Understanding factors that influence the limited retention of women in IT degrees at university

The 2016 cohort of IT undergraduate degrees attracted 556 men and 201 women, the attrition of men is 12.1% compared to women 15.4%, by using a student centred approach this project aims to better understand factors that influence the limited retention and the high rate of attrition for women in IT degrees at Monash. Proposed change to current practice: The Better Teaching Better Learning Agenda (BTBL), (2013) aims to improve the quality of education offered through an emphasis on innovative practice directed by student centered learning. We argue that more could be done to cater for women in the Faculty of IT (FIT) due to the low uptake and high attrition rate. The issue has wider implications as women undergraduates in FIT are significantly underrepresented compared to those of other STEM areas for example, 13% in IT compared to Physics and Astronomy 22% and Mathematics 35% [1]. FIT has recognised low uptake of undergraduate IT degrees by women and has initiated a scholarship program to entice women into these degrees. Although scholarships may encourage women to begin an IT degree, there seems to be few initiatives that support women’s completion of the degree. Therefore, a fundamental question is, how can we provide a learning/teaching (LT) environment that increases retention and supports women to complete an IT degree?