Networking and Computing: Creating Opportunities for Low Income Students to Succeed in Computing Careers

With the national need for computer science, computer engineering, and robotics professionals soaring, computer science depts. are struggling to attract, and graduate students from low-income groups. In particular, women, Native Americans, and other ethnic minorities who are highly represented among low-income students, are not entering computer science. Thus, they are not available to provide the variety of perspectives needed for effective problem solving in computer science domains. To respond to this need, we designed a Track 1 project, Networking and Computing (NAC), with the overall objective of enabling low-income academically talented Univ. of Minnesota Duluth computer science students to attain a 4-year baccalaureate degree and enter into a computer science job or graduate program within 1 year of graduation. Mechanisms to attain this goal are to increase students' sense of belonging, professional identity, and networking capabilities. Our Longer-Term Outcomes are to establish a model of student support that is effective and transferrable to other STEM programs, and substantially increase the number of low-income students who enter the computer science field.