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

北亚利桑那大学将研究从社区学院转到加州大学（UC）系统的计算机科学专业的途径，为计算机科学转学生提供学位和早期职业轨迹的第一张全面图片。考虑到与计算机科学（CS）学位相关的经济回报，增加CS专业的多样性对社会公平具有重要意义。在计算机科学领域招募多样化劳动力的一个策略是建立从社区学院到计算机科学本科学位课程的无障碍途径。社区大学的转学生代表了一个多样化的、高成就的、经常被开发的有才华的新兴计算机科学家群体。因此，支持他们的成功对于扩大对计算机科学的参与至关重要，未来的研究需要了解社区学院转学生如何导航他们的计算机科学学位路径，并在实现他们的教育和职业目标方面取得成功。这种混合方法的研究将依赖于调查、学生记录和人种学访谈形式的纵向数据，从转学生进入加州大学校园开始，直到他们进入CS学位课程。具体分析将以两个首要问题为指导：(1)社区学院转学生在计算机科学学士学位追求中遵循什么样的轨迹？(2)不同学位轨迹的社区学院转学生如何描述和理解他们的经历？以人为中心的统计分析和人种学访谈也将探讨性别、种族/民族和社会经济背景的差异。特别是，这项研究将在我们如何理解社区大学转学生成功方面增加细微差别和复杂性，推动我们超越传统指标（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，本研究将建立一个更强大的知识库，通过支持社区学院转学生在整个学位课程中行使代理并实现他们的职业目标，从而有助于促进CS的公平性。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。

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.