Miami Dade College, California State University San Marco, and the University of Texas Pan-American propose a program-called SACI for "Scaling and Adapting Computing Alliance of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (CAHSI) Inititatives" which will join with CAHSI and apply CAHSI best practices to advance student success among Hispanics and other groups underrepresented in computing fields. CAHSI is an NSF-funded Alliance with seven universities that has developed and demonstrated the effectiveness of a series of initiatives. The SACI partners will adapt five CAHSI strategies: (1) a new introductory course designed to attract students and prepare them for majors in computing fields, (2) a peer-led team learning structure, to provide academic support and motivation for students to persist in computing disciplines, (3) an affinity research group model, to promote undergraduate retention through early research experiences and prepare students for success in upper-division and graduate studies, (4) faculty and peer mentoring, to improve student retention and success, and (5) outreach workshops, to stimulate interest in computing careers among high school and undergraduate students and to disseminate project research and evaluation findings. SACI will join CAHSI, significantly extending the Alliance and its impact, and leveraging the Alliance's educational and research strengths; SACI will participate in the CAHSI Alliance-wide evaluation.
The overarching goal of the SACI grant was to increase the numbers of Hispanics earning degrees in computing fields. In order to measure the program’s impact, evaluators developed understanding of trends within current representation in computing. In this section, we describe the current trends in computer science enrollment and graduation at Associates’ Bachelors’ and Masters’ levels of education, when applicable. The intellectual merit of this project lies in (1) the leveraging of the educational and research strengths of the CAHSI institutions and (2) long-term contributions to research that will significantly advance computing. The broader impacts of SACI include (1) improving student enrollment, retention, and graduation rates in undergraduate and graduate computing programs and (2) increasing diversity in computing education, research, and careers. The SACI grant has had a significant impact on enrollment, retention, and graduation rates at the participating institutions. For example, at Miami Dade College, when compared to similar degree programs across the country, STEM programs produced 40% more graduates than in 2002. At the same time, the country produced fewer 2 year degrees in math, statistics, physical science, computer science, engineering, and engineering technologies (94% of 2002 figures). Additionally, MDC has been successful in reaching parity across STEM programs with regard to Hispanic students—the proportion of Hispanic graduates exceeds the proportion of enrolled Hispanic students across the institution (74% compared with 70%). This indicates Hispanic students are graduating with rigorous, in-demand degrees and may not be transferring out of the STEM programs at higher rates than other ethnic groups. Nationally, the proportion of Hispanic students who earn Associates degrees in these fields hovered between 11 and 12% over the past decade (www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/tables.cfm), so the numbers of graduates from Miami Dade show a substantial increase from the norm. Similarly, enrollment data indicates computing and computing-related degree programs at MDC are growing—enrollment is up 21% since the beginning of the SACI grant. This project has also had outcomes that will significantly advance computing. For example, the results of scaling and adapting CAHSI’s peer led team learning (PLTL, www.pltl.org, www.cahsi.org ), was particularly impressive. Several iterations of the model were made from the original version. The final model had several key components that made it very effective: It was not optional; all students enrollment in the PLTL course must participate in the sessions It was integrated or embedded into the course and was held periodically throughout the semester during regular class time PLTL was mainly implemented at Miami Dade College in COP2270 ("C" for Engineers), an introductory computer programming course in the C language. Across all semesters, the course average for students taking COP 2270 had an overall mean of 2.52, or between a B- and C+ average (standard deviation 1.43595). This was lower than the same population of students’ cumulative GPAs, which averaged 3.05 (standard deviation 0.643), indicating the course is generally difficult, and students perform less well than average. When analyzing the impact of PLTL in CO2270, it was found that a student in a PLTL class is 2.45 times more likely to get a higher grade than in a non-PLTL class, holding other variables constant. Also, for every full cumulative GPA point increase for a student they are 0.07 times more likely to get a better grade in a PLTL class. SACI has made strides in supporting the Hispanic computing community. Course level, event, and semester long research opportunities have increased student interest, efficacy, and regard for the computing field. Some SACI initiatives have been integrated into departments beyond the grant funding (e.g., CS-0, PLTL), and ARG practices, once perfected, can be used with student researchers no matter their funding source. SACI’s continued connection to the CAHSI Alliance may assist the institutions in continuing to innovate with regarding to educational practice and policy.
