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

Transcription

1 COLORADO 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 Colorado, Figure 2: Postsecondary IT Degrees and Certificates Awarded in Colorado by Gender, Figure 3: Percentage of Postsecondary IT Degrees and Certificates Awarded in Colorado by Gender, Figure 4: Percentage of Postsecondary IT Degrees and Certificates Awarded in Colorado by Race and Ethnicity, TABLES Table 1: Postsecondary IT Degrees and Certificates Awarded in Colorado 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 Colorado in the academic year ending in 2013 is up slightly from the previous year. A total of 2,594 degrees and certificates in the field of IT were awarded in Colorado, a 0.2% increase from the previous year. This represents the highest number of IT degrees and certificates awarded in the past five years. This report documents recent trends in Colorado postsecondary degree and certificate attainment in IT and CS fields. Women are still lagging behind men in IT degree completions. The number of IT degrees and certificates awarded to women in 2013 dipped slightly from the previous year. The majority of IT degrees, both in Colorado and at the national level, are still earned by men. In fact, only 21% of the total number of IT degrees and certificates in Colorado in 2013 were awarded to women. Bachelor s degrees remain the most common degree or certificate awarded in Colorado in the field of IT. For the past five years, the number of IT degrees have been awarded at the bachelor s degree level has steadily increased. The five most popular degrees and certificates awarded in Colorado in the field of IT included: (1) Computer and Information Sciences General, (2) Computer Science, (3) Computer / IT Administration and Management, (4) Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications, and (5) Computer Software and Media Applications. METHODOLOGY This report documents recent trends in Colorado 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 2,594 degrees and certificates in the field of IT were awarded in the state of Colorado in the 2013 academic year. This is the highest number of IT degrees awarded in the past five years and a slight increase from the following 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. The total number of college degrees and certificates awarded in the state of Colorado has been on an upward trajectory for the past four years. In the academic year ending in 2009, Colorado postsecondary colleges and universities awarded a total of 2,048 before dipping to 1,902 in The academic year for 2011 saw another increase of total degrees and certificates awarded. In 2012, the number of degrees and certificates rose 20% to 2,589 before reaching a new high of 2,594 in ,000 2,589 2,594 2,500 2,000 2,048 1,902 2,156 1,500 1, Figure 1: Total Postsecondary IT Degrees and Certificates Awarded in Colorado,

5 IT DEGREES BY AWARD LEVEL IT degree completions can be examined by the level of the award. In 2013, postsecondary IT degrees and certificates in Colorado were awarded at the following levels: (1) associate s degrees (13%), (2) bachelor s degrees (38%), (3) master s degrees (26%), (4) doctoral degrees (2%), (5) pre-baccalaureate certificates (18%), and (6) post-baccalaureate certificates (3%). The plurality of IT degrees and certificates have been awarded at the bachelor s degree award level in the past five years. In 2013, 983 IT bachelor s degrees were awarded in Colorado, as shown in Table 1. This represented the highest number of IT bachelor s degrees awarded in Colorado in the past five years. 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 Colorado by Award Level, IT DEGREES BY GENDER, RACE, AND ETHNICITY The majority of IT degrees and certificates awarded in Colorado in the past five years were earned by men. In 2013, men earned 2,060 IT degrees and certificates, as shown in Figure 2. This is the highest number of degrees awarded to men in the past five years and a slight increase from Between 2009 and 2013, the number of IT degrees awarded to men fluctuated between 1,553 and 2,060. In 2013, 534 IT degrees and certificates were awarded to women, as shown in Figure 2. This amounts to a 0.4% decrease from the 2012 academic year. In the previous five years, the total number of IT degrees and certificates earned by women hovered between a low of 495 in 2009 and a high of 536 in 2012, before dipping slightly to 534 in

6 2,500 2,053 2,060 2,000 1,500 1,553 1,449 1,681 Men 1,000 Women Figure 2: Postsecondary IT Degrees and Certificates Awarded in Colorado by Gender, The 536 degrees awarded to women in 2013 represents 21% of the total number of postsecondary IT degrees and certificates awarded in Colorado, as shown in Figure 3. This marks a slight decline in actual numbers and in the percentage of degrees earned by women from Women s share of IT degrees in Colorado has been declining since 2009, when women earned 24% of all IT degrees and certificates. 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). 21% Men 79% Women Figure 3: Percentage of Postsecondary IT Degrees and Certificates Awarded in Colorado by Gender, 2013 The total number of IT degrees and certificates awarded in Colorado rose in some racial and ethnic categories between 2012 and The number of IT degrees and certificates increased by 22% for Black / African Americans, 15% for Hispanic / Latinos, 6% for Whites, and 31% for Nonresident Aliens. 6

7 The number of IT degrees and certificates earned by Asian students decreased by 7% between 2012 and The Other category is comprised of American Indian, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, Multiracial, and Unknown Race students. This Other category experienced a 29% year-to-year 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, 56% were earned by Whites; nine percent by Black or African Americans, nine percent by Hispanics / Latinos; five percent by Asians; five percent by Nonresident Aliens, and 16% by students in the Other category. 16% 5% 5% 9% 9% Asian Black or African American Hispanic or La>no White Other 56% Nonresident Alien Figure 4: Percentage of Postsecondary IT Degrees and Certificates Awarded in Colorado 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. Although the field of general computer and information science (CIP 11.01) has remained one of the most popular areas of IT degrees in Colorado, there has been recent growth in other IT subfields. The five most popular degrees and certificates in IT in 2013 were: (1) Computer and Information Sciences General; (2) Computer Science; (3) Computer / IT Administration and Management; (4) Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications; and (5) Computer Software and Media Applications. Table 2 displays IT degree completions in these areas from academic years 2009 to

8 In the past ten years, several new IT programs have been offered in the state of Colorado. Some of these include computer systems analysis, computer / information technology administration and management, and computer software and media applications. Meanwhile, earlier programs such as data entry and data processing have been discontinued. Year Computer and Information Sciences - General Computer Science Computer / IT Administration and Management Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunic ations 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 Colorado 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 plurality of these IT degrees and completions in Colorado 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 and Information Sciences General; (2) Computer Science; (3) Computer / IT Administration and Management; (4) Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications; and (5) Computer Software and Media Applications. The majority of the 2,594 IT degrees and certificate awarded in the state of Colorado in 2013 were earned by men. The 534 degrees earned by women in 2013 represents 21% of the total number of IT degrees and certificates awarded. The number of IT degrees and certificates awarded in Colorado rose in in several racial and ethnic categories including 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 Colorado 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 has offered IT degrees and/or certificates in the state of Colorado between 2009 and 2013: Aims Community College American Sentinel University Arapahoe Community College Aspen University College America-Colorado Springs College America-Denver College America-Fort Collins Colorado Christian University Colorado College Colorado Mesa University Colorado Mountain College Colorado School of Mines Colorado State University-Fort Collins Colorado State University-Global Campus Colorado State University-Pueblo Colorado Technical University-Colorado Springs Colorado Technical University-Greenwood Village Colorado Technical University-Online Community College of Aurora Community College of Denver DeVry University-Colorado Emily Griffith Technical College Everest College-Colorado Springs Front Range Community College Intellitec College-Colorado Springs ITT Technical Institute-Aurora ITT Technical Institute-Westminster Metropolitan State University of Denver National American University-Colorado Springs National American University-Denver Otero Junior College Pikes Peak Community College Pueblo Community College Red Rocks Community College Regis University Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design The Art Institute of Colorado United States Air Force Academy University of Colorado Boulder University of Colorado Colorado Springs University of Colorado Denver University of Denver University of Phoenix-Colorado Campus University of Phoenix-Southern Colorado Campus Westwood College-Denver North Westwood College-Denver South Fort Lewis College 10