Crossing the Bridge to STEM: Retaining Women Students in an Online CS Conversion Program

The necessity for a steady STEM workforce has prompted academia to develop strategies to encourage people of diverse backgrounds to enter the STEM fields. A bridge program, also known as a conversion program, offers alternative pathways for individuals who have no prior computing education to receive the education that can help in developing their careers or acquiring a graduate-level degree in the computer science fields. This mixed-methods study consisted of two parts. First, an online post-baccalaureate bridge program was evaluated, with a focus on students' performance. Factors for analysis included gender, prior major, and the length of the program, any or all of which might play a role in students' unsuccessful attempts to complete the program. The results indicated that female students have a higher tendency to not complete the program. However, female students who completed the program and enrolled in a graduate school have as much potential to do well in the MS program as their male cohorts do. The second part of the study comprised a survey of students who completed or did not complete the program and interviews with women students. Grounded in self-determination theory (SDT), the results showed that strategies are needed to enhance women students' perceived competence and relatedness in the program.