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

Transcription

1 TENNESSEE 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 FIGURES Figure 1: Total Postsecondary IT Degrees and Certificates Awarded in Tennessee, Figure 2: Postsecondary IT Degrees and Certificates Awarded in Tennessee by Gender, Figure 3: Percentage of Postsecondary IT Degrees and Certificates Awarded in Tennessee by Gender, Figure 4: Percentage of Postsecondary IT Degrees and Certificates Awarded in Tennessee by Race and Ethnicity, TABLES Table 1: Postsecondary IT Degrees and Certificates Awarded in Tennessee 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 Tennessee in the academic year ending in 2013 has slightly declined from the previous year. A total of 1,778 degrees and certificates in the field of IT were awarded in Tennessee, a 2% decrease from the previous year. This report documents recent trends in Tennessee 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 earned by women in Tennessee fell to 347 in 2013 from 367 in Men earn the majority of IT degrees, both in Tennessee and at the national level. In fact, only 20% of the total number of IT degrees and certificates in Tennessee in 2013 were awarded to women. The number of IT degrees and certificates awarded in Tennessee rose among Asians, Hispanic or Latinos, and Whites, while falling among Black or African Americans. Bachelor s degrees remain the most common degree or certificate awarded in Tennessee in the field of IT. The number of bachelor s degrees, master s degrees, and pre-baccalaureate certificates awarded in IT in Tennessee has increased between 2012 and Meanwhile, the number of associate s degrees, doctoral degrees, and post-baccalaureate certificates has fallen in the same period. The five most popular degrees and certificates in the field of IT included: (1) Computer and Information Sciences General, (2) Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications, (3) Computer Science, (4) Computer / IT Administration and Management, and (5) Computer Programming. METHODOLOGY This report documents recent trends in Tennessee postsecondary degree attainment in IT, including 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, 2014). 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 3

4 include the dates of July 1 to June 30. The 2013 academic year, for example, includes dates from July 1, 2012, to June 30, 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 1,778 degrees and certificates in the field of IT were awarded in the state of Tennessee in the 2013 academic year. This is a slight decline from the previous year, as shown in Figure 1. The total number of college degrees and certificates awarded in the state of Tennessee had been on an upward trajectory from 2009 to Meanwhile, at the national level, there has been an uptick in the number of newly declared computing majors (Zweben & Bizot, 2014), which indicates that the number of IT degrees and completions will continue to be high for the next few years. It will be interesting to see if Tennessee follows national trends or continues a slow decline of IT degree and certificate completions. 2,000 1,800 1,600 1,400 1,200 1, ,808 1,778 1,520 1,191 1, Figure 1: Total Postsecondary IT Degrees and Certificates Awarded in Tennessee,

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 Tennessee were awarded at the following levels: (1) associate s degrees (33%), (2) bachelor s degrees (39%), (3) master s degrees (8%), (4) doctoral degrees (1%), (5) prebaccalaureate certificates (18%), and (6) post-baccalaureate certificates (less than 1%). The largest number of IT degrees and certificates has been awarded at the bachelor s degree award level for the past three years. In 2013, 701 IT bachelor s degrees were awarded in Tennessee, as shown in Table 1. This represented the highest number of IT bachelor s degrees awarded in Tennessee in the past five years, and a 17% increase from the 599 bachelor s degrees awarded in 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 Tennessee by Award Level, IT DEGREES BY GENDER, RACE, AND ETHNICITY Men earned the majority of IT degrees and certificates awarded in Tennessee in the past five years. In 2013, men earned 1,431 IT degrees and certificates, as shown in Figure 2. This is the secondhighest number of degrees awarded to men in the past five years and a slight decrease from Between 2009 and 2013, the number of IT degrees awarded to men fluctuated between 964 and 1,441. Between 2009 and 2012, the number of IT degrees and certificates awarded to women rose slowly but steadily before declining in Three hundred forty-seven IT degrees and certificates were awarded to women in 2013, as shown in Figure 2. This amounts to a five percent decrease from the 2012 academic year. In the previous five years, the highest number of IT degrees and certificates (367) were awarded to women in 2012, while the lowest number (227) were awarded in

6 1,600 1,441 1,431 1,400 1,200 1, , Men Women Figure 2: Postsecondary IT Degrees and Certificates Awarded in Tennessee by Gender, The 188 degrees awarded to women in 2013 represents 19% of the total number of postsecondary IT degrees and certificates awarded in Tennessee, as shown in Figure 3. This marks a decrease in actual numbers and in the percentage of degrees earned by women from In the past five years, the share of IT degrees and certificates awarded to women in Tennessee has hovered between 19% and 23%. 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 Tennessee by Gender,

7 The total number of IT degrees and certificates awarded in Tennessee rose in some racial and ethnic categories between 2012 and The number of IT degrees and certificates increased by 50% for Asians, 8% for Hispanic or Latinos, 5% for Whites, and 13% for Nonresident Aliens in The Other category is comprised of American Indian, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, Multiracial, and Unknown Race students. This Other category experienced a 48% year-to-year decrease in IT degree and certificate completions. The number of IT degrees and certificates awarded to Black or African Americans also fell by 10% between 2012 and 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, 54% were earned by Whites; seven percent by Black or African Americans; three percent by Hispanics / Latinos; two percent by Asians; 11% by Nonresident Aliens; and 23% by students in the Other category. 4% 5% 2% 17% Asian 2% Black or African American Hispanic or Latino White Nonresident Alien 70% Other Figure 4: Percentage of Postsecondary IT Degrees and Certificates Awarded in Tennessee 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). The Department of Education has revised CIP codes in 1985, 1990, 2000, and This classification system ensures accurate tracking and comparisons across institutions and over time. Although the IT subfield of Computer and Information Science - General (CIP 11.01) has remained one of the most popular areas of IT degrees in Tennessee, there has been recent growth in other IT subfields. 7

8 The five most popular degrees and certificates in IT in 2013 were: (1) Computer and Information Sciences General, (2) Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications, (3) Computer Science, (4) Computer / IT Administration and Management, and (5) Computer Programming. Table 2 displays IT degree completions in these areas from academic years 2009 to In the past ten years, several new IT programs have been offered in the state of Tennessee. 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 Systems Networking and Telecom Computer Science Computer / IT Admin and Mgmt Computer Programming Table 2: Five Most Popular Degree and Certificate Areas in IT, SUMMARY The total number of IT degrees awarded in Tennessee has slightly declined in the past year, while IT degree completions have been historically high at the national level (Zweben & Bizot, 2014). The largest number of these IT degrees and completions in Tennessee are awarded at the bachelor s level, a trend that has continued throughout the past five years. The five most common IT degree and certificate fields include: (1) Computer and Information Sciences General, (2) Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications, (3) Computer Science, (4) Computer / IT Administration and Management, and (5) Computer Programming. Men earned the majority of the 1,788 IT degrees and certificates awarded in the state of Tennessee in The 347 degrees earned by women in 2013 represents 19% of the total number of IT degrees and certificates awarded, a higher share than the national average. The number of IT degrees 8

9 and certificates awarded in Tennessee rose in some racial and ethnic categories including Asians, Hispanic or Latinos, and Whites, while falling among Black or African Americans. The number of new IT and computing major at the national level 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, if Tennessee follows national patterns, it is forecast that they will continue to see high numbers of IT degree and certificate completions in the future. 9

10 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. 10

11 APPENDIX 1: LIST OF POSTSECONDARY SCHOOLS The following list of postsecondary schools have offered IT degrees and/or certificates in the state of Tennessee between 2009 and 2013: Austin Peay State University Belmont University Bryan College-Dayton Carson-Newman University Chattanooga College: Medical Dental & Technical Chattanooga State Community College Christian Brothers University Cleveland State Community College Columbia State Community College Cumberland University Daymar Institute-Clarksville Daymar Institute-Murfreesboro Daymar Institute-Nashville DeVry University-Tennessee DeVry University's Keller Graduate School of Manag Dyersburg State Community College East Tennessee State University Fisk University Fountainhead College of Technology Freed-Hardeman University Hiwassee College ITT Technical Institute-Chattanooga ITT Technical Institute-Cordova ITT Technical Institute-Knoxville ITT Technical Institute-Nashville ITT Technical Institute-Johnson City Jackson State Community College King College Lane College Le Moyne-Owen College Lee University Lincoln Memorial University Lipscomb University Martin Methodist College Maryville College Middle Tennessee State University Miller-Motte Technical College-Clarksville Milligan College Motlow State Community College Nashville State Community College National College of Business & Technology-Nashville Northeast State Community College Pellissippi State Community College Remington College-Memphis Campus Rhodes College Roane State Community College Sewanee-The University of the South South College Southern Adventist University Southwest Tennessee Community College Strayer University-Tennessee Tennessee State University Tennessee Technological University Tennessee Technology Center at Covington Tennessee Technology Center at Crossville Tennessee Technology Center at Harriman Tennessee Technology Center at Jacksboro Tennessee Technology Center at Ripley Tennessee Technology Center at Shelbyville Tennessee Temple University Tennessee Wesleyan College The Art Institute of Tennessee-Nashville The University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga The University of Tennessee-Martin Trevecca Nazarene University Union University University of Memphis University of Phoenix-Memphis Campus University of Phoenix-Nashville Campus Vanderbilt University Vatterott Career College-Memphis Appling Farms Vatterott Career College-Memphis Dividend Drive Virginia College-Knoxville Volunteer State Community College Walters State Community College 11