CS2013-final-report

computer science, especially when customized to local employer needs, provides two benefits.
First, it serves students by giving them information regarding career options they may not have
considered. Second, it serves the department by helping to attract more students (potentially
from a broader variety of backgrounds) into computer science courses. Offering a healthy
computer science program over time requires maintaining a commitment to attracting students to
the field regardless of current enrollment trends (which have ebbed and flowed quite widely in
recent decades).
It is important to note also that many students still feel that studying computer science is equated
with working as a “programmer,” which in turn raises negative and incorrect stereotypes of
isolated and rote work. At the same time, some students believe that if they do not already have
significant prior programming experience, they will not be competitive in pursuing a degree in
computer science. We strongly encourage departments to challenge both these perceptions.
Extra-curricular activities aimed at showcasing potential career paths opened by a degree in
computer science (for example, by inviting alumni to talk to current students) can help to show
both that there are many possibilities beyond “being a programmer” as well as that software
development is a significantly creative and collaborative process. In these efforts, an accessible
curriculum with multiple entry points, allowing students with or without prior experience to
smoothly transfer into a computer science degree program, is an important desideratum.
Broadening Participation
There is no doubt that there is a tremendous demand for students with computing skills. Indeed,
vast shortfalls in information technology workers in the coming decade have been predicted [3].
As a result, there is a pressing need to broaden participation in the study of computer science and
attract the full range of talent to the field, regardless of ethnicity, gender, or economic status.
Institutions should make efforts to bring a wide range of students into the computer science
pipeline and provide support structures to help all students successfully complete their programs.
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