Research Article Open Access

A New Computer Science Student Recruitment Strategy University Of Sharjah (UOS) Case Study

Manar Abu Talib1 and Ashraf Elnagar1
  • 1 University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

Abstract

In this study, we focus on two objectives: (1) To raise awareness of the computing field in three groups of students-high school, freshmen in their first term of university (i.e., students taking the Introduction to IT course) and freshmen in their second term of university (i.e., students taking the Programming I course); and (2) to organize visible CS/IT activities (i.e., robots, the Google Developer Group (GDG), Hour of Code, etc.) and involve as many students as possible. We conducted a detailed survey among these three groups of students to measure the effectiveness of making presentations on CS/IT and determine whether or not awareness of computer science increased as a result. As well, we organized a series of CS/IT activities and events. We measured the effectiveness of the Hour of Code activity on 515 students from grades 1 to 5. The survey results were promising and we conclude that such efforts should continue to be a topic of research into student enrollment growth in the future academic terms. It is also framed to benefit faculty members, administrators and others throughout the global community.

Journal of Computer Science
Volume 11 No. 1, 2015, 145-152

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3844/jcssp.2015.145.152

Submitted On: 17 March 2014 Published On: 25 August 2014

How to Cite: Talib, M. A. & Elnagar, A. (2015). A New Computer Science Student Recruitment Strategy University Of Sharjah (UOS) Case Study. Journal of Computer Science, 11(1), 145-152. https://doi.org/10.3844/jcssp.2015.145.152

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Keywords

  • Computer Science
  • Student Recruitment
  • University of Sharjah
  • High School
  • Introduction to IT
  • Programming I
  • NAO Robot
  • Google Developer Group
  • Hour of Code