Improving the Retention and Success of High Performing, Low Income Undergraduates in Computer Science

Cuny Queens College, Flushing NY

Investigators

Abstract

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at Queens College (QC), City University of New York (CUNY), a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI). Over its four year duration, this project will fund scholarships to at least 45 unique full-time students who are pursuing a bachelor’s degree in computer science during their junior and senior years. Both students who start at QC and those that transfer from one of the two community colleges (CC) in Queens County will be funded. The project includes enhanced mentoring, a summer bridge program, and career development opportunities. Support provided to Scholars includes: an advisory group including faculty those from the CC’s; a project director assigned to work with Career Counseling and help students navigate the system and find a job within the discipline; and a bridge course, held the summer before beginning at QC intended to strengthen content knowledge and ease transfer shock for transfer students as they adjust to QC. The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The broader impacts include the potential to benefit society and contribute to the achievement of: (1) full participation of students from groups underrepresented in STEM, with a specific effort to support the diverse population of QC community college transfers; (2) improved STEM education, by empowering CS departments to collaborate across institutions to better align curricula, improving the transfer experience; (3) development of a diverse, globally competitive STEM workforce, by providing career placement services to scholars, empowering them to land jobs, and improving the quality of life of their families and communities; and (4) increased partnerships between academia and industry. The intellectual merit of this project is to advance knowledge building upon the findings of the 2016 study, “A Longitudinal Analysis of Community College Pathways to Computer Science Bachelor’s Degrees.” The key findings and recommendations are expected to be put into practice within the established consortium, and the study is expected to identify what practices within those recommendations are best in supporting QC computer science high achieving, low-income students successfully transfer, graduate with an undergraduate degree, and move into the STEM workforce or into a STEM Master’s or PhD program after graduation. This project is funded by NSF’s Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who earn degrees in STEM fields. It also aims to improve the education of future STEM workers, 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.