Florida-IT Graduation Attainment Pathways (Flit-GAP)

Project Overview:

The S-STEM Track 3 Flit-GAP (Florida IT Graduation Attainment Pathways) project is a collaborative effort among Florida International University (FIU), University of Central Florida (UCF) and University of South Florida (USF) to recruit, retain, and guide to success (graduate and help find a professional pathway) academically talented, financially challenged students in the computing disciplines.Building on the S-STEM Florida IT Pathways to Success (Flit-Path), project activities include tutoring for foundation courses; specialized academic advising; faculty, industry, and peer mentoring; professional pathway experiences (research, internship, entrepreneurship) to each scholar; and a hybrid (physical-virtual) learning community that spans the three institutions.The education research team is conducting interviews, observations, and surveys to help understand the student participants' experiences and their perceptions of future careers.

Impact:

 The program has enrolled multiple cohorts of students and has supported students continuing into graduate education. As researchers, we are continuing to investigate the impact of the programming on the participants' pathways.The research team has produced the following publications:Bond-Trittipo, B., Kumar, N., Secules, S., Solis, T. (2022). Future Career Pathway Perceptions of Lower-Income Computing Students Through the Lens of Capital Exchange. Paper presented at the 2022 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition. Minneapolis, MN.Kumar, N., Secules, S., Bond-Trittipo, B., Kali, M., Weiss, M., Georgiopoulos, M., Christensen, K., Solis, T., Sullivan, J., Estacio, A. (2023). Factors Affecting the Future Career Pathway Decisions of Lower-Income Computing Students. Paper presented at the 2023 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition. Baltimore, MDKumar, N., Secules, S. (2023). The Danger of a Single Story: A Critical and Holistic Account of Rachel’s Experience in Computing for Broadening Participation. Paper presented at the 2023 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition. Baltimore, MD

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