The National Science Foundation (NSF) supports ECEP through its Broadening Participation in Computing Alliance (BPC-A) program. The ECEP Alliance seeks to increase the number and diversity of students in the pipeline to computing and computing-intensive degrees by supporting state-level computing education reforms. Through interventions, pathways, partnerships and models that drive state-level computing education change, ECEP supports states as they work to align their state efforts with the national vision of computer science for all.
The ECEP Alliance includes 30 states – Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin – and the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico.
ECEP is a collective impact alliance dedicated to increasing equitable capacity for, access to, participation in, and experiences of computing education. ECEP state leaders focus on building and sustaining K-12 CS education ecosystems that systematically identify and address disparities in opportunities, outcomes and representation in computing education. To achieve sustained, systems-level change in a state, ECEP leaders focus on implementing policies, pathways, and practices that advance equity at scale.
Funded by NSF since 2012, ECEP is a nationally recognized leader in equity-focused computer science education research and policy. ECEP is headquartered within The University of Texas at Austin’s Texas Advanced Computing Center’s (TACC) Expanding Pathways in Computing (EPIC) unit. TACC, in partnership with Co-PIs from UT Austin’s College of Education, Indiana University Bloomington, The University of California at Irvine, and the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center serves as the backbone organization for ECEP, facilitating communications and services.
The ECEP Connect Virtual Summit is a convening hosted by the ECEP Alliance where all states have an opportunity to engage with ECEP’s model for state change and leverage its resources and network of state and national leaders working to broaden participation in computing.
This inaugural one-day event is scheduled for September 27th from 1-6 pm ET and is open to all states, regardless of ECEP member status. To ensure interactive sessions, registration is required and limited to a select number of participants.
ECEP Connect Virtual Summit: Plugging into CS Policy, Practices and Pathways
The ECEP Alliance is hosting its inaugural ECEP Connect Virtual Summit on September 27th, 2023 from 1-6 PM ET. ECEP – which supports 30 member states and territories efforts to broaden participation in K-16 computing – developed ECEP Connect as an initiative to extend the use of its resources to all states and U.S. territories.
ECEP Alliance Announces Newly Funded Inclusive Computing Initiatives
During the first half of 2023, the ECEP Alliance awarded 5 states with funds to carry out state-level broadening participation in computing (BPC) initiatives, referred to as co-sponsorships. Maryland, Georgia, Utah, Ohio, and North Carolina received co-sponsorships for projects aimed at expanding inclusion in K-12 computer science.
The latest version of the State of Computer Science Education report is now available! This multi-year partnership continues to drive advocacy and policy work of every ECEP state. The 2022 State of Computer Science Report highlights the collaborative efforts of national organizations and state level change makers through national trends, and maps identifying gaps and opportunities.
Download the report now to learn more about the current state of computer science education across our country.
