NSF Highlights

In the NSF-funded CalWomenTech project early indicators show that community colleges that proactively recruit women into technology programs will have a significant increase in the percentage of women students in a little over a year’s time. Of the four community colleges participating in the CalWomenTech Project’s first research group, the two sites that implemented project recruitment strategies within the recommended timelines had an increase in women in their targeted programs of 10%-15% (n=55, n=36). In addition, a college that was able to complete one of the four strategies before the fall semester (posters) had a smaller increase of 5% (n=25), while the college that did not implement any of the strategies saw a decrease of -3% (n=31). A second group of four community colleges was added later in the project; the 6 to 9 months prior to fall enrollment was not enough lead time to implement the major recruitment strategies.

The recruitment strategies were:

Printing and distributing posters featuring role models in the college’s occupational area who were program graduates.
Creating a website section devoted to recruiting women into the college’s targeted program with role model, program, and labor market information and links to women in technology associations.
Printing and distributing tear-off flyers with program contact information and a link to the website.
Printing and distributing a tri-fold brochure highlighting role model graduates, and program and labor market information.

The retention strategies implemented by the colleges in the CalWomenTech Project led to a significant net increase in the completion rates of not only females, but also males, in several of the colleges. In fact the two colleges that saw the largest increases in female completion rates, from 81% to 100% (n=24) and from 57% to 100% (n=5), both saw a 20% increase in male retention. Overall, the aggregate baseline retention rates were 76% for women and 77% for men across all eight colleges. Aggregate retention rates have improved and now the female retention rates have surpassed the males 81% to 79%. All retention strategies were implemented in the classroom right away and did not require significant lead time, so their impacts could be seen in only six to eight months.

The retention strategies that were implemented in the colleges with the biggest leaps in retention included:

On campus faculty trainings focusing on teaching to female learning styles and integrating female students into the classroom.
Revising the program’s curriculum to be more female friendly. Some changes included using more contextual examples that appeal to women, more collaborative projects and ensuring female students spent equal time using the equipment in the labs.

The targeted program’s occupational areas are:

Automotive Technology (including Hybrid-Alternative Fuel Technology)
3-D Animation and Video Game Art
Geographic Information Systems Technology
Computer Networking and Information Technology (including Digital Home Integration Technology)
Electronics
Facilities Maintenance Technology
Welding
Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration

A key component of this extension services grant is to bring best practices to both these eight community colleges and the larger education community. Some of the best practices resources available on the project site include:

Proven Practices Library - The Proven Practices Library brings educators a research-based road map for recruiting and retaining women and girls in the technology classroom by offering journal articles, best-practice case studies, and other classroom resources. The library currently has 88 articles and is divided into twelve program areas: Bridge Courses, Curriculum, Informal Learning, Learning Style, Literature Review, Problem Solving Recruitment, Retention, Spatial Reasoning, Student Support, Women and Games, and Women and Math. (http://www.iwitts.com/html/calwomentech_digitallibrary.html)
Webinars and Podcasts Trainings – The CalWomenTech Project hosts free webinars with national experts focused on helping educators recruit and retain women to the technology classroom and podcasts for female technology students. Previous webinars include “Teaching Spatial Reasoning to Improve Retention of Women in Technology” with Sheryl Sorby and a podcast on “Time Management Tips for Women in Technology.” (http://www.iwitts.com/html/CWTSite_etraining.html)
Learning Library - The CalWomenTech Learning Library provides a list of 42 off the shelf tools to help students develop building block skills in technology, such as tool ID videos and spatial reasoning software. These tools target skills females often have less experience with. (http://www.iwitts.com/html/cwtlibrary_home.html)

Principal Investigator
Donna Milgram, Institute for Women in Trades, Technology and Science
Co- Principal Investigator
Carmen Lamha, City College of San Francisco