CSGrad4US Mentoring Program - Phase Two

该奖项全部或部分由《2021年美国救援计划法案》（公法117-2）资助。计算研究协会的教育委员会（CRA-E）和扩大参与委员会（CRA-WP）将共同为NSF CSGrad4US研究生奖学金获得者实施一项指导计划，该奖学金支持劳动力中的个人返回研究生院攻读CISE学科的博士学位。先前制定的试点计划将进行修订和扩展，以更好地满足参与者的需求，以应对预期CISE背景下的新资格规则，并满足向研究生院过渡所带来的多样化和独特挑战，这一点从试点结果中可以明显看出。CSGrad4US指导计划的总体目标是：(1)指导归国学生通过申请过程，成功获得CISE博士学位和学校选择，以及(2)指导他们在第一年过渡到博士研究生学习，以提高保留率。与试点项目相比，该项目的个人指导部分将得到加强，指导将更加个性化。为了扩大CSGrad4US项目的覆盖范围，项目工作人员将向潜在的申请人进行外展，并制作和分发宣传材料。该项目评估将揭示该路径学生的保留率以及该项目对国内计算机科学博士培养的潜在影响。由此产生的指导计划模式和导师和教练的专业发展模式将为其他努力和CISE部门提供增加国内博士培养的方法。从职场归来的学生对指导的需求不同于那些作为本科生申请研究生院的学生。这一群体的主要差异包括缺乏一个自然的同伴群体，很少有机会接触到可以提供研究生申请指导以及对其学术优势和劣势的看法的教师，缺乏过去的研究经验，以及他们的经济状况发生重大变化的现实以及由此导致的生活方式调整在研究生院。CSGrad4US指导计划不仅提供一般的研究生申请建议和指导，还旨在为获奖者建立一个社区和专业网络。这些目标是通过在申请和决策过程中以及研究生院第一年的小组指导会议、小组讨论和个人指导来实现的。作为该指导计划的一部分，所创建的演示文稿将在该计划之外有用。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。

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). The Computing Research Association’s Committees on Education (CRA-E) and Widening Participation (CRA-WP) will collaboratively implement a mentoring program for recipients of the NSF CSGrad4US Graduate Fellowships, which support individuals in the workforce returning to graduate school for a PhD in a CISE discipline. A previously developed pilot program will be revised and expanded to better meet participants’ needs to address new eligibility rules on the expected CISE background and to meet the diverse and unique challenges a transition to graduate school entails, as evident from the results of the pilot. The overall goals of the CSGrad4US Mentoring Program are (1) to guide returning students through the application process towards a successful CISE PhD admission and school selection, and (2) mentor them through the transition to PhD graduate study in the first year towards high retention. Compared to the pilot, the individual coaching component of the program will be strengthened and mentoring will be more individualized. To broaden the CSGrad4US program 's reach, the project staff will perform outreach to potential applicants and develop and disseminate publicity materials. The program evaluation will shed light on the retention rate of students taking this pathway and the potential impact of the program on domestic CS PhD production. The resulting mentoring program model and professional development model for mentors and coaches will inform other efforts and CISE departments on ways to increase domestic PhD production.The mentoring needs of students returning from the workforce are different from those applying to graduate school as undergraduates. Key differences of this group include the lack of a natural peer group, diminished access to faculty who can provide graduate application guidance as well as perspective on their academic strengths and weaknesses, a lack of past research experiences, and the reality of a significant change in their financial situation and the resulting life-style adjustments during graduate school. The CSGrad4US Mentoring Program will provide not only general graduate application advice and guidance, but also aim to build a community and a professional network among awardees. These goals are achieved through group mentoring sessions, panels, and individual coaching during the application and decision making process and the first year of graduate school. The presentations created as part of this mentoring program will be useful beyond the program.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.