Community College Pathways

The CS Starter Academy is designed to support community college students with an interest in computer science (CS), tech and tech-related fields, and helps mitigate the barriers students face when transferring to a 4-year university, and eventually entering CS and tech-related fields. The CS Starter Academy offers personal development opportunities intended to

• increase students’ knowledge of Computer Science
• illuminate the Computer Science pathway to Illinois universities
• offer exposure to the Chicago tech community
• impact students’ sense of belonging in CS and tech

The CS Starter Academy offers continuous programming for a cohort of City College students, as well as discrete offerings for a broader number of students, and incorporates the existing summer Digital Bridge summer series currently offered to City Colleges of Chicago students, in partnership with City Colleges and World Business Chicago.

What are the goals of the CS Starter Academy?

The CS Starter Academy offers continuous programming for a cohort of students, as well as discrete offerings for larger numbers of students. Specifically, the goals of the Academy aim to:

1. Increase community college students’ understanding of the diverse tech sectors in the Chicago tech community, the variety of jobs in tech, and the strategies needed to build connections and a sense of belonging in CS.
2. Introduce community college students to the university setting to increase their sense of belonging to and interest in the four-year college community.
3. Increase students’ self-efficacy through activities that encourage them to envision themselves in a CS major and career.
4. Clarify and promote the CS pathway from community college to four-year institution.
5. Provide support services and resource materials to clarify the complexities of computer science transfer including credit transfer, financial aid, and academic advising.

How do I apply to the program?

Students can apply to the program by completing the application at this link: https://go.uillinois.edu/CSSAcademy-App  or by pointing their camera at this QR Code:

Applications will be accepted until September 8, 2023.

Who is the Audience?

The CS Starter Academy is designed for community college students with an interest in Computer Science/tech and on a 4-year pathway. Students may begin participating in components of the Academy as early as the summer before they enter community college in either continuous programming as a supportive cohort or in discrete programming through their first year of community college. Participants may include:

• 1^st year CC Students: CPS and other local high school graduates beginning community college in the fall, interested in CS, and on a 4-year pathway.
• 2^nd year CC Students: Rising sophomores at City Colleges of Chicago and local community colleges interested in CS and on a 4-year pathway.
• Past and current students participating in the Digital Bridge and Digital Scholars program will be invited to apply to the CS Starter Academy cohort.

Participation Incentive

Students participating in the CS Starter Academy cohort (continuous programming) have an opportunity to earn a stipend for consistent, committed participation throughout the academic year to offset employment opportunities they will forgo by participating in the cohort.

Why do we need programs like the CS Starter Academy? 

The U.S. Government Accountability Office shared in its most recent analysis of community college transferability found that students who transfer from community colleges to four-year public universities lose more than one in five of the credits they’ve already earned and paid for, increasing time to degree, and decreasing the probability of earning the degree. Repeating courses directly impacts a student’s fiscal bottom line from reductions in financial aid to additional cost of books and materials to increased workload to cover additional tuition costs. Additionally, transfer is complex! This complexity may impact community college students’ matriculation to a 4-year school.

These barriers are primarily NON-ACADEMIC in nature, and tend to affect historically excluded populations the most, which in turn contribute to the already minimal representation of Black, Latinx and female computer science four-year graduates.