This Birds-of-a-Feather (BOF) session provides a space for LGBTQ+ educators, researchers, students, and allies to connect, share, and collaborate. It builds upon the strong foundation of previous successful BOFs focused on cultivating and sustaining the LGBTQ+ community (Kivuva et al., 2025) and the broad interest shown in panels on advancing LGBTQIA+ voices (DuBow et al., 2024). Recognizing the diverse needs within our community, this session is built around four concurrent, facilitated breakout groups, allowing attendees to self-select into the conversation most relevant to them. The importance of affinity spaces for ''gender-based community building'' and fostering a sense of belonging is a key aspect of broadening participation (Swackhamer et al., 2022). The session will begin with a collective welcome and introduction to ground us in a shared sense of community before self-selecting into roundtables. The four roundtable themes are: (1) An affinity space for sharing personal experiences from the past year; (2) Supporting LGBTQ+ students and building departmental community; (3) Advancing LGBTQ+-focused research in CS education; and (4) Professional development focused on grant writing and career advancement. This unique structure ensures that, whether attendees are seeking peer support, pedagogical strategies, research collaboration, or career mentorship, they will find a dedicated space. Participants will leave with new connections and targeted, actionable insights to support their personal and professional lives.

Broadening participation in computing (BPC) has been a key focus of the National Science Foundation (NSF) for over two decades. Its aim is to support students and faculty from historically underrepresented groups, including women, people with disabilities, and certain racial and ethnic groups. Within these communities, the diverse range of gender and sexual identities remains overlooked in computing education research (CER). To address this invisibility, this panel will discuss the benefits of integrating LGBTQIA+ perspectives. The moderator will provide context, define relevant terms, and set ground rules for discussion. The panelists will offer insights from a variety of perspectives, including: a discussion of the policy landscape impacting LGBTQIA+ students and the importance of incorporating their perspectives as researchers and participants; the erasure of queer history in computer science and advocate for LGBTQIA+ inclusion, considering the humanitarian calling for the field and CS educators in our tech-driven world; the current resistance to supporting LGBTQIA+ scholarship in computing, advocating for an inclusive approach; and finally, the experiences of marginalized individuals in CS education and ways to support them, emphasizing inclusivity through storytelling and personal narratives. The panel aims to increase visibility, understanding, and collaboration between the computing education research community and LGBTQIA+ individuals. By acknowledging and integrating diverse perspectives, we can begin to create a more inclusive, equitable computing landscape.

A hands-on session for creating department-level plans to coordinate Broadening Participation in Computing (BPC) work. Departmental BPC Plans can help provide continuity and greater impact in BPC work and provide opportunities for more faculty to engage. The workshop is organized around a series of guided hands-on activities selecting and refining specific goals and activities with the final result being an outline of a full BPC plan. We also include some discussion of next steps and invite participants to join our active Slack workspace. Individuals interested in this workshop may also be interested in the follow-on workshop, Departmental BPC Plans 2 - Finalizing your Plan.

A hands-on session for finalizing a Departmental BPC Plans for verification on BPCnet.org. Verification of a Departmental BPC Plan enables faculty from an institution to use it as part of a grant submission to the National Science Foundation (NSF). This workshop is intended for people from the United States who have an existing Departmental BPC Plan or who will have created one in the workshop "Departmental BPC Plans 1." The workshop is organized around a series of guided hands-on activities to help participants complete a draft of a Departmental BPC Plan that can be Verified by BPCnet.org.

As the COVID-19 pandemic began to unfold, reports of the impact on lives, public and private industry, and education systems began to emerge. Almost simultaneously, the long-standing pandemic of racism in the U.S. was called to the forefront. The policies, structures, and members of the computing community are not immune from the impacts of these dual pandemics. While we do not yet know the long-term effects on the computing community, several efforts have emerged to advance our understanding through data collection and analysis. This panel present preliminary findings from surveys conducted by multiple organizations that explore the impact of these dual pandemics on conditions of work and education in the computing community, with a focus on the impacts on populations that have been historically underrepresented in computing. The panel invites discussion about promising (and not-so-promising) practices that have emerged in response to these pandemics and next steps to support the computing community.

Many SIGCSE attendees bring what they learn at SIGCSE back to their colleagues. In our well attended Special Sessions at SIGCSE in 2018 and 2019, attendees learned to respond to bias, which might be more difficult to bring back to their colleagues. This workshop will prepare attendees to lead interactive-sessions about responding to bias at their institution or at other conferences. The workshop will begin by modeling an interactive-session with updated materials from SIGCSE 2019. The workshop attendees will then explore facilitation strategies, ways of managing difficult conversations, and all attendee concerns. All attendees will receive printed copies of the game (csteachingtips.org/cards) to use at their institution or to local conferences.

While demand for computer science and information technology skills grows, the proportion of women entering computer science (CS) fields has declined. One critical juncture is the transition from high school to college. In our study, we examined factors predicting college persistence in computer science- and technology-related majors from data collected from female high school students. We fielded a survey that asked about students’ interest and confidence in computing as well as their intentions to learn programming, game design, or invent new technology. The survey also asked about perceived social support from friends and family for pursuing computing as well as experiences with computing, including the CS Advanced Placement (AP) exam, out-of-school time activities such as clubs, and internships. Multinomial regression was used to predict persistence in computing and tech majors in college. Programming during high school, taking the CS Advanced Placement exam, and participation in the Aspirations awards program were the best predictors of persistence three years after the high school survey in both CS and other technology-related majors. Participation in tech-related work, internships, or after-school programs was negatively associated with persistence, and involvement with computing sub-domains of game design and inventing new applications were not associated with persistence. Our results suggest that efforts to broaden participation in computing should emphasize education in computer programming.

The CISE directorate of the NSF is rolling out a requirement that all NSF grants include a Broadening Participation in Computing (BPC) plan (www.nsf.gov/cise/bpc/). This has the potential to drive important institutional change across CS departments in the U.S. This panel of BPC experts will offer their perspectives on meaningful BPC activities, talk about existing BPC programs, and share BPC-related resources that can help PIs and departments craft high-quality BPC plans. The panelists will offer contrasting perspectives on topics such as K-12 outreach, the allocation of department funds for BPC, faculty engagement, and first steps departments should take. Ultimately, NSF review panels made up of CISE community members will evaluate BPC plans, but we hope to spark productive conversations in the interest of fostering institutional change to achieve the social imperative of BPC.

Over half of community college (CC) students are non-white, and more than half of all Hispanic and Black undergraduates start at community college. Given that community colleges (CCs) enroll minorities and women in larger numbers than universities, it is imperative for both universities and CCs to engage in collaborative efforts to broaden the participation of diverse peoples in the computing field. Such efforts could include, but not be limited to, the creation of a national broadening participation in computing (BPC) alliance, structured transfer pathways from the CC to the university, the inclusion of a CS Principles course for college, and changing the commonly held perceptions of CCs. Brainstorming, and then building these strategic partnerships requires that experts from various backgrounds come together to share knowledge and experiences that contribute to a better understanding of the role such collaborative efforts could play with universities and CCs in BPC efforts in CS and information technology (IT).

While computer science (CS) jobs are growing rapidly, universities are not producing enough CS graduates to fill a projected shortage of almost a million workers by 2020 [1]. To add to this problem, there is a striking lack of diversity in the graduates of CS programs nationwide [2]. Of the degrees awarded, the overwhelming number - 80% - were awarded to males, while only 5% went to African-Americans, 18% to Asians, and 9% to Hispanics [3, 2]. Bringing community colleges (CCs) into the fold will enable us to confront this projected workforce shortage [2]. More importantly, it will enable us to diversify one of the most important fields of our time, computer and information sciences. Over half of community college (CC) students are non- white, and more than half of all Hispanic and Black undergraduates start at community college [4].

Many SIGCSE attendees are committed to inclusive teaching practices and creating an inclusive culture within their classrooms; yet, advocating for and sustaining these initiatives may require having difficult conversations with our colleagues and students. Understandably, many faculty are unsure about how to talk about sensitive topics such as race and gender with their colleagues and students. Research suggests that practicing some of these difficult conversations is essential to achieve the goals of inclusive teaching and culture. In our well attended session at SIGCSE in 2018, attendees learned strategies for responding to bias in academic settings. This was facilitated by playing two rounds of a research-based game developed by the NSF project CSTeachingTips.org (#1339404). This session will extend the work begun last year by helping attendees to replicate this activity with their colleagues. In this special session, attendees will first play the game to practice those strategies in small groups and will then receive facilitation tips and guidance for conducting this activity on their own. All attendees will receive a printed copy of the game and a link to download and print more copies.

Effective teaching requires understanding where students are coming from. Retaining students who have been historically underrepresented in computing requires the same, especially in introductory courses. This paper draws from surveys of students in introductory computing courses at seven geographically dispersed community colleges. We use K-means cluster analysis to differentiate students based on their responses to questions measuring constructs related to student success in computing courses and persistence. The resulting five clusters were compared on outcome variables, including final grades, intent to persist in computing, and gender and race/ethnicity. We focus on community colleges because they are uniquely well-positioned to broaden participation in computing; however, the implications extend beyond the community college context. We conclude by discussing methodological and pedagogical implications, including how findings can challenge assumptions and stereotypes about introductory computing students.

Over half of community college (CC) students are non-white, and more than half of all Hispanic and Black undergraduates start at community college. Given that community colleges (CCs) enroll minorities and women in larger numbers than four-year institutions, it is imperative for both, CCs and four-year institutions, to engage in collaborative efforts to broaden the participation of diverse peoples into computing and facilitate unobstructed pathways from the two-year to four-year educations. While CCs are rich in diversity, their students face an inordinate number of obstacles transferring to a bachelor's degree particularly in computer science (CS). The complexities of the CC landscape require that experts from various backgrounds come together to share knowledge and experiences to contribute to a better understanding of the role CCs can play with four-year institutions in broadening the participation efforts in CS and information technology (IT).

This paper describes the creation of a virtual, interactive professional development course to build the capacity of community college faculty to recruit and retain women and underrepresented minorities in computing programs. The project was designed in response to community college faculty reporting need for practical methods to broaden participation in their programs and their feelings of isolation from like-minded faculty. The 12-session prototype has been piloted with eight community college faculty. The finalized PD will be available as free, standalone web-based modules. The course includes instruction on research-based practices for recruiting and retaining women and underrepresented minorities in computing. Evaluation mechanisms are developed to assess the impacts of the PD on faculty attitudes and teaching practices, and the effect of changed practices on introductory computing students' engagement and persistence. Here we report preliminary findings from interviews. The project outputs will include polished online content modules, validated student survey instruments, a classroom observation protocol, and student and faculty interview instruments.

Recently, many computing departments in universities and colleges around the nation have seen increases in enrollments in the major. While these increases are largely welcome, it is important that the student population be diversified even as enrollments swell. What are departments doing to ensure that women are both recruited and retained in this changing environment? This panel will share interventions undertaken by three U.S. post-secondary institutions that have focused on increasing their female and underrepresented student enrollment. Their efforts all include multi-pronged approaches, which is consistent with the social science research on how to create institutional reform in academic departments [1]. These institutions have made changes that reflect increased departmental engagement with recruitment and retention for diversity: a shift in individual faculty pedagogical strategies, introductory course restructuring, as well as more outreach and preparatory programs for incoming students. These departments have not only implemented existing evidence-based practices to make these lasting changes, but have tried new ideas as well.

Understanding how to increase participation and continued persistence of women in computing is a perennial problem. This paper explores the ways in which participation in computing can be defined either by a narrow disciplinary practice framework or a more expansive social practice framework. How participation in computing is defined is consequential regarding our understanding of women's persistence in computing. The data for this paper come from 64 in-depth, qualitative interviews with young women who in high school expressed interest in computing by looking into NCWIT's Aspirations in Computing Award. Analyses of the interviews show that defining participation in computing from a disciplinary perspective unduly prohibits some women from full membership in computing communities. Findings show that some women who self-identify with the computing community are not fully recognized by other members of the computing community.

Girls and women continue to be underrepresented in technology. This persistent underrepresentation inhibits innovation by ignoring the diverse perspectives and life experiences women bring to invention and problem solving. Furthermore, disregard for girls and women's participation exacerbates existing economic disparities for women. To reverse these trends, a number of programs designed to engage girls in computing have emerged in recent years. Often these programs are not evaluated, or if they are, informal surveys are used. These instruments are usually unable to adequately assess change in interest, confidence and future plans for computing. In addition, sample sizes tend to be small and, because different programs use different surveys, results cannot be aggregated or compared across programs. To address this gap, NCWIT has been piloting a new evaluation instrument informed by Social Cognitive Career Theory (Lent et al., 2008). The instrument was piloted with two groups of girls: 312 Globaloria middle and high school students and 1500 girls who applied to NCWIT's Aspirations program from 2007 to 2013. Reliability analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted for both datasets, showing high internal consistency. This poster session will provide more detail on the instrument, how it has been used and tested, and next steps in scaling its use. In making this tool widely available, we hope to increase consistency in the evaluation of girls? participation in computing education programs, enabling us to increase sample sizes; compare results across programs; and accelerate contributions to the gender and computing knowledge base.

The field of computational textiles has shown promise as a domain for diversifying computer science culture by drawing a population with broad and non-traditional interests and backgrounds into creating technology. In this paper, we present a curriculum that teaches computer science and computer programming through a series of activities that involve building and programming computational textiles. We also describe two new technological tools, Modkit and the LilyPad ProtoSnap board, that support implementation of the curriculum. In 2011-12, we conducted three workshops to evaluate the impact of our curriculum and tools on students' technological self-efficacy. We conclude that our curriculum both draws a diverse population, and increases students' comfort with, enjoyment of, and interest in working with electronics and programming.

Computing has seen dramatic decreases in the major across the past decade, especially among under-represented populations. Recently, however, some institutions have begun to see an increase. What are these departments doing to reverse this historical trend? Learn about practices undertaken by U.S. universities that have increased undergraduate enrollments overall, with particular increases in female enrollment and retention. Computer science faculty from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Virginia Tech and Florida A&M will present their interventions and results. National Center for Women & Information Technology will share results from other institutions that also have used evidence-based practices resulting in increased enrollments and distribute materials describing those practices.

While many computing departments may be aware there are "promising" and "proven" practices for recruiting and retaining female students, there seems to be a drive to try new and novel approaches rather than use what is known, or strongly suspected, to be effective. Developing a diverse student body is a long-term multi-faceted process that includes active recruitment, inclusive pedagogy, meaningful curriculum and necessitates student, faculty and institutional support, as well as assessment of progress [1,2,3]. Given all the moving parts and intrinsic challenges of enacting change, departments could make it easier on themselves - and very likely achieve better results - if they intentionally and systematically used practices that have been shown to be effective. This panel will present the rationale for implementing evidence-based practices to increase female enrollments in undergraduate computing departments, and share evidence of successes. Wendy DuBow will examine the concept of evidence-based practices as well as describe briefly the research-based approaches taken by the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) to identify the evidence-based practices an academic institution could use and distribute easy-to-use materials explaining such practices. Elizabeth Litzler will supplement this rationale by sharing compelling evaluation data that show that academic departments that implement a variety of evidence-based practices and actively seek to increase their female enrollments actually do see increases. Maureen Biggers will describe her department's recent efforts to increase female undergraduates at Indiana University, which enabled them to double the number of new female majors. Mike Erlinger will discuss Harvey Mudd's recent successes in attracting more Computer Science majors overall, including a large percentage of female students.