CUE-P: Establishing Servingness in Computing through Baskin Engineering Excellence Scholars Program

The nation’s technology leadership depends on effectively training the computing workforce. Many students begin their education at community colleges before transferring to four-year universities to complete degrees in computing. These transfer students bring talent and perspective but often face barriers in navigating academic requirements, accessing support systems, and preparing for careers. This project examines how institutions can better serve transfer students in computing by strengthening advising, tutoring, orientation, faculty engagement, peer communities, research opportunities, and professional development. This project aims to increase graduation rates, support entry into graduate study, and improve career placement. Findings will provide colleges and universities across the country with evidence-based practices to help more students succeed in computing fields critical to national competitiveness, including emerging areas such as artificial intelligence and data science. This award supports a collaboration between the University of California and partnering community colleges to evaluate and enhance institutional effectiveness in serving computing transfer students. The project applies and refines a “servingness framework” to assess how institutional structures contribute to student persistence, degree completion, and post-graduation outcomes. Research activities include: (1) identifying institutional barriers to transfer student success, (2) implementing strategies that promote adoption of best practices at four-year institutions, and (3) evaluating the effectiveness of these practices in advancing student outcomes. Project deliverables will include replicable models, institutional action plans, and a theory of action that links policy, instruction, and student support to measurable gains in transfer student success. The work will provide a scalable foundation for strengthening computing transfer pathways nationwide. 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.