| NSF Org: |
DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | May 25, 2021 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | April 14, 2025 |
| Award Number: | 2111435 |
| Award Instrument: | Continuing Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Jennifer Lewis
jenlewis@nsf.gov (703)292-7340 DUE Division Of Undergraduate Education EDU Directorate for STEM Education |
| Start Date: | June 15, 2021 |
| End Date: | May 31, 2026 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $1,188,256.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $1,188,256.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2023 = $406,235.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
801 UNIVERSITY BLVD TUSCALOOSA AL US 35401 (205)348-5152 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
248 Kirkbride Lane Tuscaloosa AL US 35404-0001 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | IUSE |
| Primary Program Source: |
04002324DB NSF STEM Education |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.076 |
ABSTRACT
This project aims to serve the national interest by improving the supply of well-prepared computer science professionals capable of addressing the needs of American employers in the public and private sectors. This project intends to build a national partnership between employers and academia to help identify and mitigate gaps between the competencies of computing graduates and the expectations of potential employers. The project will survey computer science educators and practitioners to develop a model that defines the competencies expected by potential employers. The project team then plans to test the model at three institutions of higher education in Alabama ? the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Tuskegee University, and Shelton State Community College. Finally, the project team intends to develop tools and methods for institutions to identify and implement competency-based educational approaches for computer science across the nation.
The project plans to use three interconnected strands of evidence-based activities to institute transformational change in the involved communities. First, a national strand will engage U.S. faculty in developing competency-based curricula informed by industry practitioner feedback. Second, a local pilot strand intends to create transformative curricular change based on student competencies using an evidence-based change model in the three Alabama institutions. Sociologists and computing faculty on the team will help to understand, predict, and reduce barriers to competency-based employment of computing graduates from marginalized communities in the heart of the impoverished Alabama Black Belt. The unique perspective relative to diversity, equity, and inclusion needs should serve as a model for other computing departments. The third strand will develop competency-based surveys for practitioners and academics to identify and refine specific competencies that are hoped to drive continual curricular change. Outcomes, including the change process, national workshops, and experiences from the local process will help with transferability in the computing education community. In addition to informing curricula, the project will provide valuable data for educational researchers to help close the gap between employers and higher education. Finally, as the competency approach to curricular design is relatively new in computing and engineering disciplines, lessons from this project will have the potential to transform curricular review and design in other STEM disciplines. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Institutional and Community Transformation track, the program supports efforts to transform and improve STEM education across institutions of higher education and disciplinary communities.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Please report errors in award information by writing to: awardsearch@nsf.gov.
