MINNESOTA POSTSECONDARY IT DEGREE COMPLETIONS, Levi Thiele, PhD September 22, 2014

Transcription

1 MINNESOTA POSTSECONDARY IT DEGREE COMPLETIONS, Levi Thiele, PhD September 22, 2014

2 CONTENTS Introduction... 3 Methodology... 3 Postsecondary IT Degree Completions... 4 IT Degrees by Award Level... 5 IT Degrees by Gender, Race, and Ethnicity... 5 Popular IT Degrees and Certificates... 7 Summary... 8 References... 9 Appendix 1: List of Postsecondary Schools FIGURES Figure 1: Total Postsecondary IT Degrees and Certificates Awarded in Minnesota, Figure 2: Postsecondary IT Degrees and Certificates Awarded in Minnesota by Gender, Figure 3: Percentage of Postsecondary IT Degrees and Certificates Awarded in Minnesota by Gender, Figure 4: Percentage of Postsecondary IT Degrees and Certificates Awarded in Minnesota by Race and Ethnicity, TABLES Table 1: Postsecondary IT Degrees and Certificates Awarded in Minnesota by Award Level, Table 2: Five Most Popular Degree and Certificate Areas in IT,

3 INTRODUCTION The number of information technology (IT) and computer science (CS) degrees and certificates awarded in Minnesota in the academic year ending in 2013 has increased from the previous year. A total of 3,215 degrees and certificates in the field of IT were awarded in Minnesota, a 9% increase from the previous year. This represents the highest number of IT degrees and certificates awarded in the state of Minnesota in the past five years. This report documents recent trends in Minnesota postsecondary degree and certificate attainment in IT and CS fields. Women are still lagging behind men in IT degree completions, although the number of IT degrees and certificates awarded to women in the state of Minnesota has increased over the past five years. The majority of IT degrees, both in Minnesota and at the national level, are still earned by men. In fact, only 20% of the total number of IT degrees and certificates in Minnesota in 2013 were awarded to women. Bachelor s degrees remain the most common degree or certificate awarded in Minnesota in the field of IT. For the past five years, the share of IT degrees that have been awarded at the bachelor s degree level has steadily increased, both in total numbers and as a percentage of all degrees. The five most popular degrees and certificates in the field of IT included: (1) Computer / IT Administration and Management, (2) Computer Science, (3) Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications, (4) Computer and Information Sciences General, and (5) Computer Software and Media Applications. METHODOLOGY This report documents recent trends in Minnesota postsecondary degree attainment in IT, including all CS and IT fields. The data for the IT postsecondary degree completions was drawn from the Integrated Postsecondary Data Systems (IPEDS), a database collected and maintained by the U.S. Department of Education s National Center for Education Statistics (Department of Education, 2012). IPEDS includes information from every U.S. postsecondary institution that participates in federal aid programs. The IPEDS data presented in this study includes the number of students who completed a postsecondary education program in IT, as well as breakdowns on gender, race, and ethnicity between the academic years ending in 2009 and Academic years as reported in IPEDS and in this report include the dates of July 1 to June 30. The 2013 academic year, for example, includes dates from July 1, 2012, to June 30,

4 IPEDS classifies IT and CS fields as Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services. Subfields include Computer and Information Sciences General, Computer Programming, Data Processing, Information Science, Computer Systems Analysis, Data Entry, Computer Science, Computer Software and Media Applications, Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications, Computer / Information Technology Administration and Management, and Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services Other. POSTSECONDARY IT DEGREE COMPLETIONS A total of 3,215 degrees and certificates in the field of IT were awarded in the state of Minnesota in the 2013 academic year. This is the highest number of IT degrees awarded in the past five years and a 9% increase from the previous year, as shown in Figure 1. There has been also an uptick in the number of newly declared computing majors at the national level (Zweben & Bizot, 2014), which indicates that the number of IT degrees and completions will continue to be high for the next few years. 3,500 3,000 2,776 2,958 3,215 2,500 2,198 2,333 2,000 1,500 1, Figure 1: Total Postsecondary IT Degrees and Certificates Awarded in Minnesota,

5 IT DEGREES BY AWARD LEVEL Year Associate's Degree Bachelor's Degree Master's Degree Doctoral Degree Pre Baccalaureate Certificate Post Baccalaureate Certificate , Table 1: Postsecondary IT Degrees and Certificates Awarded in Minnesota by Award Level, IT degree completions can be examined by the level of the award. In 2013, postsecondary IT degrees and certificates in Minnesota were awarded at the following levels: (1) associate s degrees (30%), (2) bachelor s degrees (35%), (3) master s degrees (20%), (4) doctoral degrees (3%), (5) pre-baccalaureate certificates (11%), and (6) post-baccalaureate certificates (2%). The largest number of IT degrees and certificates have been awarded at the bachelor s degree award level in the past five years. In 2013, 1,120 IT bachelor s degrees were awarded in Minnesota, as shown in Table 1. This represented the highest number of IT bachelor s degrees awarded in Minnesota in the past five years. In the past year, the number of doctoral degrees awarded increased dramatically, from 41 in 2012 to 81 in IT DEGREES BY GENDER, RACE, AND ETHNICITY The majority of IT degrees and certificates awarded in Minnesota in the past five years were earned by men. In 2013, men earned 2,573 IT degrees and certificates, as shown in Figure 2. This is the highest number of IT degrees awarded to men in the past five years and a 9% increase from Between 2009 and 2013, the number of IT degrees awarded to men rose from 1,728 in 2009 to 2,573 in

6 3,000 2,500 2,230 2,357 2,573 2,000 1,728 1,850 1,500 1, Men Women Figure 2: Postsecondary IT Degrees and Certificates Awarded in Minnesota by Gender, In 2013, 642 IT degrees and certificates were awarded to women, as shown in Figure 2. This amounts to a 7% increase from the 2012 academic year. For the past five years, women earned a steadily increasing number of IT degrees and certificates, though at a slower rate when compared to their male counterparts. The 536 degrees awarded to women in 2013 represents 20% of the total number of postsecondary IT degrees and certificates awarded in Minnesota, as shown in Figure 3. This marks an increase in actual numbers but a slight decrease in the percentage of degrees earned by women from At the national level, women earned approximately 19% of IT doctoral degrees, 27% of IT master s degrees, and 15% of IT bachelor s degrees in the academic year (Zweben & Bizot, 2014). 20% Men Women 80% Figure 3: Percentage of Postsecondary IT Degrees and Certificates Awarded in Minnesota by Gender,

7 The total number of IT degrees and certificates awarded in Minnesota rose in several racial and ethnic categories between 2012 and The number of IT degrees and certificates increased by 32% for Asians, 31% for Black or African Americans, 13% for Hispanic or Latinos, 9% for Nonresidents, and 6% for Whites. The Other category is comprised of American Indian, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, Multiracial, and Unknown Race students. This Other category experienced a 1% year-toyear decrease in IT degree and certificate completions. In the 2013 academic year, students who identified as White earned the highest percentage of IT degrees and certificates, as shown in Figure 4. Among IT degree and certificate completions, 61% were earned by Whites; 8% by Black or African Americans, 4% by Hispanics / Latinos; 7% by Asians; 8% by Nonresident Aliens, and 12% by students in the Other category. 12% 8% 7% 8% 4% Asian Black or African American Hispanic or Latino White 61% Other Figure 4: Percentage of Postsecondary IT Degrees and Certificates Awarded in Minnesota by Race and Ethnicity, 2013 POPULAR IT DEGREES AND CERTIFICATES The U.S. Department of Education s National Center for Education Statistics created a Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP), a taxonomic scheme for fields of study, in 1980 (Department of Education, 2013). CIP codes have been revised in 1985, 1990, 2000, and This classification system ensures accurate tracking and comparisons across institutions and over time. Table 2 displays IT degree completions in these areas from academic years 2009 to The five most popular degrees and certificates in IT in 2013 were: (1) Computer / IT Administration and Management, (2) Computer Science, (3) Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications, (4) Computer and 7

8 Information Sciences General, and (5) Computer Software and Media Applications. In the past ten years, several new IT programs have been offered in the state of Minnesota. Some of these include computer systems analysis, computer / information technology administration and management, and computer software and media applications. Year Computer and Information Sciences - General Computer Science Computer / IT Administration and Management Computer Systems Networking and Telecom Computer Software and Media Applications , , , Table 2: Five Most Popular Degree and Certificate Areas in IT, SUMMARY The total number of IT degrees awarded in Minnesota has risen in the past year. A similar trend of historically high IT degree completions has occurred at the national level (Zweben & Bizot, 2014). The largest number of these IT degrees and completions in Minnesota are awarded at the bachelor s level, a trend that has continued for the past five years. The five most common IT degree and certificate fields include: (1) Computer / IT Administration and Management, (2) Computer Science, (3) Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications, (4) Computer and Information Sciences General, and (5) Computer Software and Media Applications. The majority of the 3,205 IT degrees and certificate awarded in the state of Minnesota in 2013 were earned by men. The 642 degrees earned by women in 2013 represents 20% of the total number of IT degrees and certificates awarded. Between the 2012 and 2013 academic years, the number of IT degrees and certificates awarded in Minnesota rose in in several racial and ethnic categories including Asian, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, White, and Nonresidents Aliens. Estimates indicate that the number of new IT and computing majors has seen a large increase in recent years (Zweben & Bizot, 2014). This is the fifth straight year of increased enrollment in IT, indicating that interest in the field is in a healthy growth pattern. Therefore, it is forecast that Minnesota will continue to see high numbers of IT degree and certificate completions in the future. 8

9 REFERENCES Department of Education. (2014). Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) preliminary files. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Zweben, S., Bizot, B. (2014) Taulbee Survey: Second Consecutive Year of Record Doctoral Degree Production; Continued Strong Undergraduate CS Enrollment. Washington, DC: Computer Research Association. 9

10 APPENDIX 1: LIST OF POSTSECONDARY SCHOOLS The following list of postsecondary schools have offered IT degrees and/or certificates in the state of Minnesota between 2009 and 2013: Academy College Alexandria Technical & Community College American Indian OIC Inc Anoka-Ramsey Community College Augsburg College Bemidji State University Bethel University Brown College-Brooklyn Center Brown College-Mendota Heights Capella University Carleton College Central Lakes College-Brainerd Century College College of Saint Benedict Concordia College at Moorhead Dakota County Technical College DeVry University-Minnesota Dunwoody College of Technology Globe University-Minneapolis Globe University-Woodbury Gustavus Adolphus College Hennepin Technical College Hibbing Community College Inver Hills Community College ITT Technical Institute-Brooklyn Center ITT Technical Institute-Eden Prairie Lake Superior College Macalester College Metropolitan State University Minneapolis Business College Minneapolis Community and Technical College Minnesota School of Business-Blaine Minnesota School of Business-Brooklyn Center Minnesota School of Business-Elk River Minnesota School of Business-Lakeville Minnesota School of Business-Moorhead Minnesota School of Business-Plymouth Minnesota School of Business-Richfield Minnesota School of Business-Rochester Minnesota School of Business-Waite Park Minnesota State College-Southeast Technical Minnesota State Community and Technical College Minnesota State University-Mankato Minnesota State University-Moorhead Minnesota West Community and Technical College National American University-Bloomington National American University-Brooklyn Center National American University-Roseville Normandale Community College North Hennepin Community College Northland Community and Technical College Pine Technical College Rasmussen College-Minnesota Ridgewater College Riverland Community College Rochester Community and Technical College Saint Cloud State University Saint Johns University Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Saint Paul College South Central College Southwest Minnesota State University St Cloud Technical and Community College St Olaf College The Art Institutes International-Minnesota The College of Saint Scholastica University of Minnesota-Duluth University of Minnesota-Morris University of Minnesota-Twin Cities University of St Thomas Walden University Winona State University 10