Community-Engaged Scholars in Computer Science

该项目旨在满足国家对高素质计算机科学家的需求。 它将通过支持12名具有经济需求的学术天才学生的成功来实现这一目标，这些学生正在攻读计算机科学学士学位。这些学生将获得为期四年的奖学金，并参加一系列旨在促进学者参与部门，专业和当地社区的活动。项目活动将包括一个新生前沉浸式的头部启动计划，在共同的课程队列招生，并由计算机科学计划的前毕业生指导。学者们将参加一系列旨在支持他们的学术和专业成功的课程。 这些课程包括第一年的课程，介绍学者校园和社区资源，初级职业准备课程，以及以计算机科学为重点的服务学习课程。通过减轻学者在大学期间工作的需要，奖学金将使他们能够充分参与该项目的社会联系，社区参与和专业发展的机会。预计参与项目活动将导致：相对于同龄人，学者的保留率和毕业率更高;学者对计算领域和自我效能的看法有所改善;学者为计算机科学职业做好更好的准备。 学者的保留率和毕业率的数据将与那些谁进入计算机科学专业的第一年学生在同一年作为学者的其他学生进行比较。学者们还将参加定性访谈，探讨他们在计算机科学系的经验和该项目支持的活动。最后，学者将参加一系列调查，包括对每个队列的基线调查和评估每个项目活动的调查。预计该计划活动将积极影响学者对计算机科学的看法和他们的整体经验。 该项目有可能推进有关如何为学生提供结构化的机会，以服务于他们的社区可以帮助计算机科学计划，以保留，支持和教育学生，包括那些来自代表性不足的人口的知识。该项目编制的课程将供其他机构使用，从而扩大该项目对计算机科学教育的潜在影响。 该项目由NSF科学，技术，工程和数学奖学金计划资助，旨在增加低收入，学术成就高的学生的数量，这些学生表现出经济需求，并获得STEM领域的学位。它还旨在改善未来科学家、工程师和技术人员的教育，并产生关于低收入学生的学术成功、保留、转移、毕业和学术/职业道路的知识。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project aims to contribute to the national need for highly qualified computer scientists. It will do so by supporting the success of twelve academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who are pursuing bachelor's degrees in Computer Science. These students will receive four-year scholarships and participate in a suite of activities designed to promote the Scholars' engagement in the departmental, professional, and local communities. Project activities will include a pre-freshman immersive head start program, cohort enrollment in common courses, and mentoring by previous graduates of the computer science program. The Scholars will take a series of courses designed to support their academic and professional success. These courses include a first-year course that introduces Scholars to campus and community resources, a junior career-preparation course, and a computer science-focused service learning course. By alleviating the Scholar's need to work while in college, the scholarships will enable full participation in the project's opportunities for social connectivity, community engagement, and professional development. It is expected that participation in the project activities will result in: higher retention and graduation rates of Scholars relative to their peers; improved perception of the Scholars about the field of computing and their own self-efficacy; and better preparation of the Scholars for computer science careers. Data on retention and graduation rates of the Scholars will be compared with those of the other students who entered the Computer Science major as first year students in the same year as scholars. Scholars will also participate in qualitative interviews that explore their experience in the Computer Science department and the activities supported by this project. Finally, scholars will participate in a series of surveys including a baseline survey with each cohort and surveys to evaluate each of the program activities. It is expected that the program activities will positively affect the scholars' perceptions of computer science and their overall experience. The project has the potential to advance knowledge about how providing students with structured opportunities to serve their communities can help computer science programs to retain, support, and educate students, including those from underrepresented populations. The curriculum developed by the project will be available for use by other institutions, thus broadening the potential impact of the project on computer science education. This project is funded by the NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of low-income, academically high-achieving students with demonstrated financial need who earn degrees in STEM fields. It also aims to improve the education of future scientists, engineers, and technicians, and to generate knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income students.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.