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STEM classes, particularly calculus and introductory computer science classes, traditionally have few women and underrepresented minorities enrolled. Skyline College, a Hispanic Serving Institution in the San Francisco Bay Area, is no exception. A 2019 change in placement practices resulted in more non-STEM majors being placed directly into the college’s Introduction to Statistics course. In response, the course was redesigned to incorporate coding and project-based learning, serving as a pathway to data science and computer science.With support from an NSF IUSE grant, Skyline has implemented intentional recruitment of underrepresented students, sustained faculty development, curriculum redesign, and community-building efforts around data science. While the redesigned statistics course has been successful in engaging students and sparking STEM interest, many Skyline students remain unaware of data science career opportunities, especially in the local area.Despite the high demand for data science skills, enrollment growth in the Introduction to Data Science course has been relatively low, even from other STEM majors. To address this challenge, Skyline has had to adapt its plans to connect more decidedly non-STEM students to data science pathways. This talk will discuss the lessons learned, the pivots made, and the ongoing efforts to support the newly formed Data Science Club in reaching a broader student audience.
