Computer science is one of the fastest growing occupational fields, yet the number of students being trained in computing won’t meet the projected demand. The Expanding Computing Education Pathways (ECEP) Alliance seeks to increase the number and diversity of students in the pipeline to computing and computing-intensive degrees by supporting state-level computing education reforms.
Joining a national effort and now supporting 12 key states
The National Science Foundation (NSF) supports ECEP through its Broadening Participation in Computing (BPC) program. ECEP builds on five years of work by BPC projects in Massachusetts and Georgia—the Commonwealth Alliance for Information Technology Education (CAITE) and GeorgiaComputes! Together, these projects facilitated systemic change that improved the quality of computing education and broadened participation in computing. ECEP began in partnership with California and South Carolina and has grown to include Alabama, Connecticut, Indiana, Maryland, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, Texas, and Utah to transfer this success to other states and regions.
Providing resources and services to expand computing education
ECEP works closely with the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA), the National Center for Women in Information Technology (NCWIT) and the STARS Alliance to support statewide efforts. It also relies on and deploys experts in computing education, promotes state-level computer science education reform, trains educators to provide professional development in computing, supports summer computing camps, and offers advice and tools in higher education transfer and program evaluation.