From Awareness to Application: Strengthening Recruitment for NSF S-STEM Scholarships in Computer Science

Recruiting academically strong but financially disadvantaged students into NSF S-STEM scholarship programs remains a persistent challenge in computer science (CS) education.This paper presents the design and initial implementation of a suite of targeted recruitment strategies for our NSF S-STEM project (Award # 2424803).Our recruitment strategy leverages multiple channels, including departmental communications, faculty referrals, digital campaigns, presentations in gateway courses, and collaborations with the scholarship department.Information sessions and early outreach efforts were employed to increase awareness and reduce perceived barriers to applying.Data from our recruitment includes applicant demographics, academic performance, financial aid profiles, recruitment source tracking, and survey responses on students' awareness and decision-making processes.This data provides a foundation for evaluating the reach and effectiveness of various recruitment strategies and identifying factors that influence student application decisions.Quantitative and qualitative research approaches are employed to examine the implementation and outcomes of proactive recruitment strategies.Our preliminary analysis indicates that direct information sessions and departmental emails are effective recruitment strategies, accounting for a large portion of eligible applications.Our findings emphasize the importance of early communication about the program, clearly defined eligibility criteria, and a streamlined application process.Future work will involve analysis of recruitment channel effectiveness, longitudinal tracking of applicant outcomes, and refinement of messaging strategies.By sharing ongoing progress and lessons learned from our project, this paper contributes evidence-based insights into recruitment practices and offers strategies that can be adapted by other institutions implementing NSF S-STEM programs.