Improving the retention rate in the introductory programming courses at Georgia Southwestern State University

Authors

Karen S. Cook, Georgia Southwestern State UniversityFollow
Sai K. Mukkavilli, Georgia Southwestern State UniversityFollow
Satyaki Nan, Georgia Southwestern State UniversityFollow

Abstract

Post COVID, the incoming students in CS and IT programs have seen a significant increase in the fail, withdrawal rate. Though some of it is associated with the lack of classes and changes in modalities during COVID and the initial years that followed, most of it is due to the lack of proper foundation after high school and before introducing the programming courses. In this paper we identify the major reasons for the low retention rate and how it can be mitigated by introducing a logic course in the curriculum.

Author's Biographies

Dr. Karen S. Cook is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Computing at Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW). Her research interests are in the high attrition rate in the computing field, specifically in the introduction to programming courses.

Dr. Satyaki Nan is an Assistant Professor (Tenure-Track) in the Department of Computing at Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW). His research interests are in Behavioral cybersecurity, Game theory, Mechanism Design for cybersecurity, hardware Trojans, and cyber supply-chain security.

Dr. Sai Mukkavilli is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computing at Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW). His specialization is in “Cloud Security”. His other interests lie in Programming, Network Security, and Network Forensics.

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Recommended Citation

Cook, K. S., Mukkavilli, S. K., & Nan, S. (2026). Improving the retention rate in the introductory programming courses at Georgia Southwestern State University. Perspectives In Learning, 21 (1). Retrieved from https://csuepress.columbusstate.edu/pil/vol21/iss1/3