The Institute for African American Mentoring in Computing Sciences (iAAMCS, pronounced ‘I am CS’) aims to significantly increase the number of Black/African Americans pursuing and completing the PhD in computing fields through a national mentoring model. iAAMCS provides opportunities for hands-on computing research practice through summer and academic year research experiences, robotics competitions, and methodological trainings. Professional career development is offered through conference attendance, writing workshops, targeted presentations, and technical webinars. Additionally, a network of student peer mentors is supported through a scalable web-based application model. Throughout these experiences, students are also exposed to and work alongside leading mentors in computing who are able to share successful strategies for navigating the academy and the profession.

As a participant in iAAMCS, we cannot guarantee that you will experience any or all of the programming benefits discussed or services provided; however, your participation will help to broaden the field of computing sciences and lead the way for greater inclusion of underrepresented groups.

Any information obtained in connection with this study that can identify you will remain anonymous. Information collected through your participation may be published in a professional journal and/or presented at a professional meeting, but none of your identifiable information will be included.

Your completion of the survey(s) indicate that you have read this information statement, had an opportunity to ask any questions about your participation in this research, and voluntarily consent to participate.

The objective of this study is to measure the effectiveness of iAAMCS interventions on participants, who are generally Black/African American students in computing sciences degree programs. iAAMCS and this data collection portal is a collaborative project between multiple institutions with the goal of broadening participation in computing, specifically among Blacks/African Americans. iAAMCS includes several projects involving participants from institutions all across the nation. Surveys and interviews are administered by the evaluation team at Wisconsin’s Equity and Inclusion Laboratory (Wei LAB) housed at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Please use your assigned login ID and password to enter the portal and complete the demographic information form. Please note that once you have completed your demographic information, you will not need to complete this again. To complete the survey, click on the “Surveys” tab to retrieve the survey corresponding to the iAAMCS activity in which you participated.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to complete these iAAMCS surveys. Each iAAMCS activity is an essential component of the iAAMCS program, which aims to increase the number of Blacks/African Americans obtaining academic faculty appointments and researcher positions in computing sciences and related fields. The information in these surveys will be used to accomplish our program goals and to enhance quality. Please answer each question to the best of your knowledge and experiences with the corresponding activities. Thank you again for your assistance.