Computer Science (31) This three-year Advanced Technology Education Support project (ATESP) builds on successes of an ongoing information technology initiative at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (MGCCC) designed to increase the supply and diversity of the IT workforce. Partially funded by NSF, the initiative has resulted in an increase in the number of females and minorities enrolling in IT programs. A recruitment model, The IT Pathway, was cited by a NSF National Visiting Committee as a model for other community college technical programs. The overall purpose of this ATESP project is to build capacity to increase access to IT programs, increase student retention to program completion and certification and enhance the IT awareness and skills of post secondary and secondary IT faculty/teachers. Specifically: 1. Retention of IT majors to program completion with the development of an IT Access, Retention and Student Success Model, with an emphasis on females. 2. Increasing access to IT programs. 3. Validating student success and program quality; and, 4. Professional development for IT post secondary faculty and secondary teachers.
