

该项目将通过支持莫雷诺谷社区学院（一所西班牙裔服务机构）中表现出经济需求的高成就低收入学生的保留和毕业，为全国对受过良好教育的科学家、数学家、工程师和技术人员的需求做出贡献。通过创建计算机科学学者计划（CSSP），莫雷诺谷社区学院将支持在莫雷诺谷学院表现出经济需求的高成就低收入学生的保留和毕业。该计划为期六年，将为60名就读副学士学位或有意转学至大学修读计算机科学或计算机信息系统学士学位的低收入本科生提供奖学金。学生将获得长达三年的奖学金支持。该项目旨在通过将奖学金与有效的支持活动联系起来，包括指导、本科生研究经历、实习、转学和职业准备，以及参加特定学科的研讨会和活动，提高学生在STEM领域的坚持度。在导师的帮助下，学者将制定教育计划，概述他们的学术和职业目标以及实现这些目标的必要步骤。由于莫雷诺谷学院有大量低收入学生和来自计算机科学历史上代表性不足的群体的学生，该项目有可能扩大学生对计算机科学的参与，并研究教师指导对这一人群的影响。该项目的总体目标是提高STEM领域低收入、高成就本科生的学位完成率。有五个具体目标：1)提高学生的保留率和坚持率；2)提高学生在高等数学课程中的学习成绩；3)提高STEM专业的学位完成率；4)提高STEM学士学位课程的转学率；5)在项目完成后的18个月内增加进入STEM劳动力的人数。这个项目是由于MVC的计算机科学和计算机信息系统项目在学生入学和成功方面存在显著的成就差距。目前，该计划没有毕业或转移学生的数量，以满足这个不断增长的领域的劳动力需求。这个项目将调查强大的学生支持服务和经济援助对计算机科学和计算机信息系统学生成功的影响。综合支助方案的评价将通过形成性和总结性措施调查项目活动的有效性。而形成性评价将侧重于过程和项目的保真度，总结性评价将检查项目在多大程度上对学生在计算机科学方面的成功产生积极影响。项目负责人和共同负责人将提供该项目的成果，他们将在地方、区域、全州和全国各级通过在各种会议上介绍项目成果来传播项目成果。该项目由美国国家科学基金会的科学、技术、工程和数学奖学金项目资助，该项目旨在增加有经济需求的低收入学术天才学生在STEM领域获得学位的人数。它还旨在改善未来STEM工作者的教育，并为低收入学生提供有关学业成功、留校、转学、毕业和学术/职业道路的知识。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at Moreno Valley Community College, a Hispanic Serving Institution. Through the creation of the Computer Science Scholars Program (CSSP), Moreno Valley Community College will support the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at Moreno Valley College. Over its six-year duration, CSSP will provide scholarships to 60 low-income undergraduate students who are pursuing an associate degree or intend to transfer to a university to complete a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or Computer Information Systems. Students will receive up to three years of scholarship support. The project aims to increase student persistence in STEM fields by linking scholarships with effective support activities, including mentoring, undergraduate research experiences, internships, transfer and career preparation, and participation in discipline-specific workshops and activities. With the help of mentors, scholars will create education plans that outline their academic and career goals and the necessary steps toward achieving those goals. Because Moreno Valley College has a large population of low-income students and students from groups that have been historically underrepresented in computer science, this project has the potential to broaden participation of students in computer science and study the impact of faculty mentoring on this population.The overall goal of the project is to improve the degree completion rate for low-income, high-achieving undergraduates in STEM fields. There are five specific objectives: 1) increase scholars’ retention rates and persistence rates; 2) improve student success in advanced mathematics courses; 3) improve degree completion rates in STEM; 4) improve transfer rates to a baccalaureate program in STEM; and 5) increase the number of individuals entering the STEM workforce within 18 months of program completion. This program is the result of the significant achievement gaps in student enrollment and success in MVC’s Computer Science and Computer Information Systems programs. Presently, the program is not graduating or transferring the number of students necessary to meet workforce needs in this growing field. This project will investigate the effects of robust student support services and financial assistance on the success of Computer Science and Computer Information Systems students. The evaluation of CSSP will investigate the effectiveness of project activities through formative and summative measures. While the formative evaluation will focus on process and project fidelity, the summative evaluation will examine to what extent the project has positively impacted student success in Computer Science. Results of this project will be made available by the PI and Co-PI, who will disseminate project results on a local, regional, statewide, and national level by presenting project findings at meetings and conferences. This project is funded by NSF’s Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need to earn degrees in STEM fields. It also aims to improve the education of future STEM workers, and to generate knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income students.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.