CAREER: Divergent Transfer Trajectories in Computer Science: A Mixed Methods and Person-Centered Exploration of (In)Equity and Community College Transfer Pathways

职业：计算机科学中的不同转学轨迹：对（内）公平和社区大学转学途径的混合方法和以人为本的探索

• 批准号: 2336193
• 负责人: Jennifer Blaney
• 金额: $ 62.99万
• 依托单位: Northern Arizona University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2024-08-01 至 2029-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2336193&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Divergent; Transfer; Trajectories; Computer

Northern Arizona University will study transfer pathways from community college to CS majors in the University of California (UC) system to provide the first comprehensive picture of degree and early career trajectories followed by transfer students in CS. Given the financial reward associated with computer science (CS) degrees, increasing diversity in CS majors has important implications for equity within society. One strategy for recruiting a diverse workforce in CS is to build accessible pathways from community colleges to undergraduate CS degree programs. Community college transfer students represent a diverse, high-achieving, and often untapped pool of talented emerging computer scientists. Thus, supporting their success is essential to broadening participation in CS, and future research is needed to understand how community college transfer students navigate their CS degree pathways and obtain success in reaching their educational and professional goals. This mixed methods study will rely on longitudinal data in the form of surveys, student records, and ethnographic interviews, beginning from the time transfer students enter their UC campus and following them as they matriculate through their CS degree programs. Specific analyses will be guided by two overarching questions: (1) What trajectories do community college transfer students follow in their computer science bachelor’s degree pursuits? (2) How do community college transfer students following varying degree trajectories describe and make meaning of their experiences? Person-centered statistical analyses and ethnographic interviews will also explore variation by gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic background. In particular, this study will add nuance and complexity in terms of how we understand community college transfer student success, pushing us to define success beyond traditional metrics (e.g., degree efficiency; four- or six-year graduation rates; etc.). In doing so, this study will build a more robust knowledge base that can contribute to efforts to advance equity in CS by supporting community college transfer students as they exercise agency throughout their degree programs and obtain their professional goals.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.

北亚利桑那大学将在加州大学(UC)系统中研究从社区学院到CS专业的转学途径，以提供CS转学学生学位和早期职业轨迹的第一张综合图景。考虑到与计算机科学(CS)学位相关的经济回报，CS专业日益多样化对社会公平具有重要影响。在CS中招聘多元化劳动力的一个策略是建立从社区大学到本科CS学位课程的便捷途径。社区大学转学学生代表了一群多样化的、高成就的、往往未被开发的新兴计算机科学家。因此，支持他们的成功对于扩大CS的参与是至关重要的，未来需要进行研究，以了解社区大学转学的学生如何驾驭他们的CS学位道路，并在实现他们的教育和职业目标方面取得成功。这项混合方法研究将依赖于调查、学生记录和人种学访谈形式的纵向数据，从转学学生进入加州大学校园的时间开始，一直跟踪他们进入CS学位课程的过程。具体的分析将以两个最重要的问题为指导：(1)社区学院转学的学生在他们的计算机科学学士学位追求中遵循什么轨迹？(2)社区大学转学的学生如何描述不同程度的轨迹并使他们的经历具有意义？以人为中心的统计分析和人种学访谈也将探索性别、种族/民族和社会经济背景的差异。特别是，这项研究将增加我们如何理解社区大学转学学生成功的细微差别和复杂性，迫使我们超越传统的衡量标准(例如，学位效率、四年或六年毕业率等)来定义成功。通过这样做，这项研究将建立一个更强大的知识库，通过支持社区大学转学学生在整个学位课程中行使代理并获得他们的专业目标，来促进CS中的公平。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。