final project reportsthecb.state.tx.us/reports/htm/0607/ar07_final_twd02-cs.pdfproject number:...

Final Project Reports

Technology Workforce Development Grants 2002

Computer Sciences Reports

April 2007

TWD 2002 Computer Sciences Final Reports April 2007

TWD 2002 Final Report Format The grant period for TWD 2002 grants nominally started January 1, 2002. The grants were announced April 1, 2002 and ended March 31, 2007, after an extension granted by the TWD Grants Program Advisory Committee on June 2, 2004. However, the grant period for the funds from the federal congressionally directed grant, as part of the overall TWD grant, started on September 1, 2004 and ended August 31, 2006, according to a one-year time-extension for budget and performance granted by the Department of Education on June 30, 2005. Below is the format for the final report. The Office of Sponsored Projects representative for the grant was to submit by April 30, 2007 one signed copy (PDF or hard copy), together with an editable word-processing file of this report. Each section was to be enlarged as necessary to accommodate the narrative. Title of Project: Project Number: Project Leader (PL): Project Co-Leader Department: Institution: Address: Email: Signature/Date, PL OSP Representative: Title: Signature/Date, OSP Synopsis: Provide a synopsis of your work completed between April 1, 2002 and March 31, 2007. You may use 100 words or less. Collaboration: Please list with which institutions you collaborated on this project. Examples are community colleges, high schools, or local workforce development boards. 1. 2. 3.


Student Numbers:*

Entering Students

Progressing Students

Advanced Students

Graduated Students (during previous academic year)

(1) Fall 2001 Headcount

(2) Fall 2006 Headcount

* See http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/AAR/Research/Techworkforce/TWD_roster.cfm for definitions. Outcome: Please answer the following questions quantitatively with a few sentences for each: 1) Did the project accomplish the numerical goals set for your department in terms of

additional students pursuing the baccalaureate degree? 2) Has your project improved the retention numbers and percentages over the term of

the grant? 3) Has your project improved the graduation numbers and percentages over the term

of the grant? Summary: Provide a project summary, up to one page, with 11 pt font, single spaced. This abstract should be ready for publication. You may want to include an introduction and address project objectives, project implementation, changes to plan, project evaluation, sustainability, and a summary of results. Project Discussion: Introduction Introduce your project and its institutional setting. Project Discussion: Objectives Describe your project’s objectives and the progress made towards achievement of these. Project Discussion: Implementation Explain the process of project’s implementation. Project Discussion: Changes to Plan Describe and defending project changes, deviations from the schedule, methods, and tasks established in the proposal. Project Discussion: Evaluation Provide a project evaluation including a quantitative assessment of which portions of your plan worked and which did not.


Project Discussion: Sustainability Describe to what extend the project will be sustained after the end of the grant period and how you achieved sustainability. You may include a list of all follow-up funding you gained due to experience with this grant Project Discussion: Results and Success Summary Provide a description of your project’s results and summarize project success. Success Stories: Use this section to describe any “success stories” that have resulted from work on this project. Recommendations: Provide recommendations for other departments interested in replicating your project and/or recommendations for the Texas Engineering and Technical Consortium. Publications: Attach a list of publications, presentations, awards, or patents, etc., you received primarily as a result of this grant.


Table of Contents Texas State University-San Marcos Enhance Computing Workforce and Provide Higher Education in

Computer Science to Working Professionals 1 The University of Texas at Austin Target Diversity: Increasing Graduation Rates by Recruiting and

Retaining Underrepresented Populations 6 University of North Texas Retention Strategies for Computer Sciences 7 Texas Tech University Efficient, Cost-Effective, Seamless, Advising Process to Increase

CS Graduates 10 University of Houston-Clear Lake Texas Scholars in Computer Science 11 University of Houston-Victoria Recruitment and Retention of Computer Science Students 12 The University of Texas at San Antonio Building Strategic Pathways to the Baccalaureate Degree in

Computer Science 13 Lamar University Study, Research, and Achievement in Lamar University Computer

Science 20 Texas Engineering Experiment Station Increasing Computer Science Retention by Developing and

Deploying Self-Paced learning Modules 33


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TWD 2002 Final Report

Title of Project: Enhance Computing Workforce & Provide Higher Education in Computer Science to Working Professionals

Project Number: 003615-CS2002-0000 Project Leader (PL): Dr. Moonis Ali Project Co-Leader: Dr. Edna A. Rehbein Department: Computer Science Institution: Texas State University- San Marcos Address: 601 University Dr., San Marcos, TX 78666 Synopsis: Our strategy was to bring working professionals, a very large population in the Austin area, into our B.S. degree program in computer science. We implemented our strategy economically in collaboration with Austin Community College (ACC). The work completed under the grant between April 1, 2002 and March 31, 2007 includes the creation of infrastructure at the Round Rock Higher Education Center (RRHEC), establishment of the B. S. degree program accredited by ABET, establishment of articulation agreements with ACC, effective recruitment, maintaining high quality of the program, establishment of relationships with industry, establishing a web based online mentoring system, and efforts to enhance retention. Collaboration: 1. Austin Community College (ACC)

Student Numbers:* Entering

Students Progressing

Students Advanced Students

Graduated Students

(during previous academic year)

(1) Fall 2001 Headcount 0 3 16 0

(2) Fall 2006 Headcount 6 6 26 50

Outcome: 1) Did the project accomplish the numerical goals set for your department in terms of

additional students pursuing the baccalaureate degree? YES 2) Has your project improved the retention numbers and percentages over the term of

the grant? YES 3) Has your project improved the graduation numbers and percentages over the term of

the grant? YES


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Summary: The goal of the project was to provide additional quality computer science graduates for the Texas information technology workforce. Our strategy was to bring working professionals in the Austin area into our B.S. degree program in computer science which is offered at the Round Rock Higher Education Center (RRHEC) in North Austin in collaboration with Austin Community College (ACC) at times convenient for working professionals. There is a very large population of working professionals in the Round Rock/Austin vicinity who wish to get into the information technology work force. They do not have any opportunity to do so because no other public institution in this area offers a degree program in computer science at times convenient for working professionals. Texas State University-San Marcos (Texas State), in collaboration with ACC through an articulation agreement, started offering the program in the academic year 2001-2002 with the support of the TWD 2002 grant awarded for this strategy. The project implementation started with the creation of infrastructure at the Round Rock Higher Education Center (RRHEC). Several computing laboratories were established including a hardware laboratory to teach computer technology, architecture, embedded computing systems, computer networks, and digital signal processing and software laboratories to support program translators, human factors, operating systems, database systems, UNIX, multimedia, OO design, and computer security. The B.S. Degree program is credited by the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET). We successfully campaigned along with ACC to recruit working professionals through personal contacts, flier distributions, presentations at company sites, attending company academic and job fairs, advertisements in the news papers and magazines, mass mailing and bill board advertisements. As a result enrollment increased rapidly. We also established a close relationship with the industry through our Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) in several ways. Many highly qualified and skilled industry professionals participated in the project as instructors and mentors to the students. We created a web based online mentoring system for the convenience of mentors and students. Through this system, industry professionals from any location can register and enter professional information about them. Students can select a mentor online based on their preferences. The system then creates a mentor student pair and establishes a communication line between them. This web based mentoring is working successfully. We also hired tutors to support students at times convenient for students. The mentoring system and tutoring program have helped in retaining students in the program. We designed and carried out the evaluation process to measure our success. Recruitment efforts are evaluated through the enrollment measure, retention through graduation of students, and the effect of the program promotion through the Web page hits before and after a specific promotion. Lab facilities, curriculum, schedule changes, and their effects are evaluated through regular student surveys. These surveys, ABET visits, and Industry Advisory Board (IAB) evaluations evaluate the overall quality of the program. The evaluation of the project based on these measures as well as the history of the number of students graduated through the program shown in the table below confirm the achievement of our goal and objective and that all the components of our plan worked successfully.


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We have already graduated one hundred seventy nine students in the last five years. It is a very successful outcome considering the significantly declining enrollment and graduation locally, regionally and nationally. The increasing enrollments are also leading the program to sustainability.

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 total Students Graduated

4 19 54 52 50 179

Project Discussion: Introduction There is a very large population of working professionals in the Round Rock/Austin vicinity who wish to get into the information technology work force but do not have any opportunity because no other public institution in this area offers a degree program in computer science at times convenient for working professionals. Thus, we implemented our program in collaboration with Austin Community College (ACC), which is a two-year college and already offers most of the freshman and sophomore level courses at times convenient for working professionals. Texas State University-San Marcos (Texas State) and ACC signed an articulation agreement in 2001 to implement our collaboration. The articulation agreement has since been revised to accommodate changes in the curricula. ACC and Texas State University both offer classes according to the articulation agreement at the newly established Round Rock Higher Education Center (RRHEC) at times convenient to working professionals. Additionally, ACC offers classes at its other locations which are also at convenient times for working professionals. Project Discussion: Objectives The objective of this project is to use our successful best practice, to provide additional computer science graduates for the Texas information technology workforce with the support of 2002 TWD grant. As the student graduation history, shown in the table in the section Results and Summary, shows, we have already graduated one hundred seventy nine students in the last five years. Therefore, significant progress has been made towards the achievement of our objective. Project Discussion: Implementation The process of project implementation contained multiple avenues including the establishment of a supportive and sustainable infrastructure, collaboration with compatible local institutions, relations with industry, an effective recruitment plan, and student support facility to enhance retention. The project started with the creation of infrastructure at the Round Rock Higher Education Center (RRHEC). Several computing laboratories were established including a hardware laboratory to teach computer technology, architecture, embedded computing systems, computer networks, and digital signal processing and software laboratories to support program translators, human factors, operating systems, database systems, UNIX, multimedia, OO design, and computer security. The B. S. degree program was established, which is credited by the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET). Articulation agreements were signed with ACC to coordinate the program conveniently. We successfully campaigned along with ACC to recruit working professionals through personal contacts, flier distributions, presentations at company sites, attending company academic and job fairs, advertisements in the news papers and magazines, mass mailing and bill board advertisements. As a result enrollment increased rapidly. We also


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established close relationship with industry in several ways. Many highly qualified and skilled industry professionals participate in the project as instructors and mentors to the students. We created a web based online mentoring system for the convenience of mentors and students. Through this system, industry professionals from any location can register and enter professional information about them. Students can select a mentor online based on their preferences. The system then creates mentor student pairs and establishes a communication line between them. This web based mentoring is working successfully. We also hired tutors to support students at times convenient for students. The mentoring system and tutoring program has helped in retaining students in the program. Project Discussion: Changes to Plan We did not make any changes in the original plan. However, we did improve our implementation methodologies as the lessons were learned and experiences were gained. Project Discussion: Evaluation We designed and carried out the evaluation process to measure our success. Recruitment efforts are evaluated through the enrollment measure, retention through graduation of students, and the effect of the program promotion through the web page hits before and after a specific promotion. Lab facilities, curriculum, schedule changes, and their effect are evaluated through regular student surveys. These surveys, ABET visits, and Industry Advisory Board (IAB) evaluations evaluate the overall quality of the program. The evaluation of the project based on these measures indicated that all the components of our plan worked successfully. Project Discussion: Sustainability Currently this project is also supported through the TWD 2005 grant which expires on August 31, 2008. We are also submitting a grant proposal to the National Science Foundation. Furthermore, the increasing number of students in the program is also leading to sustainability of the project. Project Discussion: Results and Success Summary The results of our program are very impressive. We started with zero students prior to the start of this new program offering at the Round Rock Higher Education Center. The program grew rapidly. As the table of the summary illustrates, we have already graduated one hundred seventy nine students in the last five years. It is a very successful outcome considering the significantly declining enrollments and graduation numbers locally, regionally, and nationally. Success Stories: Our success story comprises the creation of a new offering of the B. S. degree program in computer science accredited by the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET) for a population of working professionals who had no other opportunity at any public institution in the area and its vicinity. We started with zero students and graduated one hundred seventy nine students in five years. This success was achieved very economically through the collaboration with Austin Community College (ACC) which is a two-year college and already offers most of the freshman and sophomore level courses at times convenient for working professionals. Thus the new


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funding was used only to offer the rest of the courses needed according to our articulation agreement with ACC. Industrial participation as instructors of some of the class offerings and as mentors to graduating students who are entering in computing technology workforce further adds to our success story. Recommendations: We recommend that the selections of the new projects be based on the need in a community and multiple strategies be applied to satisfy the established need through community and industry collaborations. Publications: “Enhancing Computing Workforce by Providing Higher Education to Working Professionals”, Moonis Ali, Texas State University-San Marcos, 2006 TETC Conference, Dallas Texas.


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Title of Project: Target Diversity: Increasing Graduation Rates by Recruiting and Retaining Underrepresented Populations

Project Number: 003658-CS2002-0000 Project Leader (PL): Dr. J. Strother Moore Project Co-Leader Dr. Greg Lavender Department: Computer Sciences Institution: The University of Texas at Austin Address:


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Title of Project: Retention Strategies for Computer Science Project Number: 003594-CS2002-0000 Project Leader (PL): Krishna Kavi Project Co-Leader Department: Computer Science and Engineering Institution: University of North Texas Address: Denton, TX Synopsis: The implementation of this program has progressed through several phases and revisions since first undertaken in the Fall semester of 2002. The initial implementation was to merely offer separate sections of the introductory course, where each section was designated for either majors or non-majors. The majors section of the course provided a comprehensive introduction to Program Structure and Design, as well as developed skills in core programming using the C++ Programming Language, including a relatively large component of the course devoted to writing and testing applications. Most of the funds had been expended prior to the 2005-2006 academic year, but the momentum created by the programs begun in the Fall of 2002 has continued to carry progress and change forward into the present term. Collaboration: Student Numbers:*

Entering Students


Advanced Students

Graduated Students (during previous academic year)

(1) Fall 2001 Headcount 227 303 321 N/A

(2) Fall 2006 Headcount 149 166 66 46


additional students pursuing the baccalaureate degree? We did not meet our original goals due to an unexpected decline in enrollment during the massive telecom layoffs in 2001 which created a temporary lack of confidence in IT job prospects. We have since recovered to our pre-2001 levels and slightly above in some areas. 2) Has your project improved the retention numbers and percentages over the term of

the grant? Preliminary analyses of surveys and grade distributions indicate that student performance improved as a result of these strategies. Retention of Computer Science majors between the freshman and sophomore years, traditionally a period of high drop rates, has risen steadily throughout the adoption of these efforts to a level of 66% for Freshmen and 75% for Sophomores during the 2003-2004 academic year, and remained steady at this level through the 2004-2005, and 2005-2006 years.


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3) Has your project improved the graduation numbers and percentages over the term of the grant?

Overall Graduation rates have improved as well in the total period. As previously mentioned, there was a dip in overall enrollment during the 2001 and 2002 period due to huge layoffs in the telecom industry that created a concern about job prospects in Computer Science and IT fields. We have recovered to our pre-2001 levels and beyond at all levels. Summary: The implementation of this program has progressed through several phases and revisions since first undertaken in the Fall semester of 2002. The initial implementation was to merely offer separate sections of the introductory course, where each section was designated for either majors or non-majors. The majors section of the course provided a comprehensive introduction to Program Structure and Design, as well as developed skills in core programming using the C++ Programming Language, including a relatively large component of the course devoted to writing and testing applications. Most of the funds had been expended prior to the 2005-2006 academic year, but the momentum created by the programs begun in the Fall of 2002 has continued to carry progress and change forward into the present term, as discussed below. As this concept developed, the courses were restructured as part of a major curriculum change in the fall semester of 2005 to provide completely separate courses for majors and non-majors. A third course was also added to the introductory sequence of courses required for both the Computer Science major and minor, and the focus in the first majors course was modified to provide more of a breadth-first approach to the field of Computer Science, rather than a depth-first trek directly into detailed program design and construction. The Computer Literacy course offered for non-majors was also modified to provide a broad introduction to applications of computers and technology in a variety of disciplines with the aim of generating interest in computer science among this student population. All of these curriculum changes have been as a result of the lessons learned during the efforts undertaken as a part of this grant activity. The CSE Department was also invited to present a paper in January of 2006 at the TWD Best Practices Conference at SMU based on the results of this program. To support the efforts in this classes, as well as others in the Computer Science program, the department also established a Help Lab at the beginning of this program that is staffed by graduate students who assisted and instructed students in the use of the various departmental and university computer systems and related resources. The Help Lab has continued operation during the entire grant period and is now supported and sustained by student course fees. Preliminary analyses of surveys and grade distributions indicate that student performance improved as a result of these strategies. Retention of Computer Science majors between the freshman and sophomore years, traditionally a period of high drop rates, has risen steadily throughout the adoption of these efforts to a level of 66% for Freshmen and 75% for Sophomores during the 2003-2004 academic year, and remained steady at this level through the 2004-2005, and 2005-2006 years. The additional resources provided to students in the introductory courses have proven to be a very worthwhile endeavor. In the Fall semester of 2002, 25% of the students


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enrolled in the department’s first computer science course used the Help Lab. This number increased to 60% in the Spring semester of 2003 and has remained in the 60% range (+/- 5%) since that time. Course surveys conducted during this same period indicate that none of the students who used the Help Lab anticipated failing their classes, while students who never used the Lab had much lower expectations. In addition to students enrolled in the introductory courses, transfer students who unfamiliar with Java, C++ and/or UNIX systems used the Help Lab with greater frequency. Student surveys each academic year have continued to include many positive comments regarding the help lab and the curriculum changes. At present the Help Lab provides help to student in all freshman, sophomore and some junior level courses. Overall both aspects of this program has been very successful in retaining students, particularly in the critical freshman and sophomore years, at a very low average cost per student of approximately $38.00. Project Discussion: Introduction Project Discussion: Objectives Project Discussion: Implementation Project Discussion: Changes to Plan Project Discussion: Evaluation Project Discussion: Sustainability Project Discussion: Results and Success Summary Success Stories: Recommendations: Publications: Krishna Kavi and David M. Keathly, "Setting Student Expectations with a Majors-Only Programming Course", TETC Best Practices Conference 2006 Proceedings, January 2006


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2002 Final Report

Title of Project: Efficient, Cost-Effective, Seamless, Advising Process to Increase CS Graduates

Project Number: 003644-CS2002-0000 Project Leader (PL): Dr. James M. Gregory Project Co-Leader Dr. Susan A. Mengel Department: Computer Science Institution: Texas Tech University Address:


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2002 Final Report

Title of Project: Texas Scholars in Computer Science Project Number: 011711-CS2002-0000 Project Leader (PL): Dr. Alfredo Perez-Davila Project Co-Leader Department: Natural and Applied Sciences Institution: University of Houston-Clear Lake Address:


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2002 Final Report

Title of Project: Recruitment and retention of Computer Science students Project Number: 013231-CS2002-0000 Project Leader (PL): Dr. Meledath Damodaran Project Co-Leader Dr. Li Chao Department: Arts and Sciences Institution: University of Houston-Victoria Address:


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TWD 2002 Final Report Title of Project: Building Strategic Pathways to the Baccalaureate Degree in

Computer Science Project Number: 010115-CS2002-0000 Project Leader (PL): Kleanthis Psarris Project Co-Leader Kay Robbins Department: Computer Science Institution: University of Texas at San Antonio Address: 1 UTSA Circle, San Antonio, TX 78249 Synopsis: The TWD grant proposed 5 strategies for improving the number and quality of UTSA CS graduates: outreach, recruitment, retention, curriculum and laboratory improvement, and scholarships. We successfully implemented all of the initiatives in the proposal. Midway through the program, we converted the scholarship program to a scholar/mentor program. We also introduced career path development activities including mandatory career services laboratories, a push for student participation in internships, and workshops on latest technologies. The initiatives significantly increased retention rates and the quality of graduates from a workforce development perspective. The grant also enabled significant long-term infrastructure and curriculum improvements. Collaboration: 1. High school teachers from more than 40 schools in 25 school districts from San

Antonio and the South Texas region 2. UTSA PREP (Pre-engineering Program) 3. San Antonio Upward Bound (UTSA TRIOS Program) Student Numbers:*

Entering Students


Advanced Students

Graduated Students (during previous academic

year) (1) Fall 2001 Headcount 361 13 251 52

(2) Fall 2006 Headcount 113 151 121 55


additional students pursuing the baccalaureate degree? Between fall 2001 and fall 2006 enrollments in Computer Science at UTSA declined by 38%. This decline is much slower than the nationwide decline, which is documented to be above 50% for the same time period. Improved recruiting was insufficient to offset the negative perception of IT related careers as being unattractive due to out-sourcing, lay-offs, long hours and generally poor working conditions. 2) Has your project improved the retention numbers and percentages over the term of

the grant? The grant has significantly improved the retention rates of our students. In fall 2001, 42% of the computer science majors at UTSA were designated as progressing or advanced


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students. In fall 2006, 71% of the computer science majors were classified as progressing or advanced. This indicates that relative to the incoming class, a greater percentage of CS majors are making progress towards graduation. 3) Has your project improved the graduation numbers and percentages over the term of

the grant? The graduation rates of students, relative to total enrollment, have significantly improved although the absolute number of graduates is approximately the same as it was in 2001. During the overall term of the grant we noticed an initial surge of graduates reaching a peak of 70 graduates in 2004. Therefore, despite the fact that the decline in incoming computer science students exerted a negative effect on the academic pipeline, we maintained high graduation rates through increased retention efforts. Summary: We successfully implemented 5 strategies for improving the number and quality of CS graduates: Outreach: The objective of this strategy was to provide graduate training for high school teachers in order to improve the quality of computer science instruction at the high school level and to make key teachers aware of the Computer Science program and opportunities available at UTSA for their graduates. About 100 high school teachers from more than 40 schools in 25 school districts from San Antonio and the South Texas region participated in this program in the summers of 2003, 2004, and 2005. Recruitment: The recruitment strategy focused on increasing the flow of entering students into the pipeline. We created the UTSA CS Ambassadors Program, we raised the visibility of computer science as a profession in the local high schools and we recruited promising undergraduate students from local high schools. Selected CS students who served as ambassadors went into local high schools to make presentations in mathematics and computer science classes about career opportunities in computer science and the UTSA CS program. The ambassadors attended the annual regional UIL Computer Science Competitions in spring 2005 and spring 2006, and the Texas State Science Fair in spring 2006. The ambassadors also attended UTSA orientation events and made presentations and talked with students. Retention: The peer tutoring strategy was designed to reduce attrition in the beginning courses by providing assistance to students in the laboratories. We recruited our best sophomore students as peer tutors and as peer presenters in the freshman laboratory courses. Since fall 2002, we hired 12-14 students each fall and spring semesters and 5-6 students each summer semester as tutors and presenters. The presenters taught all the laboratory sections of the first two Computer Science introductory courses and the tutors provided support for all lower division undergraduate courses. Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement: The purpose of this strategy was to improve student understanding by providing a formal laboratory experience with extensive in-class help. We revised the curriculum, added laboratory sessions to all core computer science courses and improved the quality of the graduates by expanding course materials. As part of this strategy, we also developed a 34 seat teaching laboratory, so that the introductory courses in Computer Science could be offered in a computer classroom. In addition to creating the laboratory facility supported by the grant, the


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Department of Computer Science opened a new 55 seat state-of-the art computer teaching laboratory in January 2007, allowing most undergraduate computer science courses to be offered in a computer teaching laboratory. Scholar/Mentor program: The objective of this strategy was to increase the retention and graduation rates in computer science. We created a pair mentor program in which junior or senior CS students received scholarships in exchange of mentoring two freshmen or sophomore CS students. They met with each student for 2 hours per week and worked with them on pair programming. Each fall and spring semesters we awarded up to 10 scholarships to outstanding juniors and seniors who mentored up to 20 lower division students. These initiatives significantly increased retention and graduation rates and the quality of computer science graduates from a workforce development perspective. Project Discussion: Introduction The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is currently implementing its strategic plan to become a top-tier University and a National Center of Excellence in Hispanic education and research. UTSA is a comprehensive public university serving San Antonio and South Texas. Since its inception in 1969, UTSA enrollment has grown to 28,379 students, making it the second largest component in the UT System. UTSA’s student body is 57% underrepresented minorities (43.86% Hispanic, 7.15% Black and 6.22% other minorities). The Department of Computer Science is focused on the retention and rapid progress of its undergraduate students by providing financial support, tutoring, and mentoring activities. Our project was designed to increase the number of Computer Science graduates, to enhance their educational experiences, and to prepare them for high-tech industrial careers. A special emphasis was given to the recruitment, retention and graduation of underrepresented minority and female students. The TWD grant proposed 5 strategies for improving the number and quality of UTSA CS graduates: outreach, recruitment, retention, curriculum and laboratory improvement, and scholarships. We successfully implemented all of the initiatives in the proposal. Project Discussion: Objectives Outreach: The objective of this strategy was to provide graduate training for high school teachers in order to improve the quality of computer science instruction at the high school level and to make key teachers aware of the Computer Science program and opportunities available at UTSA for their graduates. High school teachers from more than 40 schools in 25 school districts from San Antonio and the South Texas region participated in this program. Recruitment: The recruitment strategy focused on increasing the flow of entering students into the pipeline. We created the UTSA CS Ambassadors Program, we raised the visibility of computer science as a profession in the local high schools and we recruited promising undergraduate students from local high schools. Retention: The peer tutoring strategy was designed to reduce attrition in the beginning courses by providing assistance to students in the laboratories. We significantly improved the retention rates of our students. Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement: The purpose of this strategy was to improve student understanding by providing a formal laboratory experience with extensive


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in-class help. We revised the curriculum, added laboratory sessions to all core computer science courses and improved the quality of the graduates by expanding course materials. Scholar/Mentor program: The objective of this strategy was to increase the retention and graduation rates in computer science. We achieved both goals relative to the total undergraduate enrollment. Project Discussion: Implementation Outreach: We offered the UTSA CS Summer Graduate Program for high school teachers in the summers of 2003, 2004, and 2005. 36 teachers representing 24 schools and 10 school districts participated in the 2003 program. 40 teachers representing 26 schools and 17 school districts participated in the 2004 program. 21 teachers representing 16 schools and 11 school districts participated in the 2005 program. Recruitment: Selected CS students who served as ambassadors went into local high schools to make presentations in mathematics and computer science classes about career opportunities in computer science and the UTSA CS program. 5 ambassadors visited 14 classes in 4 high schools and reached over 400 high school students in 2004-05. 6 ambassadors visited 17 classes in 4 high schools and reached over 500 high school students in 2005-06. The ambassadors attended the annual regional UIL Computer Science Competitions in spring 2005 and spring 2006, and the Texas State Science Fair in spring 2006. The ambassadors also attended UTSA orientation events in August 2005 and August 2006, and made presentations and talked with students. During the summers of 2004, 2005 and 2006, the UTSA PREP (Pre-engineering Program) offered a programming course to 175, 260, 183 middle school students respectively. Our student ambassadors talked with these students about careers in computer science. Retention: We recruited our best sophomore students as peer tutors and as peer presenters in the freshman laboratory courses. Since fall 2002, we hired 12-14 students each fall and spring semesters and 5-6 students each summer semester as tutors and presenters. The presenters taught all the laboratory sections of the first two Computer Science introductory courses and the tutors provided support for all lower division undergraduate courses. Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement: Since 2001, we completed two major curriculum revisions, adding formal laboratories to the CS core courses and streamlining the prerequisite structure for CS courses. We also added a computer and information security and a software engineering concentration. As part of this strategy, we also developed a 34 seat teaching laboratory so that the introductory courses in Computer Science could be offered in a computer classroom. In addition to creating the laboratory facility supported by the grant, the Department of Computer Science opened a new 55 seat state-of-the art computer teaching laboratory in January 2007, allowing most undergraduate computer science courses to be offered in a computer teaching laboratory. Scholar/Mentor program: We created a pair mentor program in which junior or senior CS students received scholarships in exchange of mentoring two freshmen or sophomore CS students. They met with each student for 2 hours per week and worked with them on


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pair programming. Each fall and spring semesters we awarded up to 10 scholarships to outstanding juniors and seniors who mentored up to 20 lower division students. Project Discussion: Changes to Plan The original grant proposed a straight scholarship program, but midway through the program we converted this to a pair programming mentorship program. We also introduced career path development activities including mandatory career services laboratories, a push for student participation in internships, and workshops on latest technologies. The initiatives significantly increased retention rates and the quality of graduates from a workforce development perspective. Project Discussion: Evaluation Despite our recruiting efforts, the number of incoming computer science students has continued to drop, following national trends, but the decline in our program was much slower than the nationwide decline. Between fall 2001 and fall 2006 enrollments in Computer Science at UTSA declined by 38%, compared to a nationwide decline of over 50% for the same time period. Improved recruiting was insufficient to offset the negative perception of IT related careers as being unattractive due to out-sourcing, lay-offs, long hours and generally poor working conditions. However, relative to the current enrollments, we significantly improved the retention rates of our students. In fall 2001, 42% of the computer science majors at UTSA were designated as progressing or advanced students. In fall 2006, 71% of the computer science majors were classified as progressing or advanced. As another quantifier of retention we used the percentage of A’s and B’s (Figure 1) and the percentage of F’s and W’s (Figure 2) in the second introductory computer science course in the curriculum. This measures the impact of the tutoring and the mentoring strategies on students after being one year in the program. In fall 2002 the number of students earning A’s and B’s in CS 1723, Data Structures, was 31% and by fall 2006 the percentage increased to 51%. Respectively, the number of F’s and W’s in CS 1723 was 38% in fall 2002 and dropped to 16% in fall 2006. This indicates that a greater percentage of CS majors made progress towards graduation.

CS 1723 A / B PercentagesFall 2002 to Fall 2006

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%

Fall 2002 Fall 2003 Fall 2004 Fall 2005 Fall 2006

Figure 1 Percentage of A’s & B’s in CS 1723


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CS 1723 F / W PercentagesFall 2002 to Fall 2006

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%

Fall 2002 Fall 2003 Fall 2004 Fall 2005 Fall 2006

Figure 2 Percentage of F’s & W’s in CS 1723 Although the absolute number of graduates is approximately the same in 2005-06 as it was in 2000-01, the graduation rates of students (Figure 3), relative to total enrollments, have significantly improved. In academic year 2000-01 the number of CS graduates totaled 52. We experienced an initial surge of graduates reaching a peak of 70 graduates in 2003-04, but by 2005-06 the number of graduates settled down to 55. Therefore, despite the fact that the decline in incoming computer sciences students exerted a negative effect on the academic pipeline, we maintained high graduation rates through increased retention efforts.

BS-CS Graduation Rates AY 2000-01 to AY 2005-06

0

20

40

60

80

2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06

Figure 3 Graduation Rates of CS Students Project Discussion: Sustainability We received an additional TWD grant in 2005 to continue supporting all the strategies in the program. The CS Department supports a quarter-time Recruitment Coordinator to oversee the ambassadors and collaborate with high schools and community colleges. The tutors and ambassadors are also supported from student fees. The undergraduate advisors are already permanent staff in the College of Sciences and Career Services has added a full-time staff person to handle the College of Sciences. We will work with University Development and federal funding agencies to raise additional money for scholarships for mentors and the teacher outreach.


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Project Discussion: Results and Success Summary We successfully implemented 5 strategies for improving the number and quality of UTSA CS graduates. These included outreach to high school teachers, student recruitment from local high schools, tutoring in the introductory computer science courses, curriculum and laboratory improvements, and mentoring. Our outreach and recruitment efforts did not increase the number of incoming computer science students, but the decline in our program was much slower than the nationwide decline. The tutoring and mentoring strategies significantly improved retention and graduation rates in computer science, relative to total enrollments. The curriculum and laboratory improvements increased the quality and technical skills of our graduates and prepared them for successful careers in high tech industry. Success Stories: This academic year, a single hiring manager at IBM in Austin aggressively recruited 8 of our graduates. When asked why, he indicated that these students were top talent. They not only had strong technical skills, but they had significant work experience and had vision about the field and where they were going in their careers. A number of these students were scholar/mentors or had participated in other workforce program activities. Recommendations: We believe that some of the basic strategies such as hands-on curriculum and peer tutoring support in the laboratories are essential to the operation of any computer science program because of the evolving complexity of the curriculum material. The costs of these strategies must be underwritten in some way as basic costs of operating a program. Advising and career services are low-cost items that can be easily incorporated into the beginning courses. The pair-mentoring program requires infrastructure to identify and track students. Requiring upper division students to mentor beginning students in a formal arrangement as part of a scholarship is a win-win situation. The upper division students become more involved and develop their leadership skills. We feel this may be an attractive program for industry funding, as many employers have indicated to us that they would like to see CS graduates improve their soft skills as well as technical skills. In order to replicate our strategy we also recommend the use of computer equipped classrooms for all courses and laboratories and assigning experienced tenure track faculty to coordinate and teach the introductory courses. Publications: Kleanthis Psarris and Kay Robbins, “Intensive Intervention in the First Courses in Computer Science,” Proceedings of the Best Practices Conference on Recruiting and Retaining Engineering and Computer Science Students, pp. 3-4, Dallas, Texas, January 2006. Kay Robbins, Heather Hernandez and Kleanthis Psarris, “Pair Programming Mentorships to Enhance the CS Experience,” Proceedings of the Best Practices Conference on Recruiting and Retaining Engineering and Computer Science Students, pp. 20-21, Austin, Texas, March 2007.


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TWD 2002 Final Report Title of Project: Study, Research, and Achievement in Lamar University Computer

Science Project Number: 003581-CS2002-0000 Project Leader (PL): Lawrence J. Osborne Project Co-Leader Peggy Israel Doerschuk Department: Computer Science Institution: Lamar University Address: 211 Red Bird Lane, P.O. Box 10056; Beaumont, Texas 77710 Synopsis: Lamar University’s “Study, Research, and Achievement in Lamar University Computer Science,” program established a new course entitled “Think, Speak, Write,” designed to expose students to the breadth of Computer Science and to develop in them an understanding of the collaborative process that is used to advance the field; and LUCSWomen++, a program designed to develop and retain women in computer science. The LUCSWomen++ program includes mentoring for undergraduate women; outreach to middle and high school girls; and the Women In REsearch Development (‘WIRED’) Program, which develops and retains women by engaging them in research in robotics and in outreach programs. Collaboration: 1. Association of Women in Computing, Houston Chapter, provided guest speakers for

LUCSWomen++ Career Forums. 2. Central Middle School helped organize a pilot summer camp for their middle school

girls. 3. Nederland High School helped organize a pilot summer camp for their high school

girls. 4. Port Neches Middle School helped organize a pilot summer camp for their middle

school girls. Student Numbers:*

Entering Students


Advanced Students

Graduated Students (during previous academic

year) (1) Fall 2001 Headcount 131 26 24 8

(2) Fall 2006 Headcount 54

30 24 6


additional students pursuing the baccalaureate degree? Originally we had hoped to increase our headcounts of entering students, progressing students, advanced students, and graduated students, respectively by 9, 14, 2, and 2 between 2001 and 2003. However, as can be seen by the numbers in the table above, we have not been able to do that even in five years. It is also undeniable that we have not improved the retention rates or the graduation rates of females or of our student body as a whole. On the other hand, many students have benefited from the Women’s


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Program and from having the introductory “Thinking, Speaking, and Writing in Computer Science” course. The Women In REsearch Development Program has helped a number of female students to go on to successful careers in computing, and the mentoring aspects of the CSWomen++ program have helped many females to succeed in reaching their goals even if they decided to go into another field. Although our retention rate for the female student body as a whole has not improved, our retention rate of women in the Women In REsearch Development Program improved from 25 – 40% in years one and two to 100% in years 3-5. Because of delayed funding we were unable to implement the proposed outreach component of our program until summer, 2006. We experienced a sharp decline in enrollment in 2002. Our enrollments have continued to decline since then but at a rate that has greatly slowed down and is approaching stability, as shown in Table 1 below. It should be noted that in 2002, when we were accredited by ABET for the first time, we increased the rigor of our program. Our graduates are making an average of more than 160 on the ETS Computer Science Field Exams since 2004 while, before that year, the average was less than 140. It should also be noted that there has been a nationwide decline in CS enrollment during this period, especially in female enrollment. 2) Has your project improved the retention numbers and percentages over the term of

the grant? The retention rates for the department as a whole have remained low. Only about 30% of the entering freshmen in computer science remain in the department after one year. Just 8.58% (Only includes those students who graduated with a degree from the CS dept, or were still CS/CIS majors) of the students who arrived in Fall 2001 remained in the department or had graduated by fall 2005. The average number of years that our graduates take to finish the B.S. degree in Computer Science has remained about 5.5 since 1999. A total of twenty-one female students (12 undergraduates and 9 graduate students) participated in WIRED over a five-year period. Of those, fourteen have either completed their degrees or are continuing in CS as of this date. One graduate student who participated in year three changed her major; all the other WIRED graduate students were retained. Our retention rate for undergraduate women participating in the WIRED program was 40% in year 1, 25% in year 2, and 100% in years 3, 4 and 5. Three out of five WIRED undergraduates changed their majors in year one; and three out of four in year two. All of the undergraduates who have participated in WIRED since fall, 2004 either have graduated or are continuing in CS. 3) Has your project improved the graduation numbers and percentages over the term of

the grant? Over the period of the grant the graduation rates have been as follows: Fiscal Year/Degrees / Awarded 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Bachelor Degrees 11 15 9 14 15 11 Of these students, eight are female, but we have not had any female graduates with a bachelor’s degree since 2004. It takes our students an average of 5.5 years to graduate. The break in the pipeline of graduating female students in 2005 and 2006 is due in large part to a paucity of talented incoming female students, which worsened with the significant drop in overall student enrollment that started in 2002. The delay in


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funding resulted in a delay in implementing the outreach component of our project until summer 2006, so improvements in enrollments stemming from our project will not be seen until after the period of the grant has expired, and resulting improvements in graduation numbers will not be seen for several years after that. An important point that must be made here is that the lack of improvement in graduation numbers and percentages over the term of the grant does not mean that our programs were unsuccessful. Summary: Lamar University’s “Study, Research, and Achievement in Lamar University Computer Science,” program established a new course entitled “Think, Speak, Write,” designed to expose students to the breadth of Computer Science; and LUCSWomen++, designed to develop and retain women in CS. Think, Speak, Write has been institutionalized as a required course for all entering CS/CIS freshmen. It has given the students a better idea of what computer science is really about. Previously, we had found that students often left computer science because of a number of incorrect perceptions about the field. These included the belief that computer science was synonymous with computer maintenance and troubleshooting, that software development meant only using commercial software such as Windows Office applications, that computer programmers and scientists worked in cubicles by themselves most of the time, that computer scientists were not concerned with social and ethical issues, that advanced mathematics and science were not important for computer careers, that knowledge of business, finance, and communications were not important for future computer scientists, and, lastly, and that there were limited opportunities for minorities and women within the field. This course has led to a much better understanding by the students of why computer science is a valuable and exciting field. The LUCSWomen++ program included peer and industrial mentoring for undergraduate CS/CIS women; outreach to middle and high school girls; and the Women In REsearch Development (‘WIRED’) Program, which develops and retains female undergraduates by engaging them in research in intelligent robotics and in outreach programs. The industrial mentoring program was active for two years. Those students who took advantage of the program by maintaining contact with their mentors benefited greatly by this program. Some industrial mentors hosted field trips that took students to their companies, helped students with job searches, and served as guest speakers in various forums that exposed students to successful female computer scientists. Unfortunately, many of the mentors lived 90 or more miles away from Lamar, which made it difficult to establish relationships. The industrial mentoring program was discontinued after two years, but mentoring remains an integral part of the WIRED program, which continues. The WIRED Program has been active since 2002 and remains active. Grants from ExxonMobil helped support the WIRED program for 2004, 2005, and 2006 and expand it to include more female graduate students. This program gives female students an opportunity to work in teams led by female CS faculty who serve as mentors and role models. Teams include students from all levels, freshman through graduate student. More advanced students serve as mentors and leaders of the lower-level students.


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In addition to performing research, WIRED students participate in outreach to other students. They participate in various on-campus recruiting functions and make presentations on their robotics research to various high schools and at Lamar University’s MathFest for high school students and Week of Welcome for incoming freshmen. In the summer of 2006 the WIRED students led a one-week pilot summer camp for high school girls and two one-day pilot summer camps for middle schools girls. An independent assessment of the camps showed that they increased the girls’ knowledge of computer science and confidence in their ability to succeed in CS, especially that of the middle school girls. Lessons learned from the pilot camps will be used to develop more camps for girls and underrepresented minorities starting in summer of 2008. Sixty-seven percent of the women who have participated in WIRED have either successfully obtained their degrees, started careers in computing, or are still pursuing degrees in computing. WIRED was recognized as a Best Practice at the 2006 TETC Best Practices Workshop. The WIRED team has won 4 awards for its research presentations. The TWD grant has been instrumental in our ability to establish a program of retention and development for CS women; to begin an outreach program for middle and high school girls; and to obtain NSF funding to expand this program to include both women and underrepresented minorities.

Project Discussion: Introduction Lamar University is a public university in southeast Texas with an enrollment of approximately 10,000 students. In the spring of 2007 the Department of Computer Science had 114 undergraduates and 111 M.S students. The Department of Computer Science (http:/cs.lamar.edu/index.html) presently has nine full-time faculty, two lecturers, and two adjunct faculty. It is housed in the College of Arts & Sciences. In the Fall of 2002, there were 180 undergraduate majors—146 in CS and 34 in Computer Information Science. In the academic year 2001-2002, 11 students received bachelor’s degrees in CS, and 22 received Master’s degrees. Over the five-year period from Fall, 1997 to Fall, 2002, the average time required for full-time continuously enrolled CS majors to graduate was 5.50 years. The department received ABET/CSAB accreditation in the Summer of 2002 retroactive to October 1, 2000. Admissions at Lamar of first-time-in-college freshmen are based upon class rank, and SAT or ACT scores. Students graduating in the top one-half of the high school class will be admitted. Students graduating in the third quarter are required to have SAT 1000 or ACT 21 to be admitted. Students graduating in the fourth quarter must have SAT 1100 or ACT 24 to be admitted. Table 1 shows the enrollment and scheduled credit hour production since spring 2003. In Table 2, the enrollments in the two bachelor degree programs before the TWD grant began are shown. In 2001, we had 149 males and 40 females at the undergraduate level. In 2002, the comparable numbers were 139 and 41. In fall 2005, we had 96 males and 21 female undergraduates, in fall 2006, we had 93 males and 21 female undergraduates.


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Semester/(SCH, Student HDCT)

Spring 2003

Fall 2003

Spring 2004

Fall 2004

Spring 2005

Fall 2005

Spring 2006

Fall 2006

SCH(Undergraduate) 1791 2099 1722 1985 1816 2180 1443 1416SCH(Graduate) 1189 1099 1228 1059 959 584 855 1048Student HDCT(undergraduate majors)

127

151

92

132

96

117

111

114

Student HDCT(graduate majors)

215

194

180

172

146

98

88

111

Table 1. Enrollment and Scheduled Credit Hour Production Since Spring 2003

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Computer Science 136 134 115 134 146 Computer Information Science 38 35 51 55 34

Table 2. Enrollments before the TWD Grant.

Our project was designed to increase recruitment and retention of undergraduates with an emphasis on increasing the number of female students. A Lamar University Women in Computer Science Program (‘LUWCS’) was founded under the direction of Dr. Peggy Doerschuk. It had two original components: Lamar University Women in Research Development Program (‘LU WIRED’), and Lamar University Women Mentoring Women Program (LU W++). The Mentoring program initially intended to do industrial mentoring and peer mentoring, and outreach to middle and high schools. The research and outreach activities have been based upon building and programming robots. These activities have generated excitement among our female students and have enriched the college experience of all who have participated, including our students, the students in the public schools, and those in industry who have been willing to be mentors. Project Discussion: Objectives The objectives are to increase retention across all categories of students, and, in particular, to increase the number of female computer science students. Although our total student enrollment has continued to decline, the rate of decline has slowed greatly, as Table 1 above shows. Dr. Doerschuk et. al. have received a new NSF grant for a program to recruit and retain women and underrepresented minorities. The grant is for $490,000 over three years starting fall 2007. We believe that the lessons learned from the TWD grant and the progress we have made over the last five years have made it possible for the Department to obtain the grant. Project Discussion: Implementation The TWD grant provided support for the establishment of a new freshman course, “Thinking, Speaking and Writing in Computer Science,” and the Lamar University Computer Science Women (‘LUCSW’) Program. With respect to the implementation of the “Thinking, Speaking, and Writing” class, Dr. Osborne spent the summer of 2002 preparing to teach the course. It was approved as a


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required course by following the Lamar University process for curriculum changes, which ultimately requires the TSUS Board of Regents’ approval. Details of our experience in teaching this course can be found in [2]. The LUCSW program had two proposed components: (1) LU Women in Research Development (WIRED), which gives female students an opportunity to perform research in teams under the direction of female CS faculty; and (2) LU Women Mentoring Women (LU W++), which including pairing undergraduate women with female mentors in industry; peer mentoring that pairs upper-level female students with lower-level female students; and outreach mentoring that envisioned pairing female LU students with middle school girls on robotics projects. The industrial mentoring and peer mentoring components of the Women Mentoring Women program were established in fall of 2002 and directed by Co-PI Professor Peggy Doerschuk. Our industrial mentors were successful female computing professionals who were recruited primarily from our department’s Industrial Advisory Board and LU alumni. Each mentor had one or two assigned students. Each semester we hosted a luncheon and open forum with the industrial mentors. At the luncheon, the mentors could meet their students. In the open forum a panel of mentors discussed topics of interest to our students. During the year mentors and their students communicated via email, phone, and personal contact. Some mentors invited their students to tour their companies. Many gave our students advice on job opportunities, resumes, interviewing, course management, networking, and other important issues. We also held monthly teleconferences with the mentors. This allowed the mentors to compare notes and make suggestions for improvement. Expenses for the luncheon were paid for by Lamar University. The mentors paid their own travel expenses and took turns hosting the teleconference. To develop a sense of community among our female students we held monthly luncheon meetings so that our female students could get to know each other outside the classroom. At these meetings we gave the students information on job opportunities, scholarships, coop programs, tutoring and other resources. We also got their input on curriculum, teaching methods, and other concerns. The Computer Science Department paid for the monthly luncheon expenses. We arranged for several tours to expose students to career opportunities in Computer Science and hosted career forums with guest speakers provided by the Association of Women in Computing, Houston Chapter, and our industrial mentors. Each student was placed in a peer mentoring group each semester. Each peer group had both upper-level and lower-level students and included a senior student as a group leader. The group leaders established contact with the students in their group and encouraged them to participate in LUCSW++ activities. The industrial and peer mentoring components and the community-building luncheons were discontinued after two years, as discussed more fully in Project Evaluation section. However, mentoring and community building remain integral parts of the WIRED program, which continues. The Women in Research Development program was established in fall of 2002 and is directed by Co-PI Professor Peggy Doerschuk. Since fall of 2004 Dr. Jiangjiang Liu,


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a newly-hired Assistant Professor of Computer Science, has assisted with the direction of the WIRED activities. WIRED gives female students an opportunity to perform research in autonomous robotics in teams under the direction of female CS faculty who serve as mentors and role models for the students. This research area was selected because it is fun, educational, and beneficial to society. The WIRED team includes students from all levels: freshman through graduate student. The upper-level students help mentor and lead the lower-level students. The research is very educational and gives students hands-on experience in software design, programming, computer architecture, artificial intelligence, and autonomous agents. Students also gain valuable experience in teamwork, leadership, and making research presentations. WIRED students are paid $1000 per semester to perform research and participate in outreach functions for an average of ten hours per week. The 2002-2003 research team included five undergraduate women led by one female graduate student. In 2004 WIRED was extended to include more support for female graduate students. This was made possible by getting grants from ExxonMobil to help pay for student stipends. The teams in 2003-2004, 2004-2005, and 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 have included from 2 to 4 undergraduate and from 2 to 3 graduate females. A total of twenty-one students have participated in WIRED. In addition to performing research, WIRED students also participate in outreach programs. Since inception this has included making presentations on their research at local high school career days and on-campus recruiting functions. In 2005-2006 the WIRED team also conducted workshops at MathFest, which targets high school students, and Week of Welcome, which targets incoming LU freshmen. Outreach to middle school girls was started in 2005-2006 when we received the remaining outstanding funding from the TWD grant. We partnered with two local middle schools to develop pilot one-day summer camps in computing for middle school girls. In addition, we partnered with one local high school to develop a one-week summer camp in computing for high school girls. The camps were conducted in summer, 2006. WIRED students prepared the instructional materials for the camps and led the students in the camps, under the direction of Drs. Doerschuk and Liu. Dr. Judith Mann, a Lamar University Psychology faculty member with experience in program assessment, conducted an independent assessment of the camps. The experience that we gained form these pilot camps will be used to improve future camps, which we will conduct beginning in summer, 2008. Details of our experience in organizing, conducting and assessing the middle school camp are included in [1]. The WIRED program is more fully described in [3]. Our early experience in formulating the CSWomen’s Program can be found in [4 and 5]. Project Discussion: Changes to Plan The funding shortfall experienced at the beginning of the grant necessitated the delay of the outreach to middle school girls until 2005-2006. The original proposal envisioned partnering middle school girls with LU female students on robotics projects conducted on campus in the afternoons. This strategy was changed to conducting one-day summer camps based on input that we received from administrators at the middle schools with whom we partnered. This change was also made to capitalize on the growing popularity of summer camps for girls.


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In addition to the outreach to middle school that was proposed we also started outreach to high school girls by formulating a one-week summer camp for high school girls in summer 2006. Shortfalls in funding also forced us to eliminate those portions of the proposed strategy that were found to be less effective and focus limited resources on those that were more fruitful. For this reason the industrial mentoring program, monthly meetings and field trips were discontinued after two years, for the reasons described in the Evaluation section. The WIRED team has evolved to include increased participation of female graduate students without impacting the support for undergraduate students. This was done by getting additional funding from ExxonMobil to help pay the WIRED student stipends. The graduate students not only help lead the undergraduates but also serve as excellent role models for the undergraduates. They are hard working, they are more committed to their major, they recognize the importance of maintaining a high GPA, and they demonstrate to the undergraduates that women can get advanced degrees in CS. Inclusion of more graduate students also makes the teams more diverse and thus helps to prepare our undergraduates for the global workforce. Our teams have included students from the U. S., India, China, the Philippines, and First Nations, Canada. The WIRED program has also evolved into the nucleus of our mentoring, community building and outreach strategies. Including students from freshman through graduate level builds in stair step mentoring, with each student inspiring another to reach the next level. Working together as a team gives the WIRED students a sense of community. Achievement of awards for their research gives the WIRED women confidence in their abilities and gives our female students a sense of belonging in the discipline. Making the WIRED students leaders in our outreach functions not only helps to inspire the girls by their example but also gives the LU women leadership experience and the satisfaction of helping others like themselves. Project Discussion: Evaluation It is difficult to say that any part of the project worked or did not work. It is more accurate to say that in each part some students benefited more than others. We had mixed results with our industrial mentoring program. It greatly benefited those students who participated in it. Some of these students later changed majors and graduated in disciplines outside of computer science, but the mentoring helped all of these women to determine what they wanted to do with their careers. Almost all of our junior and senior females actively communicated with their mentors and developed satisfying relationships with them. However, very few of our freshmen and sophomore women took advantage of this program. Some did not want industrial mentors at all, and others who asked for a mentor didn’t communicate regularly with their mentor, which led to frustration on the mentor’s part. We believe that the freshmen view graduation as being far in the future and don’t see a need for an industrial mentor. We also believe that many of the freshmen are not yet fully committed to computer science and so are hesitant to engage fully in a mentoring relationship. In addition, many of our mentors lived 90 or miles from campus, which made establishing relationships difficult. The students liked our monthly meetings, Career Forums, and especially the tours. However, very few of our freshmen chose to participate in those activities as well.


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The WIRED program has been very successful in developing our female students. The WIRED teams have won four awards for their research presentations, two in university-wide student research conferences, and two in a state-wide science conference. The research experience has been instrumental in getting interviews and jobs for our students. Our graduating WIRED students have embarked on successful careers in computer science with firms including Microsoft, Intel, and contracting firms for Boeing, ExxonMobil and Centerpoint Energy. Also, the WIRED program has given our university students a chance to encourage younger girls on “Career Day” in some public schools. This has improved the motivation of all concerned. During our annual Springfest and fall recruiting events, the WIRED team has participated by talking to high schools students and their parents about the importance and personal enjoyment that they have received from computer science. This has led to an increased interest in some of the public schools in the area in the programs in computer science at Lamar University. It is difficult to give a quantitative measure of the value of these activities, because it takes time for these kinds of activities to bear results. Most of the students in middle school at the beginning of this project probably have not graduated from high school yet. WIRED was not successful in retaining our undergraduate WIRED students in its first two years. Three WIRED undergraduates changed their majors in year one; and three in year two. One graduate student who participated in year three changed her major. Our retention rate for WIRED undergraduates was 40% in year 1 and 25% in year 2. However, it increased to 100% in years 3, 4 and 5. All of the undergraduates and graduate students who have participated in WIRED since fall, 2004 either have graduated or are continuing. A total of twenty-one female students participated in WIRED over a five-year period. Of those, fourteen have either completed their degrees or are continuing in CS as of this date. The pilot summer camps for middle school girls were very successful. An independent assessment of the pilot summer camps for middle school girls found camp participants reported a significant increase in knowledge of computer science (t = 6.595, p<.00), especially in computer programming. In addition, there was a significant increase in confidence in succeeding in Computer Science (t=2.321, p<.025). The pilot summer camp for high school girls also produced a significant increase in knowledge of computer science (t = 3.087, p<.018). However, it was harder to get camp participants because by high school many girls have already lost interest in computing and because high school students often have summer jobs and other commitments that make it difficult to participate in a weeklong camp. In addition, principals of our middle school partners actively recruited campers, which contributed to the success of the middle school camps, whereas the principal of our high school partner did not.

Project Discussion: Sustainability The “Thinking, Speaking, and Writing in Computer Science” course has been made a required course for all incoming freshmen. It is used to gather assessment data for both ABET and SACS accreditation. We were able to sustain the WIRED program for five years with the help of three grants from ExxonMobil totaling $28,000 that helped pay the student stipends. The WIRED


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program will be expanded and will include support for underrepresented minorities beginning in fall of 2007. The INcreasing Student Participation in REsearch Development Program (‘INSPIRED”), which builds upon WIRED, will be supported by an NSF Broadening Participation in Computing grant for three years. Follow-up funding secured includes: 1. Increasing Student Participation in Research Development Program (INSPIRED)

grant from the National Science Foundation for $490,000 for the period September 1, 2007 – August 31, 2010. PI Professor Peggy Doerschuk, with Co-PIs Assistant Professor Jiangjiang Liu and Psychology Assistant Professor Judith Mann.

2. Women in Research Development Grant from ExxonMobil for $8,000 for calendar year 2006; PI Professor Peggy Doerschuk with Co-PI Assistant Professor Jiangjiang Liu..

3. Women in Research Development Grant from ExxonMobil for $10,000 for calendar year 2005; PI Professor Peggy Doerschuk.

4. Women in Research Development Grant from ExxonMobil for $10,000 for calendar year 2004; PI Professor Peggy Doerschuk.

Project Discussion: Results and Success Summary The TWD grant has been instrumental in our ability to establish a program of retention and development for undergraduate CS women; to begin an outreach program for middle and high school girls; and to obtain NSF funding to expand this program to include both women and underrepresented minorities. The end goal of our NSF demonstration project is to develop a model which other institutions can use to increase participation of women and minorities in computing. Success Stories: The Women In REsearch Development teams won the award for best research presentation university-wide at Lamar University’s Undergraduate Research Conference in 2003 and 2004 and won two awards for their research (best mathematics presentation and third place in the undergraduate competition) at the Texas Academy of Science Conference in 2006. Our WIRED graduates have embarked on successful careers in computing with companies that include Microsoft, Intel, Texas Home Health, and subcontractors for Boeing and ExxonMobil. The girls loved our outreach summer camps! The camps increased the knowledge and confidence in computing of the campers, particularly the middle school girls. Involving our WIRED students in outreach programs not only helped to develop their skills but also transformed them into the leaders, inspirers, and mentors of others. We obtained funding from ExxonMobil for 2004-2006 to continue the WIRED program and expand it to include more support for female graduate students. Our WIRED experience helped us to get funding from NSF to expand the scope of the program and to support both women and underrepresented minorities for the next three years. We plan to develop a model that other institutions can use to increase participation of women and minorities in computing. Testimonials From Some WIRED Participants


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Kendall, BSCS 2003, a native of Texas, participated in WIRED her senior year. In her early twenties, she gave birth to her second child in her senior year. Kendall started her career as a contractor for Boeing in Houston, Texas, designing software for unmanned air and ground vehicles. “This is probably the coolest job I’ll ever have. It’s all about robots.” Divya, MSCS 2004, a native of India, participated in WIRED as a graduate student. Before joining WIRED, Divya felt lonely because she missed her family in India. Divya started her career as a component design engineer for Intel in California. “My robotics work was one of the reasons why they picked me for the interview.” Xing, MSCS 2006, a native of China, participated in WIRED as a graduate student for two years. During that time her English skills improved to the extent that she was able to successfully present her research in an award-winning presentation. Xing started her career as an Associate Engineer for Micron Technologies in Manassas, Virginia, programming and doing logic design to test chips. She hopes to get a Ph.D. one day. “As a team member in WIRED, I have been able to expand my knowledge and broaden the scope of my imagination in software design and robot programming. My study in this team has also provided opportunities to work collaboratively and thus enhance my ability to cooperate with others. Those two years of research helped me better understand my fields of interest, and left me more self-confident about my abilities in computer science. I feel very thankful for such a wonderful opportunity.” Rose, BSCS expected fall 2007, a North American Indian, participated in WIRED as an undergraduate for over three years. Rose had to overcome many financial and health problems to get her education. Rose has started her career in computing with Centerpoint Energy in Houston, Texas, while completing her two remaining courses online. After she gets a car, she plans to pursue a Master’s degree by taking graduate courses after work. “Working on WIRED has been a truly enriching experience. In 2002, I joined WIRED as a sophomore; and as the junior member of the team, I was an inexperienced programmer with no real-world experience. WIRED taught me how to program real world solutions to physical problems. I learned how to prepare presentations, how to handle deadlines, and most importantly, how to be a team player. Three and a half years later, the sole reason I was chosen for my current position was because of my participation in WIRED. During the time I was working on WIRED, I thought of it as a fun after-school job doing something I loved. Now, I am discovering that in terms of real-world experience, it is putting me head and shoulders above the rest.” Iris, BSCS expected in 2008, a US citizen who was born in the Philippines, joined WIRED as a freshman and has participated for three years. In her early twenties, she is the mother of two, with a husband who has been twice deployed to Afghanistan while she was a student. “This (WIRED) experience has taught me a lot and has encouraged me in further pursuing a career in computers. I have learned so much from taking part in this team, not only about programming, but also about teamwork and leadership skills. I am constantly finding myself applying the same concepts that I learn in the classroom with our current research project, and vice versa.” Recommendations:


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If a program is going to have a course such as “Thinking, Speaking, Writing in Computer Science,” then the course should be 3 semester credit hours instead of 1 semester credit hour, because students need more time to learn how to read, think, discuss, present, and write with other people in the field. There are too many skills that must be learned and too much information that needs to be imparted for a class that meets only once per week for a semester. Students tend to think and work in the same way that they did in high school: they do not think critically, they do not read carefully, they do not like to talk to a group, and they do not know how to collaborate with others. An enriched research program like WIRED with mentoring and other support can greatly benefit students. The faculty leader should be someone who is both a good teacher and a good researcher. He or she must have release time in order to be an effective leader and role model for the students. Faculty who lead undergraduate research and mentoring programs must be rewarded and recognized for their efforts. Including both graduate and undergraduate students on the team is beneficial. We paid our WiReD students $1000 per semester. Several had other jobs on or off campus to supplement this income, which put their grades at risk. The stipends should be increased to enable students to quit any other jobs they may have. Lack of funding prevented us from conducting WiReD in the summer months. A yearlong program would greatly increase the continuity of the research and enable more students to participate. Establishing partnerships with local schools can be a very effective way to develop computer camps for middle and high school students. Starting with a pilot program is a good way to test the waters without making a large investment. It removes the burden and expense of advertising the camps to the general public. In addition, school teachers and administrators can be a great help in identifying materials that are appropriate for their students and recruiting camp participants. A one-day middle school camp is easily manageable, takes a reasonable amount of preparation time and resources and fits well with the schedules of the campers and the camp leaders. Our week-long camp for high school girls took much more time to organize and conduct, had fewer participants, and had a less significant impact on the camp participants. Including a faculty member with experience in assessment of educational programs is a great benefit, because granting agencies are placing increasing importance on program assessment. Recommendations for the TETC: Please don’t just look at numbers when you assess the programs. A program can be successful even though enrollment and retention are decreasing. There may be factors at play that are outside the control and scope of the funded programs. For instance, enrollment in computer science has fallen approximately 30% nationally since 2001, and many departments are also experiencing low retention rates. Much of this decline may be traced to the erroneous impression that because of the dotcom bust and the increase in outsourcing there are no jobs in computing in the U.S. Publications:


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1. “Pilot Summer Camps in Computing for Middle School Girls: From Organization Through Assessment,” Peggy Doerschuk, Jiangjiang Liu, and Judith Mann, to appear in the Proceedings of the 12th Annual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education, June, 2007.

2. "Thinking, Speaking, and Writing for Freshmen in Computer Science", Osborne, Lawrence J., presentation of paper at annual SIGCSE meeting in Houston, March 1-5, 2006. Paper published in the Proceedings.

3. “Women in Research Development (WiReD) Program,” Peggy Doerschuk, in Proceedings of the Texas Engineering and Technical Consortium Best Practices Conference 2006, pp. 13-14, Jan. 10-11, 2006, available at http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/reports/PDF/1130.PDF.

4. “A Research and Mentoring Program for Women in Computer Science,” Peggy Doerschuk, Proceedings of the 34th ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference, Pages S2H-7 – S2H-12, October, 2004.

5. “Research Experience in Computer Science for Undergraduate Women,” Peggy Israel Doerschuk, Proceedings of the 2003 International Conference on Information Technology: Coding and Computing, Pages 14 – 19, April, 2003.

Presentations 1. "Research in Autonomous Robots" presented by the WIRED team at the 2003 Lamar

University Student Research Conference. 2. "Research in Autonomous Mobile Robots," presented by the WIRED team at the

2004 Lamar University Student Research Conference. 3. “Navigating a Mobile Autonomous Robot,” presented by the WIRED team

at the 2005 Lamar University Student Research Conference. 4. “Navigational Research in Autonomous Robots,” presented by the WIRED

team at the 109th Annual Meeting of the Texas Academy of Science, March, 2006.

5. The WIRED team has also made numerous presentations on their research at local high schools and various on-campus events, including Week of Welcome for incoming freshmen, MathFest for high school students, and Springfest for prospective students.

Awards 1. The WIRED team won Best Research Presentation at Lamar University’s 2003

Student Research Conference. 2. The WIRED team won Best Research Presentation at Lamar University’s 2004

Student Research Conference. 3. The WIRED team won the Dr. Amir-Moez Endowed Prize for best mathematics

presentation and Third Place in the Undergraduate competition at the 109th Annual Meeting of the Texas Academy of Science, March, 2006.


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2002 Final Report

Title of Project: Increasing Computer Science Retention by Developing and Deploying Self-Paced learning Modules

Project Number: 010366-CS2002-0000 Project Leader (PL): Dr. Frank Shipman III Project Co-Leader Department: Computer Science Institution: Texas Engineering Experiment Station Address:

final project reportsthecb.state.tx.us/reports/htm/0607/ar07_final_twd02-cs.pdfproject number:...

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