Andrew Watkins
Case Western Reserve University, OH·Education Research
Demand for computing professionals in the United States keeps growing. Yet women and students from historically underrepresented groups remain scarce in computing majors compared with the general population.
- Fields
Education Research
Computer Science
- Topics
computer science education
computing education
transfer students
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jun 2028
What they work on
- Develop a shared curriculum for the first two years of computer science across 15 Ohio colleges, and use it to create formal articulation agreements so community college credits transfer cleanly.
- Increase the number of students, especially women, who transfer from two-year to four-year institutions and complete a computer science bachelor's degree within two years of transfer.
- Test whether a clear academic pathway combined with a familiar social and professional network, including ACM-W chapters for women in computing, increases women's completion of computing degrees across Ohio.
- Identify which consortium activities, such as advisor training, industry internships and NCWIT-based recruitment, women pursuing computing degrees perceive as most impactful.
More about the research
Many students begin at two-year community colleges, and an unclear route to a four-year degree can slow their progress. Smoother paths into computer science degrees could help meet workforce needs and open well-paying careers to more students.
Why it matters
Women and transfer students in Ohio who want computer science careers could gain clearer, faster routes from community college to a bachelor's degree, along with internships and peer networks. Evidence on which supports matter most to women could guide other colleges designing transfer pathways. Employers would gain more graduates for high-paying computing jobs.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Carla Brodley
Northeastern University, MA·Education Research
Test whether a placement assessment plus one-credit supplemental courses can reduce credit loss for community college transfer students entering computer science majors, in a pilot at three universities.
Narges Norouzi
University of California-Berkeley, CA·Education Research
Model students' problem-solving strategies and algorithmic thinking in computer science courses by integrating fine-grained process data to trace competencies across levels of abstraction.
Jane Lehr
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo, CA·Education Research
Test whether scholarship program activities grow transfer students' social networks, resilience, confidence and sense of belonging, using social network analysis, surveys and qualitative interviews.
The school
Case Western Reserve University: 34 labs on PI Pages, $643M a year on research, 213 research doctorates a year.
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