Improving engagement, diversity, and retention in computer science with RadGrad: Results of a case study

TL;DR

RadGrad interventions address the challenge of traditional CS curriculum changes by offering an opt-in platform that blends social networking, degree planning, and serious games to broaden progress metrics beyond GPA. The authors conduct a qualitative case study across four stakeholder groups to evaluate RadGrad's impact on engagement, retention, and diversity, acknowledging confounding factors including COVID-19. Findings provide evidence that RadGrad can enhance engagement and foster communities of practice, and they offer a flexible, open-source framework that institutions can tailor to their contexts; however, evidence for retention and diversity is less robust and faculty adoption is uneven. Overall, RadGrad shows promise as part of a broader institutional strategy to diversify and sustain CS programs, with clear implications for adoptability and further cross-institution evaluation.

Abstract

RadGrad is a curriculum initiative implemented via an application that combines features of social networks, degree planners, individual learning plans, and serious games. RadGrad redefines traditional meanings of "progress" and "success" in the undergraduate computer science degree program in an attempt to improve engagement, retention, and diversity. In this paper, we describe the RadGrad Project and report on an evaluation study designed to assess the impact of RadGrad on student engagement, diversity, and retention. We also present opportunities and challenges that result from the use of the system.

Figures (12)

• Figure 1: RadGrad Theory of Change/Workflow. Orange boxes indicate actions taken by administrators, blue boxes indicate actions taken by students.
• Figure 2: RadGrad Home Page (Student Role)
• Figure 3: RadGrad Data Scientist Details Page. (Student names are pseudonyms.))
• Figure 4: RadGrad Degree Plan Page (Student Role)
• Figure 5: UI showing the student Level and their Innovation, Competency, and Experience myICE points. This student is at Level 3 (i.e. Green). They have planned 25 Innovation points, and earned 10. They have planned (at least) 100 Competency points, and earned 74. They have planned 25 Experience points, and earned 10.