Collaborative Research: CUE-T: HBCU Learning Community-based Intervention in Computing

The University of the District of Columbia, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Winston-Salem State University, Mississippi Valley State University, Norfolk State University, and Hampton University will collaborate to develop the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Learning Community-based Intervention in Computing (HBCU LCI-CS). This project will be designed to prepare and retain student populations underrepresented in computing and ultimately increase diversity in the computing workforce. This project team intends to explore the impact of an intercollegiate learning community-based intervention on the retention of underrepresented minority incoming students in computer-related fields. Although this learning-based community will be implemented among the partnering HBCUs, the activities of the project will be scalable to other institutions. This project intends to understand how to teach computing effectively to a broad group of students, in a scalable manner, with an emphasis on broadening the participation of groups who are underrepresented and underserved by traditional computing courses and careers. The goal of HBCU LCI-CS will be to increase the retention of first-year students in computer-related fields by preparing them for collegiate success. HBCU LCI-CS will involve a three-fold approach: 1) an intercollegiate collaborative bridge program 2) a service-learning program and 3) a lecture series. The proposed research activities will include (1) investigating how community-based activities affect underrepresented minority students' preparedness, (2) exploring how community-based activities affect underrepresented minority students’ retention during their freshman year in college (3) examining how participation in an HBCU community affects participant attitude, confidence, and sense of belonging, and (4) exploring if service-learning increases the motivation and engagement of students from groups underrepresented in computing in a computing-related major. This project is jointly funded by IUSE:CUE and the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP). 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.