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Frequently asked questions |
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Frequently asked questions |
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1. Why is there a need for special conferences just for girls? The 2000 Congressional Commission on the Advancement of Women and Minorities in Science, Engineering and Technology Development (CAWMSET) stated, "Today's U.S. economy depends more than ever on the talents of skilled, high-tech workers. To sustain America's preeminence we must take drastic steps to change the way we develop our workforce. An increasingly large proportion of the workforce consists of women, underrepresented minorities and persons with disabilities- groups not well represented in science, engineering and technology (SET) fields." Furthermore, our whole nation profits when women have the same opportunities as their male counterparts. 2. When are conferences held and where are conferences located? Most conferences are held in March, but a few sites choose to hold their conferences other times of the year. Conferences are held all over the United States and in Asia. Some states have more than one conference location, while other states have no conferences. See where our conferences are located. 3. If I want to start a conference what do I do? Please visit the Organize a conference area of our website. 4. What do I do if I am interested in leading an EYH workshop? Please visit the Lead a workshop area of our website. 5. Who sponsors Expanding Your Horizons conferences? Many conferences are hosted by the American Association of University Women or are hosted by a particular department within a college or university. Departments may include: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, or Engineering. Conferences are also hosted by women's professional organizations. Most conferences depend on the support of local and national funders. Many conferences also depend on in-kind donations for support. In-kind donations may include: printing, paper supplies, getting a site for free, and getting food donated. Become a corporate sponsor. 6. How many young women attend conferences? There is no model number of conference attendees. Conferences vary in size from quite small (50-250) all the way up to 1,200 in some cases. See where our conferences are located. 7. What type of workshops are held? Each EYH conference features hands-on activities. These are the "bread and butter" of every Expanding Your Horizons event. At EYH conferences girls participate in fun and challenging hands-on math, science and engineering activities led by women mathematicians, scientists and engineers. Through these important hands-on workshops, young women learn that studying math and science can be fun! They participate in fun experiments and learn about the importance of studying as much math as possible in high school. By using local volunteers to lead workshops, girls meet with mathematicians, engineers and scientists who live and work in their own communities, who serve as role models at the conference, and who may serve as possible mentors in the future. View sample workshops. 8. What does a typical conference look like? You can see what typical EYH conference is like by viewing our EYH DVD movie. 9. What services does the Network provide to the local conference sites? We've been helping sites plan and coordinate conferences since 1976. We're experts at helping sites jumpstart their planning process and plan a great conference for the young women to enjoy. The national office provides:
10. What does it cost to host an Expanding Your Horizons conference? The Expanding Your Horizons Network is the licensing body for all Expanding Your Horizons conferences. Therefore, in order to call your conference Expanding Your Horizons, and to access our valuable resource materials, we ask you to pay a small site fee. If you are a new site, or a lapsed site (no conference in 5 years) we ask you to pay a small registration fee of $150. For existing sites, fees are based on the number of young women who attended the previous year.
Register now or learn more. 11. What are some typical conference expenses? Each and every EYH conference costs a different amount to run. Costs rise as the number of young women increase. Also, some conference sites have to pay for conference space and this can dramatically increase the overall conference cost. Expenses can vary depending on what your site decides to do. Are you going to serve a large lunch or will you ask the young women to bring their own lunches? Will you purchase a wide variety of snacks or will your site get snacks donated? Will every attendee receive a T-shirt or a less expensive souvenir? Will your brochure be two color or four color? All of these items must be taken into consideration and will affect your overall conference budget. Most conferences charge the young women a small fee ($5-$20) to help offset conference costs. 12. Has the Network done any longitudinal work to measure the impact of conferences on young women? In 1976 the first EYH took place at Mills College. Over the years the number of conferences have increased and spread throughout the USA. There have been over 90 conferences a year for the past 15 years. Throughout our twenty-nine year history, the Math/Science Network has collected evaluations from hundreds of sites throughout the United States. This evaluative data indicates that the EYH conferences are reaching their goals. Two longitudinal evaluation studies are summarized below. In 1981-1982 a study was conducted by Barbara Gross Davis and Sheila Humphreys in 1981-82 (Davis & Humphreys). This study surveyed attendees at 6 EYH conferences in the San Francisco Bay Area on the day of the conference as well as six months later. Students were asked a variety of questions about the conference such as: How do you rate the conference? Did the conferences influence your plans to take more math? Did you initiate any career-related activities during the 6-month period following the conference? Nearly 80% of the young women gave the conference an overall rating of great or good. On the day of the conference 10th and 11th graders significantly reported an increase in the number of non-required math courses they planned to take. The follow-up survey revealed that the students took even more math than they previously planned and had also explored additional information about non-traditional math and science careers. The evaluators concluded that the EYH conferences were an effective and low cost intervention. In 1990, a women named Judith Tomhave wrote her masters thesis on young women and their experiences with EYH. Tomhave (University of North Dakota), questioned two sets of women nine years after they attended an Expanding Your Horizons conference, or had registered, but not attended (Tomhave). The research indicated that attending the conference had a long-term positive influence on the participants. Young women who attended the conference indicated that they took more advanced math and science classes in high school, planned to continue on to higher education and their attitudes towards math and science were rated more positive than those who did not attend. The Network is currently in the process of implementing another longitudinal survey. Thus far, four EYH sites from around the United States have agreed to participate in this new survey, where conference participants fill in surveys just before the EYH conference begins, at the end of the EYH conference and then again 9 months later. The current plan is to follow up these post conference interviews again at intervals of three and five years. Have you ever attended an EYH conference? Take our alumna survey. |
