Abstract: This research-to-practice paper aims to examine the Collective Impact Model and its application during a network meeting to illustrate its utility in supporting efforts in building a community among a complex system of partnerships and initiatives. We collected data from small group discussions among 56 CAHSI faculty staff and administrators using a Communities of Practice approach to collect evidence of community knowledge development. Emerging themes from data analysis included: a) successful initiatives for CAHSI students; and b) collectively identified challenges. These findings illustrate how the Collective Impact model supports CAHSI network members to be intentional in their efforts by assessing their progress toward a common goal, evaluating the effectiveness of their efforts, and making plans toward next steps. Moreover, capturing the dynamics of the Collective Impact Model allows CAHSI to promote multidimensional change by creating culturally responsive initiatives and learning opportunities for Hispanic students in CAHSI.

Abstract: This qualitative research paper presents findings from an interpretive case study of five undergraduate Hispanic computer science (CS) students in a pilot leadership course in the CS department of a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). The course design drew on the relational model of leadership, a model that focuses on ethics and professional skills development and enhancing students’ readiness to meet the demands of an ever changing global and diverse technological world. These students applied their skill set at a national conference for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) faculty and students. Data were collected from interviews with these five leadership students who participated as panelists in a faculty professional development workshop. Themes that emerged from the data analysis included students’ views of leadership, self, and self with others. The students considered their participation in both the leadership course and the conference as critical in shaping their leadership identities. Moreover, the study demonstrates how the leadership course supported students in enhancing their leadership meaning-making from a relational perspective while at the same time fostering the development of strong Latinx CS identities. These findings support the need for responsive curricula and learning opportunities that promote the development and practice of professional skills to prepare undergraduate CS students, those who are Latinx, to meet workforce and societal demands.

Abstract: Historically, student caregivers have been described as parents over the age of 25. However, the role of a caregiver may extend beyond a parental responsibility to include caring for other family members and may include students who are of “traditional college age.” Failing to acknowledge and provide appropriate support for student caregivers can be particularly problematic for students in engineering and computing. Engineering and Computing programs often require extensive work that must be completed outside of class. Meeting these demands is particularly challenging for students with caregiving responsibilities. However, there are significant gaps in our understanding of college experiences and college outcomes of student caregivers enrolled in engineering and computing programs. To understand the experiences of undergraduate student caregivers in engineering and computing fields, this study explored the differences in non-cognitive and affective factors between students who have caregiving responsibilities and those who do not have responsibilities during college. We particularly focused on student caregivers in the College of Engineering at an R1 Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). The context of HSIs is important given that these institutions enroll a large number of post-traditional college students, students who have significant life responsibilities that are often at odds with the demands of college. Additionally, this study incorporates a Hispanic-servingness approach, a framework centered on institutions acknowledging the realities and needs of the students they serve. Using data from a single institution, we asked the following research question: To what extent are caregiving responsibilities related to undergraduate engineering and computing students’ non-cognitive and affective factors? Our findings indicate that the experiences of students with caregiving responsibilities differ on five non-cognitive and affective factors: open-mindedness, engineering/computer science identity, help-seeking, motivation, and time management. Taken together, these findings draw attention to the importance of universities taking a holistic approach to developing student support services for Engineering/Computing student caregivers.

Abstract: Involving diverse individuals who bring different perspectives, experiences, and disciplinary knowledge in solving problems is critical in our nation’s ability to innovate and compete in a global economy. Unfortunately, the trends in the number of graduates with advanced degrees, in particular ethnically and racially diverse citizens and permanent residents, are insufficient to meet current and future national needs. This is exacerbated in computing, which is one of the least diverse fields. Despite the growth in numbers of Hispanics nationally and their representation in undergraduate studies, the number of Hispanic citizens and permanent residents who enter and complete graduate computing studies is disturbingly low. Studies report that Hispanic graduate students across all fields of study feel isolated and alienated, face lack of support, experience low expectations from faculty, and a negative racial/ethnic climate. Students often encounter a STEM culture centered on competition and selectivity, and this must be addressed to increase pathways to the doctorate to support our nation’s economic and national security goals. This paper describes a collective effort of institutions with high enrollments of Hispanic students that have built partnerships among non-doctoral-granting and doctoral-granting institutions to increase representation of Hispanics in graduate studies. Led by NSF’s Eddie Bernice Johnson Computing Alliance of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (CAHSI), the collective employs evidence-based practices grounded in the Hispanic-servingness literature to address the root causes.

Abstract: This study examines the organizational behavior of departments in Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) with sustained success in graduating Latinx computer science bachelor’s degree recipients. I employ the conceptual framework of HSI servingness, built on a systematic review of literature on HSIs, to investigate the creation of opportunity structures to serve Latinx and minoritized students at the department level. The research for this piece is based on a multiple ethnographic case study of four computer science departments in the Computing Alliance of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (CAHSI). The data corpus included 103 interviews with multiple stakeholders and 69 observations, each of which was conducted on site at the departments. In the analysis, three findings emerged as especially distinctive organizational behaviors to advance minoritized students’ outcomes in computer science. The first was how departmental personnel used disaggregated institutional data in race-conscious and intersectionality-oriented ways to inform more inclusive departmental practices and to meet demands for external disciplinary accreditation. The second was how departmental personnel took collective responsibility to build career support for students. The third involved how personnel applied a talent development perspective to pedagogical approaches and to creating validating environments for Latinx and other minoritized students. This research extends scholarship on servingness in HSIs to both departmental organizational contexts and to computer science fields. It also offers organizational strategies to create more inclusive environments and promote equitable outcomes for minoritized students in science.

Abstract: In our prior work, a cluster analysis (n = 2,339) identified four groups of engineering undergraduates’ non-cognitive and affective (NCA) factors from a list of 28 dimensions such as belongingness, engineering identity, self-control, and perceptions of faculty caring. We found clusters of students that generally contained favorable student success characteristics (high belonging, high engineering identity, high motivation, and others), as well as those that were characterized by less favorable characteristics for student success (low belonging, low perception of faculty caring, and others). Higher education institutions have varying missions and profiles, and they serve different student populations. We hypothesize that as institutional characteristics are related to specific NCA (institutional characteristics may affect belongingness, stress support, perceptions of faculty caring, or other constructs from our NCA-based clusters), they may also be related to cluster membership. To test our hypothesis, we merged our dataset with institutional data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), engineering program enrollment data from the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Engineering Data Management System (EDMS), and financial data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The final data for this analysis consisted of n = 1,252 responses across 14 U.S. institutions. We used multinomial logistic regression to predict cluster membership as a function of both individual and institutional characteristics. We found that institutional characteristics correlate to cluster membership in important ways: students at large and/or and doctoral granting institutions have decreased odds of being in a generally positive cluster containing favorable student success characteristics, while enrollment at guaranteed tuition institutions increases these odds. These results elevate the role of institutional culture and its alignment to student characteristics as a key component of successful student outcomes. These results, when considered as a question of student-institution alignment, offer opportunities to rethink student academic and social support structures that encourage growth in specific NCA factors. In turn, this growth may support expanded engineering student success.