BPC-DP: PeerSIST: Peer Support for IS Transfers

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The objective of the PeerSIST Project is to develop, implement and evaluate an innovative, accessible, and inclusive transfer student peer mentoring program in computing. This objective contributes to the promotion of transfer-friendly organizational structures and practices in computing education. Transfer students, in the context of the Information Systems (IS) Department at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), are students who began their higher education at a 2-year institution (e.g. a community college) and have transferred their enrollment to a 4-year institution to complete their bachelors degree. This project also includes major “transfers”, i.e. transfer students who have made a second “transfer” to the IS major from another major (often computer science). New knowledge will be gained about the impact of structured peer mentoring on students’ academic self-perceptions, sense of belonging in the major, and intention to remain in the major, as well as changes in faculty members’ awareness of transfer student needs. Assessment will be assisted by a novel data analytics framework, integrated into the learning management system. This exploration is expected to increase the success and retention of students, particularly underrepresented students, in computing majors. The project is also designed to establish disciplinary collaborations between faculty and staff interested in supporting transfer students. The PeerSIST mentoring program will be expandable and adaptable at other institutions, aiming for widespread national impact. The project will leverage the social capital of undergraduate transfer student peers at one mid-sized public, minority serving, research university (i.e. UMBC) by establishing structures for mutually beneficial relationships and knowledge exchange among students. At critical points throughout the academic year, mentoring teams comprising one Peer Mentor matched with two Mentee Buddies, will engage in various program activities that will focus on three key themes: academic success, community building, and professional development. The PeerSIST program will be assessed and evaluated for its effectiveness in increasing engagement and sense of belonging in the major, as well as how it results in increased faculty awareness of transfer student knowledge in the IS department.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.