SPARCS -- Siena Plan for Attracting and Retaining Computer Scientists

锡耶纳吸引和留住计算机科学家计划（SPARCS）旨在实现在未来十年内再培养100万名STEM学位大学毕业生的目标，该目标由总统科学技术顾问理事会（PCAST）在2012年2月的报告中确定。 SPARCS建立在NSF S-STEM技术谷学者计划的成功基础上，专注于在高中和大学前两年招聘和保留计算专业。 该计划包括一个高中双招生计划，该计划将计算机科学教育引入到目前尚未提供计算机科学教育的首都地区高中。该计划通过为高中生提供接触计算机的机会来改善计算机招聘，以便他们可以更好地评估他们对计算机作为大学专业的兴趣。 其结果是纽约的首都地区拥有了更大、更合格的计算机劳动力。SPARCS招聘和培养新的计算机专业毕业生，重点是高中和大学前两年的招聘和保留。高中招生的重点是利用合作伙伴关系，在没有计算机课程的学校开设计算机入门课程。大学一级的招聘重点是锡耶纳的三所学校（科学，商业和文科）中未申报的学生。招聘也延伸到学生挣扎在他们目前的主要谁表现出强大的学术潜力计算，可能没有机会探索计算。留住人才的努力集中在扩大本科生实习，纳入教学助理，并让学生参与旨在培养社区意识的其他活动。该项目正在由外部顾问评估和评估，他确定了以下结果作为衡量该计划有效性的标准：招聘计算学生到锡耶纳的活动的有效性，SPARCS计划对留在锡耶纳计算的学生的影响，学生在课程和研究项目中的表现质量，来自代表性不足群体的学生人数，以及进入研究生院或毕业后进入专业劳动力队伍的学生人数。

The Siena Plan for Attracting and Retaining Computer Scientists (SPARCS) is addressing the goal of producing one million additional college graduates with STEM degrees over the next decade, established in the February 2012 report by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). SPARCS builds on the success of the NSF S-STEM Tech Valley Scholars program and focuses on recruiting and retaining computing majors in high school and the first two years of college. The program includes a high school dual enrollment program that introduces computer science education to Capital District high schools that are currently not offering it. The program improves computing recruitment by offering high school students an opportunity to gain exposure to computing so they might better assess their interest in computing as a college major. The result is a larger and more qualified computing workforce in New York State's Capital Region.SPARCS recruits and nurtures new computing majors through graduation, with an emphasis on recruiting and retention in high school and the first two years of college. High school recruiting focuses on using partnerships to institute an introductory computing course at schools that do not have computing courses. College level recruiting focuses on undeclared students in each of Siena's three schools (Science, Business, and Liberal Arts). Recruitment also extends to students struggling in their current major who have demonstrated strong academic potential for computing and may not have been afforded the opportunity to explore computing. Retention efforts concentrate on expanding undergraduate internships, incorporating teaching assistantships, and engaging students in other activities designed to foster a sense of community.The project is being assessed and evaluated by an external consultant who has identified the following outcomes as a measure of the effectiveness of the program: the effectiveness of campaigns to recruit computing students into Siena, the impact of the SPARCS program on students staying in computing at Siena, the quality of student performance in courses and research projects, the number of students from underrepresented groups, and the number of students entering graduate school or the professional workforce after graduation.