Research points to the following strategies for recruitment of more students, especially females and students of color into high-level computer science courses.
1. Begin early! Many schools create the academic course offerings schedule more than six months in advance of the new year! Thus, computer science teachers should check with administration early on to ensure the course will be offered to students. Without the course in place, it is difficult to recruit students to study computer science in addition to the rest of their academic workload.
2. Recruit from math courses, not computer courses. It is important to realize that the foundation of computer science is mathematics, not computer literacy skills. In fact, the only prerequisite for AP Computer Science is Intermediate Algebra. Thus, visiting Intermediate Algebra math courses in the spring before students begin meeting with their counselors to choose courses for the following year is a good idea to reach targetted and prepared students.
3. Personally invite students to join the course by assuring them of their qualifications for the course if they have completed the appropriate mathematics courses. We have found that computer science is a term many find intimidating, but telling students they are already qualified and you want to invite them to your course has been met with great success. As a result of such a letter, Mrs. Olear from Kennedy had over sixty students enroll in the course.
4. Work with counselors to ensure they are familiar with the prerequisites, type of student, and academic content of the course. A brief factual sheet to leave with the counselor could be helpful. Since counselors are the folks who interact with students and steer them towards coursework, it is vital all the counselors are familiar with your course and your desire to recruit more students, especially underrepresented students. Once again, these meetings with counselors should take place in the winter of the prior year before counselors begin meeting with students.
5. Ask current computer science students to encourage their friends to attend the class, either the same year or following years.
6. Target groups of friends, especially females and underrepresented students, to enroll in the course. Our research has shown these students are more likely to be retained if they have a social support network in the classroom.