TY - JOUR
T1 - An integrated supplemental program to enhance the first-year engineering experience
AU - Brown, Ordel
AU - Hensel, Robin A.M.
AU - Morris, Melissa Lynn
AU - Dygert, Joseph
N1 - Funding Information:
At a large land-grant university in the mid-Atlantic region, between 2003 and 2012, an average thirty percent of first-year engineering students left engineering before their second year. A three-year study (2007-2010) implemented to gain insight into this attrition rate, showed that students left primarily because of lack of interest in and knowledge about engineering and the institution, disconnection from the engineering profession, low self-efficacy and academic difficulty. Underrepresented minority (URM) students left at a disproportionately higher rate than non-URM students. In an attempt to address these issues, a modified, integrated first-year orientation program, consisting of a summer bridge and in-semester curricular and co-curricular components, was implemented and funded first by a NASA Space Grant and later by NSF. The program targeted first-time, full-time (FTFT) students from URM groups, including females, and provided opportunities for students to develop strategies for academic success, explore engineering careers, and start building a professional network through a multi-level peer, faculty and alumni mentoring system.
Funding Information:
At a large land-grant university in the mid-Atlantic region, between 2003 and 2012, an average thirty percent of first-year engineering students left engineering before their second year. Several actions were taken and programs were implemented to attempt to increase first-to-second year engineering student retention, including revising placement standards for first-year math, science, and engineering courses; enhancing advising structures; and creating a “freshman engineering home” that serves as a one-stop shop where students can access tutoring, advising, space to work on team projects, and find other resources they may need. A supplemental program, called the Academy of Engineering Success (AcES), which includes a summer bridge component and an academic success and professional development course, was also developed to recruit, equip, and retain first-time, full-time (FTFT) underrepresented minority students. AcES participants are systematically and deliberately immersed in curricular and co-curricular activities as they develop strategies for academic success, explore engineering careers, and start building a professional network through a multi-level peer, faculty and alumni mentoring system. The program also provides direct pathways to academic enrichment activities such as undergraduate research. The AcES program, which utilizes high-impact educational strategies designed to support academic success and professional development while encouraging persistence, was piloted with a NASA Space Grant in 2012 and fully funded by NSF in 2016.
Funding Information:
Cohorts entering in fall 2016 and later were eligible for AcES specific scholarships funded by an NSF S-STEM grant. The scholarships were awarded based on students’ financial need and academic performance, and are renewable for up to five years for students maintaining a college cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher and remaining in the engineering college.
Funding Information:
Before the AcES program was fully funded, all applicants were required to pay a nominal application fee which covered administrative costs for activities such as field-trips. This cost negatively impacted the number of applicants from the target populations. This barrier to enrollment was eliminated once AcES was funded by NSF. AcES applicants can receive a waiver of the application fee in addition to program specific scholarships.
Publisher Copyright:
© American Society for Engineering Education, 2018.
Copyright:
Copyright 2018 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2018/6/23
Y1 - 2018/6/23
N2 - Student retention in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines, especially engineering, continues to be a challenge for higher education institutions. Engineering retention has attracted increasing attention from many stakeholders in academia including faculty, staff, administrators and students. Its significance goes beyond the benefits for the academic institutions to encompass national concerns. At a large land-grant university in the mid-Atlantic region, between 2003 and 2012, an average thirty percent of first-year engineering students left engineering before their second year. A three-year study (2007-2010) implemented to gain insight into this attrition rate, showed that students left primarily because of lack of interest in and knowledge about engineering and the institution, disconnection from the engineering profession, low self-efficacy and academic difficulty. Underrepresented minority (URM) students left at a disproportionately higher rate than non-URM students. In an attempt to address these issues, a modified, integrated first-year orientation program, consisting of a summer bridge and in-semester curricular and co-curricular components, was implemented and funded first by a NASA Space Grant and later by NSF. The program targeted first-time, full-time (FTFT) students from URM groups, including females, and provided opportunities for students to develop strategies for academic success, explore engineering careers, and start building a professional network through a multi-level peer, faculty and alumni mentoring system. The challenges, logistics and results of the implementation of this program are detailed in this paper. Preliminary results not only advance retention efforts within the college and university, but also have potential for a broader societal impact by increasing and diversifying the pool of potential engineering talent that is needed in the United States' workforce. Recommendations to include long-term studies of the participants are discussed.
AB - Student retention in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines, especially engineering, continues to be a challenge for higher education institutions. Engineering retention has attracted increasing attention from many stakeholders in academia including faculty, staff, administrators and students. Its significance goes beyond the benefits for the academic institutions to encompass national concerns. At a large land-grant university in the mid-Atlantic region, between 2003 and 2012, an average thirty percent of first-year engineering students left engineering before their second year. A three-year study (2007-2010) implemented to gain insight into this attrition rate, showed that students left primarily because of lack of interest in and knowledge about engineering and the institution, disconnection from the engineering profession, low self-efficacy and academic difficulty. Underrepresented minority (URM) students left at a disproportionately higher rate than non-URM students. In an attempt to address these issues, a modified, integrated first-year orientation program, consisting of a summer bridge and in-semester curricular and co-curricular components, was implemented and funded first by a NASA Space Grant and later by NSF. The program targeted first-time, full-time (FTFT) students from URM groups, including females, and provided opportunities for students to develop strategies for academic success, explore engineering careers, and start building a professional network through a multi-level peer, faculty and alumni mentoring system. The challenges, logistics and results of the implementation of this program are detailed in this paper. Preliminary results not only advance retention efforts within the college and university, but also have potential for a broader societal impact by increasing and diversifying the pool of potential engineering talent that is needed in the United States' workforce. Recommendations to include long-term studies of the participants are discussed.
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M3 - Conference article
AN - SCOPUS:85051194836
VL - 2018-June
JO - ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings
JF - ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings
SN - 2153-5965
T2 - 125th ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition
Y2 - 23 June 2018 through 27 December 2018
ER -