NCWIT Newsletter — August 2010

The Emerging Scholars Program (ESP) at Columbia University is a peer-led workshop designed to encourage talented students to stay in the CS major after introductory classes. Following the Peer-Led Team Learning teaching paradigm, a student leads the workshops with one or more problems from the CS field — from robotics to natural language processing. Students work as a group to analyze the problems and brainstorm solutions.

Columbia University is a NCWIT Academic Alliance (AA) member and a Round 3 Seed Fund Recipient.

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NCWIT Academic Alliance Seed Fund: Apply Now for Round 7!

The NCWIT Academic Alliance Seed Fund awards members of NCWIT’s Academic Alliance (AA) with start-up funds (up to $10,000 per project) to develop and implement initiatives for recruiting and retaining women in computing and information technology. To-date, 19 AA member organizations have received a total of more than $265,000 over the first six rounds. We thank Microsoft Research for its support for the Seed Fund.

Submit proposals for Round 7 by October 18, 2010! To apply: Become a NCWIT AA member Submit a 3-page proposal focused on recruiting women or under-represented populations into computing Submit a letter of support from your department chair or dean Review the complete proposal submission guidelines at www.ncwit.org/seedfund.

The NCWIT Academic Alliance is a growing community of more than 120 post-secondary institutions seeing to increase the recruitment and retention of women within their departments. Academic Alliance members receive evaluation and assessment assistance, access to leading-edge best practices, and support for acting as change agents in their home institutions. Project teams currently focus on the following areas: New Member Recruitment and Engagement, Sharing Practices, Webinar Series, REU Toolkit, and the Seed Fund. To find out more about the Academic Alliance, including how to join, visit us here.

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NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing: Get Involved This Fall

The NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing recognizes the computing aspirations of young women and introduces them to leadership opportunities in the field. By generating visibility for these young women in their local communities, the Award encourages their continued interest in computing while attracting the attention and support of educational and corporate organizations.

Applications for the NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing open on September 13, 2010! All U.S. high-school young women in grades 9-12 are eligible to apply for the National Award or a local Affiliate Award. Visit www.ncwit.org/award for more information. NCWIT members are invited to engage with the Affiliate Award programs as volunteers, sponsors, and committee members. Visit http://ncwit.org/work.awards.aspiration.find.html to connect with an Affiliate Award. The NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing is sponsored by NCWIT Investment Partner Bank of America at the national level and by NCWIT Strategic Partner Microsoft at the local level, with additional support from the Motorola Foundation and Google. RETURN TO TOP OF NEWSLETTER

Find the Right NCWIT Resource for You

NCWIT resources are researched, effective, and FREE. Find the right NCWIT tool for recruitment and retention. Here are some examples of recent and relevant resources for encouraging students to choose computer science:
	America’s Got Talent but Not Enough Is Going into Computer Science describes the rationale for and a description of CS Principles, a new Advanced Placement computing course in development by NSF and the College Board, designed to be engaging, inspiring and rigorous. NCWIT Promising Practice: Peer-Led Team Learning uses social science research as a foundation for advice, case studies, and activities proven to attract, retain, and advance students in IT using collaborative learning. View all Practices at www.ncwit.org/practices.
Pair Programming-in-a-Box provides all the components needed to successfully use pair programming methods in courses. View all Boxes at www.ncwit.org/boxes.

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New NCWIT Alliance Members

NCWIT’s Alliances bring to bear the experience of over 200 organizations nationwide. Together they comprise the learning community that contributes and pilots promising practices, guides NCWIT’s research and strategy, convenes at NCWIT’s annual summit, and undertakes institutional change.

New members include:

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* NCWIT (2010). America’s Got Talent but Not Enough Is Going into Computer Science.