summary.txt

The three New Mexico (NM) research universities propose the \emph{New Mexico Interdisciplinary X + CS (NMIX+CS)} program, a Networked Improvement Community focused on the integration of computer science into undergraduate programs at their institutions. This NIC will create a set of mutually supporting interdisciplinary programs for students seeking to add a computational component to their undergraduate non-computing degree. The program will include a combination of educational approaches, mentoring and recruitment activities, and inter-institutional collaborations designed to research the best way to support computing education for New Mexico students.

Effectively supporting computing education for and by diverse populations is a key goal of our proposed effort; this is vital because the three institutions in the community have diverse characteristics and student populations. The project includes a diverse set of disciplines at the three institutions in which we will pilot integrating computational techniques, ranging from Nursing to Psychology to Biomedical Engineering. This will enable the assessment of a range of educational approaches to best address the diverse educational needs and student populations in these programs.

The overall educational approach is based on a flexible curriculum that provides multiple mechanisms to instruct students in learning computer science skills in the context of their discipline. This includes:
  * Course modules for introductory non-CS discipline classes that expose students to computing concepts in the context of the host discipline;
  * Introductory CS courses for non-CS majors that teach students them to use CS techniques to solve problems in multiple non-CS disciplines;
  * Computing strands on computational techniques, problem solving, and computing ethics  to build mastery of key computer science topics; and
  * Discipline-specific ``X + CS'' projects that can be integrated into CS classes that target CS-literate discipline practitioners or discipline-specific capstone classes.
The results of these educational approaches will be measured through an internal evaluation process, and an external advisory board will assess the results of these evaluations to improve the program.

These instruments and evaluations will be augmented by multiple mechanisms to recruit and support a diverse population of non-CS students with the overall goal of broadening participation in computing. This includes program-specific faculty and peer mentoring, of existing student support and STEM student services, and integration exiting programs for recruiting and supporting students from traditionally underrepresented groups. In addition, the NMIX+CS NIC includes sharing of courses, course materials, assessment results, and best practices and experiences to increase the collective impact of the proposed educational and broadening participation activities.

* Intellectual Merit
NMIX+CS encompasses four key contributions of intellectual merit:
  * An overall framework for integrating Computer Science Education into other STEM and non-STEM discipline curricula;
  * Pilot integrations of this framework into a diverse set of disciplines and 
  * Discipline-specific computing ethics modules for integration into discipline courses
  * Systematic assessment and evaluation of these elements

* Broader Impacts
The proposed educational program will also have significant broader impacts:
  * New educational programs that broaden participation in computing by providing  training to students that might not otherwise consider CS as a viable or interesting option;
  * A more diverse workforce that is better prepared to tackle modern inter-disciplinary challenges, using cutting-edge computing technologies;
  * Creation of a state-wide community of practice focused on X+CS education and an infrastructure to enable the sharing of curricula and classes among the three participating institutions.