IWERC director Meg Bates discusses the group’s study on CS college education.
Student voices point to solutions in new IWERC report series on the state of computer science education in Illinois and the equity gaps in enrollment and graduation trends
CHICAGO (Sept. 26, 2024) — The Illinois Workforce & Education Research Collaborative, part of the University of Illinois System’s Discovery Partners Institute, released three reports on computer science and tech education in Illinois postsecondary institutions. This research into computer science education was funded by a $1 million grant from an anonymous donor.
Enrollment and completion trends in college computer science programs over a decade
Two of the reports in this release analyze equity in enrollment and completion in all computer science and tech programs at two-year and four-year institutions in the state. Data analyzed in these reports cover a 10-year period — academic years 2012-13 through 2022-23 — and were publicly available from the Illinois Board of Higher Education.
The reports show enrollment in four-year computer science programs has nearly doubled in the last decade. However, enrollment in computer science has declined at two-year institutions during that same period. Notably, Black and Latino students are better represented in computer science programs at two-year institutions than at four-year institutions, pointing to a place of improvement for institutions.
An equity analysis of this data shows that there are no four-year institutions in the state enrolling female students into computer science at the same rate as they are enrolled in their respective undergraduate student bodies. However, there are several two-year institutions at or approaching representative equity for female students.
“While many institutions are not recruiting some student groups into computer science as they are in other degree programs on campus, overall, the students who do enroll in computer science are successfully matriculating through to a degree,” said Stephanie Werner, project director of computer science education research at IWERC and a co-author of the reports. Many two-year and four-year institutions in the state of varying sizes and types are successfully graduating female, Black and Latino students at equitable rates as they are enrolling into computer science.
Student perspectives on supports and barriers in college computer science programs
The third report released analyzes data from a survey of 940 Illinois college students in computer science programs from 35 partnering two-year and four-year colleges and universities. The findings of this report focus on the supports that helped students succeed in their programs and the barriers they had to overcome to succeed.
The report found that almost half of all students indicated that prior exposure to computer science in high school was pivotal to student success. Prior exposure provided students with foundational knowledge of content as well as confidence in their abilities.
Other major supports included social capital and networks. Students indicated that family and friends in the field, faculty mentoring and being part of study groups increased their belonging in the field and offered motivation and encouragement, as well as academic and professional guidance.
The report also highlights the barriers that hindered student success. While there were universal barriers to students such as complexity of course content and issues on teaching and advising, other barriers garnered more attention from students with historically marginalized identities. Barriers such as lack of inclusivity within the field, negative interactions with the computer science community and low representation of similar backgrounds among their peers were disproportionately reported by female, Black, Latino, low-income and first-generation students.
“These barriers remind us of long-standing structural inequities that continue to affect the educational opportunities and experiences of these students,” said Raisa Blazquez, a co-author of the report.
“The goal of these reports is to support Illinois institutions in building a more diverse and inclusive tech ecosystem,” said Meg Bates, director of IWERC. “We hope postsecondary institutions in Illinois can use this research to inform and continue their work of building such a community.” Additional reports from this dataset will follow later this year on student identity, belonging and pathways to a computer science degree.
The full reports are available here. Follow IWERC for updates on all future reports on computer science education.
For additional report findings, contact Stephanie Werner, research specialist, Illinois Workforce & Education Research Collaborative, at swerne3@uillinois.edu.
PTTL’s Kay Monelle moderated a panel with UIC student Doriyon Ward, Ayoka Noelle Samuels of City Colleges, and Jerry Schnepp of Roosevelt University to consider the study’s findings.