Nomination Process for Broadening Participation Award

Approved by the SIGCSE Board 14/June/2023

Each year, the ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE) selects recipients for its Broadening Participation award.

The ACM SIGCSE Broadening Participation in Computing Education Award recognizes an early career SIGCSE Member that has made a fundamental and innovative contribution to broadening participation in computing education. The contribution may take many forms, such as: curriculum design, outreach to underserved communities, creation of programs, policies or initiatives that increase representation in computing, publishing work that helps the community understand underrepresentation issues, or any of a number of other significant contributions toward broadening participation in computing education. In addition, contributions can span any sector in computing education, including primary, secondary, tertiary, and educational-based organizations. Similarly, the award is open to individuals that work in industry, as long as their contribution has had an impact in broadening participation in computing education. This award was initiated in 2024.

Conflict of Interest

• All nominations are subject to the SIGCSE Awards Conflict of Interest and Eligibility Policy.

Nomination Process

• Who can receive this award? Recipients are selected from individuals nominated by SIGCSE members. Any SIGCSE member can nominate any SIGCSE member they feel is deserving of this award and fits the criteria.

• What information is needed for a nomination? The name of the individual being nominated, the award they are being nominated for, a 1-2 page (maximum) description of why the nominee deserves the award, and 3-5 (strict) letters of support on behalf of the nominee. A single letter signed by multiple people is still a single letter. Letters of support should be sent by the nominator with the other materials above. All materials are necessary for the candidate to be considered. Applications not meeting these criteria will not be considered.

• Who can be nominated? Any SIGCSE member except a SIGCSE Board member or a current Award Committee member can be nominated for a SIGCSE award. Note the immediate past SIGCSE Chair is an automatic member of the SIGCSE Board. Deceased persons cannot be nominated; however, an award may be presented posthumously if the recipient’s death occurs after the SIGCSE Board approves the award nomination. Nominees currently in the ACM sanctions database will be disqualified.

• Who can nominate? A nominator must be a SIGCSE member. SIGCSE Board members and Award Committee members cannot nominate or endorse any candidates. Self nominations are not allowed.

• When must a nomination be submitted? The deadline for nominations is September 1st. Please notify the SIGCSE Vice Chair of your plans to submit a nomination by August 15th if possible or as soon as you decide to nominate. The Vice Chair can also answer questions you have with the nomination process.

• How do I submit a nomination? The Nominator prepares their nomination letter, collects all letters of support, and completes this Google Form by September 1st AoE.

  • As a file upload is required, Google requires that the nominator has a Google account. If this is a barrier, email the SIGCSE Vice Chair (see bottom of this page).

  • If you are in a location that restricts access to Google Forms, email the SIGCSE Vice Chair (see bottom of this page).

Selection Process

• Who reviews the letters and makes the decision? The SIGCSE Board appoints a Broadening Participation Award Committee who review the materials after the nomination deadline. Committee members who have submitted a nomination for one or more of the current set of nominees before their appointment to the committee will recuse themselves from the nomination process.

• How do I find out the results? After the committee has selected the winners, they will be contacted by the SIGCSE Vice Chair and told that they have been selected to receive the award. The nominators will also be contacted.

• When are the winners recognized? The winner will be announced on the SIGCSE listserv, and on the SIGCSE.org web site. They will receive their award at any of the SIGCSE-sponsored conferences in the calendar year immediately following their selection based on the preference of the award winner. The Vice Chair of the SIGCSE Board will present the award.

How to make a strong nomination

• What are the key criteria for this award? Key criteria for the Broadening Participation award is a clear demonstration of how the contribution has targeted particular groups for broadening participation. Has the contribution impacted/targeted one or more groups? Has it made a significant impact on a group of interest for broadening participation? How was the work developed? Was a particular research methodology, framing, or theory of change used to guide the work? Evidence of the impact of the contribution should be demonstrated through publications, adoptions of a program or curricular innovation, or other metrics as described by the application packet and letters of support which should include evidence of efficacy of the contribution. For instance, has participation of a group been expanded either through retention, recruitment, attraction, or inclusion?

• What is in a strong nomination letter? The letters should explicitly address the criteria for this award.

• How many support letters are needed? A nomination must have 3-5 support letters (strict). A single letter signed by multiple people is still a single letter. Remember it is not the quantity (3, 4 or 5) that is most important - it is the content of the letters that is important. When selecting letter writers, make sure they add value to the nomination. You may want to consider a mix of letters from SIGCSE members, those notable in computing education, previous award winners (only if they know the candidate’s work), and/or those who are faculty adopters of the nominee’s work. If all the letter writers are notable SIGCSE members who are adopters, fewer letters would be needed.

• Letters should explicitly make the case for the nominee. Letters that only endorse the nominee for the award do not make a strong case. Letters should give details on the impact the nominee has had on broadening participation in computing education. For example, if the nominee has led broadening participation in computing initiatives, consider the impact and number of people reached. If the nominee is widely published or cited in broadening participation in computing, give the details. The letters need to make a case for why this nominee has made an impact.

• Make sure your letter writers know which award you are targeting. SIGCSE has three candidate awards. If you just tell your letter writers that you are nominating a person for “the SIGCSE award” they may assume it is for one of the other awards, especially if the nominee has both outstanding contributions to computing education in general and/or impact and lifetime service. Be sure to make it clear to them which award you are targeting.

• Get endorsements from SIGCSE members. The letters do not need to be from SIGCSE members, but the nomination will be stronger if there are letters from several SIGCSE members besides just the nominator. This is a SIGCSE award, so letters from SIGCSE members carry significant weight.

• Get endorsements from those notable in computing education. A letter from someone notable in computing education who can make a strong case for the nominee can make the nomination stronger. “Notable” might mean they are an award winner, a full professor, an author of a successful textbook, someone who has significant impact in broadening participation in computing, or some other reason.

• Get endorsements from those who are familiar with the nominee’s work. A letter is stronger if the letter writer knows the nominee or knows their work well. If such letters are from people early in their career or students, they may not have as much weight as a letter from those more prominent in computing. In that case, you should consider such letters as additional letters to supplement the nomination.

• Target letter writers for specific items. If a nominee is notable for several reasons, you may want to give each letter writer a specific topic to make sure they mention it, so at least one letter covers that topic.

• Letter writers should not all be from the same institution or group. The nominee should be known outside of their own institution and networks. Your nomination will be stronger if it includes letters from different institutions and other than the nominee’s institution. Remember you are trying to make the case that the nominee is known in the broader computing education community.

• Should you involve the nominee? It can be easier to nominate someone and collect data to show their impact if you can involve the nominee. They know better than anyone else what they have done and the impact of their work. You will have to make this choice. If you do not want to tell them, then consider other ways to get that information. Try talking to their colleagues and/or their department chair. You can encourage them to put more information about themselves on their web page such as a biography and CV. Tell them you were talking about their work to someone else and went to their web page and could not find specific information. For impacts on textbooks, consider contacting their publisher.

• When should you start the process? The deadline for SIGCSE awards is September 1 every year. It is best to start the process as early as possible. That will give you plenty of time to connect with letter writers, give your letter writers time to write a good letter, and give you time to collect impact data if you need to.

• Only one person receives the award annually. You may need to nominate your nominee more than once. Do not assume that if your nominee is not selected the first year that they are nominated that they will never be selected. Most award winners have been nominated multiple times before winning.

• Re-use of material from previous nominations. An unmodified nomination will be considered in the subsequent two cycles. However, the nominator of an unsuccessful application will be notified by the Vice Chair, and may elect to resubmit an updated nomination. Modified submissions count as new and will be considered for the next two cycles.

Additional Questions

For any additional questions or guidance send email to: Dan Garcia, SIGCSE Board Secretary or Judy Sheard, SIGCSE Board At Large Member.