Curricular Revisions
- CS1 (CS111) and CS2 (CS112) revisions are underway
- CS3 (CS205) revision have begun
Transparent well defined course structure with the same look and feel across courses
Relevant and engaging assignments
CS1 allows students to self-select into a scarlet section that provides more challenge to experienced programmers or a grey section that shelters non experienced students with an intimidation-free classroom
Co-Curricular Programming
Academic Support
The tutoring system provides around 80 hours of course support to CS1 and CS2 students. On Fall 21 we had a majority of female tutors (17 of 18 are female, “you can’t be what you can’t see”) that were well-utilized throughout the fall semester by 57 out of 412 women (14%) enrolled in both courses.
Co-Curricular Programming
Academic Support (continued)
NEW course [piloting Spring 2022] to equip students with no computer experience the computer skills needed for the introductory CS courses
Grace Hopper Conference: in addition to Douglass the CS department is increasing the number of students sent to Grace Hopper Conference
“[Grace Hopper] is how I got in contact with my internship company. So I told my friends to do it. And one of them got sponsored through Rutgers which made a substantial difference for her. Physically getting people into situations where they're celebrated for being a woman in technology makes the difference.” Senior Woman in CS
Co-Curricular Programming
Building Student Community
“What made me most comfortable? I came to college with no programming experience. So that was just another level of intimidation. I was scared to face coming into college. But I was in this Living Learning Community for women in CS. So, having that group of girls and just being exposed to that, versus that first day I remember walking into the lecture halls and 90% men. Already I was terrified. Being able to fall back on other girls in CS. And Professor Centeno. She was my first ever CS professor and seeing her and having such a warm personality, while also being so intelligent, was something so inspiring to me. So that kind of kept me going as well.”
Piloting academic mentors in Spring 2022.
Coffee & croissant with CS professors will restart as part of the academic mentors program.
Empowering women centric student groups – The Women in Computer Science (WiCS) club is available for any woman CS student who wishes to join. The club offers social supports, opportunities to do collaborative projects (such as the HackHERS Hackathon), opportunities for jobs and networking, connections to internships, academic guidance, and opportunities for leadership.
“I'm really an active member... since the beginning of my sophomore year. And since [the club has] really helped me learn more-- that it's so vast and there's so much knowledge out there that I can grab. That club also helped me with opportunities for jobs, looking for internships, and in how to network, how to talk to people. It helps in what electives to choose, everybody sharing their experiences, which professor would be the best for this elective. I interacted with freshmen and sophomores who had done more work than I could ever imagine doing [that early on]. They have their own portfolio website. They have these big projects that they've done together. They go to hackathons. The group I used to hang out with [before WICS] had not achieved such high-level things. I was always a part of that club and their GroupMe chat but I really never paid attention to the until I started following them on Instagram last year in the summer. EBoard members took over and each posted for one week of stories of their daily life, what do they do. All these girls were just doing so much every week- learning so much, using their time. I wanted to grow and to learn and be better not just in computer science but in so many different ways-- going out for a run, walking, fitness, networking. A lot of things really inspired me to be an active part of the club in the GroupMe chat and everything. I think all that has been really helpful in my CS career as a woman. Now I'm a part of it trying to give back - answering all the questions on GroupMe and trying to go to events. It's definitely good if we promote it. Everyone has the potential.”
“I didn't really feel strong connection to anyone in my classes. I just felt a little alone. And there's just such a noticeable drop in the number of women between CS1 and data structures where you're like, ‘What am I signing up for? I don’t think I want to do this anymore.’ But then I did HackHERS s. I can actually build things that I can see and touch and interact with. That was a very defining moment in my career, and I was like, ‘Okay, I’m going to stick with this’. And that saved me- completely saved my career path.”
High School Outreach
High School Ambassador Program – launched Spring 2022 – The program gives high schoolers who identify with underrepresented minority groups the opportunity to experience college culture and learn about the CS program at Rutgers.
“I liked the Intro to CS with Prof. Sorensen, it was really informative and helped clear up a lot of questions I had about the CS major”
“Playing with the Finches/Musical chairs.”
“Mentor and mentee talk."
“Robot Dance programming and presentation with Prof. Sorense”
RiseUp4CS – launched Spring 2022 – This is a mentoring/tutoring program that helps female underrepresented (African American, LatinX, Hispanic, Native American) high school students succeed in Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles (AP CSP) and Advanced Placement Computer Science A (AP CSA) courses/exams. It offers free help sessions led by Rutgers undergraduate students in CS.