Abstract:

Introduction:
Our project was created to increase the academic resiliency of Computer Science (CS) and Software Engineering (SE) students who have academic potential and high financial need by helping them build social capital and professional efficacy. We were awarded a five-year National Science Foundation grant to select cohorts of low-income Computer Science and Software Engineering students for scholarships, provide academic coaching, and deliver academic and career readiness programming. The students in our program were primarily from underrepresented groups (e.g., racial minority). While our university’s retention rate of CS and SE majors is 56%, we retained 84% of our program participants. A major factor in this success is the use of academic coaching.

Academic coaching:
Out of the 68 participants in our program, 54 met with our academic coach on a regular basis. Academic coaching focuses on learning the foundational skills (academic, personal, social, cognitive) necessary to be successful in college (Alzen et al., 2021; Capstick et al., 2019). For this paper, we present experiences of program participants, and how academic coaching addressed these challenges.

Sample & method:
The academic coach conducted one-on-one meetings, text and email exchanges, and workshops. Of 54 participants, 34 were men and 18 were women; 28 were Latino, 9 Asian (majority Southeast Asian) or Pacific Islander, 3 black, 5 white, and 3 did not disclose. All participants were very low income, which was a requirement of our program. Academic Coach kept detailed notes for each student throughout the semesters in the program, through graduation, and in their early career stages. Notes were analyzed by academic coach to detect themes that included challenges, transformation, and resiliency (e.g., retention, graduation, “still pushing through”). We present qualitative data based on case study methodology to illuminate the impact of academic coaching on students’ experiences.

Findings:
We found that participants struggled with imposter syndrome, mental health challenges, financial stress, struggles with time management, and – for women – issues related to gender (e.g., isolation in the classroom, micro-aggressions, familial pressures). Some highlights of effective academic coaching that will be discussed include helping:
(a) students develop growth mindset,
(b) seek resources on and off campus,
(c) build confidence, and
(d) communicate effectively with faculty and family members.

Conclusion:
The case studies presented in this paper of the students’ challenges and academic coaching approaches led to successful retainment of low-income computer science and software engineering students. Focus on student self-efficacy and culturally validating strategies were essential to building strong and sustained relationships between student and academic coach and served to support the students’ long-term success as Computer Science and Software Engineering majors, in their early careers.

Keywords:

Computer science, advising, coaching, equity, diversity, retention, gender and computing.