Colleges, universities, and other institutions have been making an effort to encourage women in technical fields, as well as finding ways for women to build their self-image as computer scientists.
Wyer and Adam recognize that these efforts are based upon the assumption that students lack "some key factor they need in order to succeed in their majors"; therefore, recruitment and retention programs will give participants a boost in their career outcomes. This is called the "deficit model" of intervention, or, in their words "fixing the women." The other model of intervention, the "difference model," is sees "life experiences" as the primary influence in students choosing to study computer science. To increase women's participation in computer sciences, colleges then try to appeal to a broader range of students by adopting different approachs to the field itself, or "fixing the curriculum."
The National Science Foundation encourages undergraduate students to participate in science research projects through the Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) program (Pearl, et al. 51). RUI expects project including significant undergraduate involvement, but the program is not limited to computer science research and does not require female research assistants ("Frequently Asked Questions: RUI").
The Collaborative Research Environment for Women in Undergraduate Science and Engineering (CREW) program forms teams of undergraduate female students on group research projects. Women will be able to work with other female computer scientists and a faculty member, counteracting the stereotype of the CS major "toiling away in a cubicle with little human contact." The projects are student driven and hopefully will lead to more undergraduate female computer scientists entering graduate school to continue with their work.
Mentor programs help to reduce women students' sense of isolation in the field; the Internet greatly facilitates a sense of community, especially at institutions with little or no female computer science faculty. "The stereotype of the lone scientist can be a deterrent to women," said Jan Cuny, 1997-2000 co-chair of the Computing Research Association Committee on the Status of Women in Computing Research. "Women tend to be more motivated by interaction, and so may be rebuffed by the isolation assumed to be associated with research."
Sites like MentorNet, which piloted in 1997, pairs women who are studying engineering or science at participating colleges or universities with professional scientists and engineers working in industry, to form yearlong e-mail based mentoring relationships. During the 1999-2000 school year, over 1,200 mentor-student relationships were formed with companies like IBM, Intel and AT&T, with 18% of the participating students majoring in computer science ("MentorNet Demographics").
The Distributed Mentor Project (DMP), also sponsored by CRA-W, aims to provide a better environment for the typical female undergraduate computer scientist. The home page states "the ideal environment for the student is at a university that provides the student with a window on graduate student life, enabling her to form a mental model of the environment to which we are trying to attract her." DMP aims to remedy the "shrinking pipeline" of decreasing percentages of women at successively higher levels of computer science ranks.
A third party evaluation of DMP by the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Learning through Evaluation, Adaptation, and Dissemination (LEAD) Center shows participants' increased confidence in their ability to "get the job done, ability to apply their knowledge from computer science and work independently." Students reported gaining valuable research skills, the knowledge and necessary skills to succeed in graduate school, greater access to opportunities like recommendation letters, and access to an expanded network of academic computer scientists. Most felt they could make an educated decision on whether or not to attempt graduate school. Participants felt they knew what to expect and gained "insider knowledge" about selecting, applying, and succeeding at the graduate level. Program members felt a better sense of direction about what they wanted to do after graduation, since DMP was was "an experience which allowed students to see the world of academic CS from the inside." Being engaged in the research process itself allowed participants to apply their knowledge in a non-classroom setting while actively participating in the mentor experience. Interactions with a wide group of industry professionals provided women the opportunity to be a contributing member to the field as well as considering possible career paths. On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 meaning "very satisfied," a survey of the 1999 DMP participants reports an average satisfaction level of 4.5 ("1999 DMP Survey (PDF).")