Occupational Training Institute
Foothill-De Anza Community College District
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Updated: 04/10/2008
Home > Programs > CompTechS > NSF
NSF/ATE Project
Internships and Underrepresented Student Persistence in Technical Education
The CompTechS Program in the Occupational Training Institute at Foothill-De Anza Community College District was funded in June 2007 by the Advanced Technological Education Program of the National Science Foundation to study the impact of the program on student persistence in the Information Technology (IT) field, especially for low income and underrepresented groups.
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The CompTechS (Computer Technical Support) program provides about 50 students a year with paid internships in a computer refurbishing lab on the De Anza College campus and also places qualified interns in local industry. Through the hands on experience in the production environment of the lab, students gain valued hardware skills, clarify career goals, and are counseled about useful courses and certifications to meet their goals. |
The computers that the interns refurbish in the lab are acquired through the solicitation of used computers from local companies and the community, providing a socially responsible means of retiring computer equipment. At the same time, the program bridges the “digital divide” by recycling these refurbished computers to disadvantaged students – financial aid recipients, Equal Opportunity Program and Services (EOPS) and CalWORKs (public assistance) students.
First Year Major Accomplishments
- 56 students have participated in a CompTechS internship from June 2007 to December 2007 and are in the student cohort for this first year report. Thirty-one (31) students were interns in the campus refurbishing lab, and 25 also had an industry internship. Seventy-five percent (75%) of the student cohort were from one of the groups we targeted (low income, women and underrepresented minorities). Ten students out of the 56 were women, 18%. Sixty-one percent (61%) of our cohort were receiving financial aid as compared to 20% in the rest of the De Anza College population.
- Approximately, 210 disadvantaged students received refurbished computers through the program in the past year.
- Seven companies in Silicon Valley took interns -- Fujitsu America, Photon Dynamics, Synopsys, Roche Pharmaceuticals, VMWare, Applied Biosystems and Flextronics-- providing students with valuable skills in information technology.
- During this time, 18 students completed and exited the program. The data was consistent across all completing interviewees that they increased their confidence, feelings of technical competence and readiness for the workplace. All of the interviewees said that they would recommend the program, and had already recommended it, to friends.
- From June 2007 to January 2008, the persistence is 89% in coursework; many of these students were also employed. Additionally, one completer not represented in the 89% was working full-time in field to give us 91% persistence in computer and technical fields.
- Evaluators conducted a former student survey of those students who had completed the program before June 2007. Over 90% had taken courses in computer related content since finishing the program, with 75% having a degree as a goal. About 87% have career goals in computer related and technical fields.
- The CompTechS program provided a responsible recycling program for employers and the community and disposal of ewaste.
- Data was collected to answer the six research questions posed for year one and a findings report written.
Links to First Year Reports
This program is funded, in part, by the Chancellor's Office of the California Community Colleges, Economic and Workforce Development Unit and De Anza Associated Student Body. Also, partial support for this work was provided by the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Program under Award No. 0703191.