Program Curriculum & Supports

Program curriculum and supports can be one of the more challenging areas to address, in part because it generally requires substantial oversight, be it from a department-wide re-envisioning of the curriculum, getting recommendations from a curriculum committee, or attaining approval from upper level administrators or an institutional-level governing body. And oftentimes, people become entrenched in a curriculum because ”that’s how things have always been done.” Still, considering the impact of your program curriculum on student recruitment and retention, is important.

Continue on to learn more about specific, actionable strategies, by expanding each strategy for additional information.

Students often enter computing programs with a range of preparation and prior computing experience, and programs may need to provide courses or co-curricular opportunities to ensure that all students learn the fundamental skills needed to succeed in the program. Put practices in place to address this challenge.

Programs can facilitate students’ timely degree completion by implementing curricula and program features that support students of all backgrounds and experience levels. Learn more about timely degree progression.

Co-curricular activities such as research experiences, service learning courses, internships, and capstones provide opportunities for students to apply concepts learned in courses, strengthen computing identity, and gain skills for employment or graduate studies, while e-portfolios enable students to showcase and reflect on their work. It’s important to make sure that all students access these experiences by incorporating them into the program curriculum.

Students are often unaware of the intricacies of course requirements and sequencing, thus timely advising is crucial to help them to make informed decisions, manage their workload, and maximize their educational opportunities. Annual (or more frequent) check-ins provide opportunities to identify and head off issues that may stall students’ progress or prevent them from completing their degree on time. Finally, advising that scaffolds autonomy and allows students to track their own progress in the program helps students take responsibility for long-term planning of their degree path and their career.

Actively monitoring student performance and connecting students with appropriate services or interventions can help avoid more serious consequences, like failing a course or withdrawing from the program. Institution or program-wide early alert systems help by providing structure for the timing, criteria, and procedures for reporting and intervening. Programs can help by encouraging faculty to act and by ensuring that they are knowledgeable about support services available to students. Critically, programs must ensure that early alerts lead to consistent follow-up and intervention.

Students serving in support roles, such as teaching assistants, tutors, and peer mentors, are an important point of contact for students in your program. This is especially true if the number of students is increasing or large class sizes are common, thus limiting faculty’s ability to connect individually with students. Teaching assistants and tutors not only help students learn the material, but also serve as role models and mentors.

Unfortunately, students in support roles can also negatively impact students if they lack effective teaching or mentoring skills, display or reinforce stereotypes about computing, or lack preparation for working with a diverse range of students. Students serving in this support roles should be properly selected and trained.

Learn more about evidence-based strategies for other focus areas of the NCWIT Undergraduate System Model or find relevant resources by selecting the appropriate focus area in the curated resources collection section.