Addressing Information Technology Workforce Needs in an Urban Setting

该项目旨在解决信息技术(IT)劳动力的巨大需求，方法是确定为什么在该学院注册IT职业计划的人数如此之少；创建、调整和部署工具，以招收更多样化的IT学生群体，并留住和支持这些学生。它还提供教师培训和课程修订，并利用行业合作伙伴关系为学生创造新的机会。该学院的学生群体非常多样化，86%的学生代表人数不足。相反，该学院的IT课程远不如普通学生那么多样化，事实上，这些课程的显著之处在于它们在种族和性别方面缺乏多样性。由于该学院有从代表性不足的群体中招收、支持和毕业学生的历史，一旦确定了为什么参加IT职业计划的学生如此之少，就会修改外展工作，以招募代表性不足的学生参加IT课程，并正在开发额外的支持机制，以提高学生成功完成课程的机会。智力价值：这个项目的一个标志是它建立在现有倡议和合作伙伴关系上的程度。从设计到实施，从评估到传播，该项目建立在其他ATE项目和中心工作的基础上。来自企业和中学合作伙伴的大力支持正在创建一个协作项目团队。行业合作伙伴致力于提供资源，以促进有成效和有成本效益的交流；赞助和参加职业宣传活动；提供许多学生目前无法获得的现代仪器和新技术；帮助将当前的行业标准和21世纪的工作场所能力纳入课程；提供演讲者和促进旨在吸引人数不足的学生的信息会议；并为实地考察和行业参观提供便利。该项目正在通过提供中学教师培训、利用商业伙伴关系向学生提供21世纪的工作场所体验和尖端工具，以及通过使课程与行业标准保持一致来改善学生的学习。该项目的目的是在完成拟议的活动后将其制度化。更广泛的影响：该项目的核心是促进能够满足重大IT劳动力需求的多样化技术劳动力。该项目促进并建立合作关系，以实现多样性的目标，该项目的成果很可能广泛适用于其他机构。项目成果正在使用可在万维网上查阅的数字项目组合进行传播。

This project is designed to address significant information technology (IT) workforce needs by determining why so few underrepresented students are enrolling in IT career programs at the college; to create, adapt, and deploy tools to recruit a more diverse IT student body, and to retain and support those students. It also provides teacher training and curriculum revisions and leverages industry partnerships to create new opportunities for students. The student body at the college is very diverse, being composed of 86% underrepresented students. Conversely, IT programs at the college are much less diverse than the general student population, in fact the programs are remarkable for their lack of diversity in terms of ethnicity and gender. Because the college has a history of recruiting, supporting, and graduating students from underrepresented groups, once it is determined why so few students are entering IT career programs, outreach efforts are being modified to recruit underrepresented students into IT programs, and additional support mechanisms are being developed to improve the chances of students of successfully completing their program. Intellectual Merit: A hallmark of this project is the degree to which it builds on existing initiatives and partnerships. From design to implementation, from evaluation to dissemination, this project builds on the work of other ATE projects and centers. Significant support from business and secondary school partners is creating a collaborative project team. Industry partners are committed to providing resources to facilitate effective and cost efficient communication; to sponsor and participate in career awareness events; to provide access to modern instrumentation and new technologies presently unavailable to many students; to help integrate current industry standards and 21st century workplace competencies into the curriculum; to provide speakers and facilitate information sessions designed to engage underrepresented students; and to facilitate field trips and industry tours. This project is improving student learning by providing secondary school teacher training; leveraging business partnerships to provide students with 21st century workplace experiences and cutting-edge instrumentation; and by aligning curricula with industry standards. This project is designed to be institutionalized upon completion of the proposed activities. Broader Impacts: At the core of this project is the promotion of a diverse technical workforce capable of addressing significant IT workforce needs. This project fosters and builds upon collaborative relationships to achieve the goal of diversity, and the results of the project are likely to be widely adaptable at other institutions. The project results are being disseminated using a digital project portfolio that is accessible on the World Wide Web.