Improving Access, Recruitment, Retention, and Attainment in IT

怀俄明州（以及全国）对信息技术（IT）专业人员的需求继续超过许多其他技术和STEM领域。在怀俄明州，对计算机用户支持专家、网络和计算机系统管理员、信息安全分析师、计算机网络支持专家、数据中心技术人员和数据分析师的需求超过了该州所有其他IT职位。IT领域的就业增长预测显示，拉勒米县社区学院（LCCC）地区将增加近14,000个职位。这个项目将通过提高社区大学IT课程的可及性、包容性和持久性来帮助解决对IT专业人员的需求。通过提议的活动，IT途径将扩大其对服务不足人口的影响，同时准备合格的、熟练的和多样化的专业人员，使区域劳动力受益，并协助怀俄明州实现经济多样化的目标。该项目的目标是扩大农村/偏远地区学生的入学机会，吸引和留住服务不足的人口，并强调在竞争日益激烈的领域提高市场竞争力所需的高级技能/证书。具体活动包括部署一个自我维持的学生资源模型，这将确保农村/偏远地区的学生配备与工业界一致的计算设备，并可以参加实际的实验室练习，为他们的职业期望做好准备。招聘和体验式学习活动将侧重于吸引和留住IT路径中的女性和职业转变的成年人。夏季训练营和一个完全远程访问的IT专业俱乐部将被用来增加学生的参与、协作和成功。项目成果将与怀俄明州其他社区学院以及全国交流和共享，并上传到ATE Central，包括女性和农村/偏远学生的招聘评估汇总数据及其在IT途径中的表现。该项目由先进技术教育计划资助，该计划侧重于为推动国家经济的先进技术领域培养技术人员。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。

The demand for Information Technology (IT) professionals in Wyoming (and nationally) continues to outpace many other technical and STEM fields. In Wyoming, the need for Computer User Support Specialists, Network and Computer Systems Administrators, Information Security Analysts, Computer Network Support Specialists, Datacenter Technicians and Data Analysts outpace all other IT positions in the state. Employment growth projections in the IT field demonstrate positional growth of nearly 14,000 positions in the Laramie County Community College (LCCC) region. This project will help address the demand for IT professionals by improving access, inclusion, and persistence in community college IT coursework. Through the proposed activities, the IT pathway will broaden its impact on underserved populations, while preparing qualified, skilled, and diverse professionals to benefit the regional workforce and assist with Wyoming’s goal of diversifying its economy.The goals of this project are to expand access for rural/remote students, engage and retain underserved populations and emphasize the advanced skills/certifications required to promote marketability in an increasingly competitive field. Specific activities include the deployment of a self-sustaining student resource model, that will ensure rural/remote students are equipped with computing equipment consistent to that of industry and can participate in practical lab exercises to prepare them for career expectations. Recruitment and experiential learning activities will focus on engaging and retaining women and career-changing adults in the IT Pathway. Summer bootcamps and a fully remotely accessible IT Professional Club will be utilized to increase student participation, collaboration, and success. Project deliverables will be communicated and shared with other Wyoming community colleges, as well as nationally and uploaded to ATE Central, including aggregated data on the assessment of recruitment of females and rural/remote students and their performance in the IT Pathway. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the Nation's economy.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.