2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Board 223: Broadening Participation in Engineering via the Transfer Student Pathway: Findings from an S-STEM-Enabled Partnership

Presented at NSF Grantees Poster Session

Community colleges are often touted as cost-effective pathways to four-year universities for academically talented low-income students. However, four-year institutions often play an insignificant role in turning this promise into reality. Funded through the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Program (S-STEM) program, the Virginia Tech Network for Engineering Transfer Students (VT-NETS) project focuses to improve collaboration efforts between the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech (VT) and its two primary community college partners: Virginia Western Community College (VWCC) and Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA). The primary project objective of VT-NETS is to determine how a four-year institution can play an active role in increasing the success and efficiency of engineering transfer throughout the full community college-to-bachelor’s degree pathway, increasing attainment of A.S. and B.S. degrees in engineering by low-income students. From a research perspective, we have analyzed both academic and non-academic factors that promote student access and progress through this pathway and have identified and sought to mitigate specific barriers through revised practices and policies.

Advancing a key deliverable from this NSF grant, our project serves as an example of how to establish stronger networks between a university and the state community college system. Further, we provide a guide for four-year institutions and community college educators to develop new interventions which enhance transfer pathways as well as identify pitfalls or gaps in services and transfer structures that need be remedied. Ultimately, these findings illuminate and help prioritize the human, financial, and physical resources dedicated towards supporting all transfer students in engineering.

Authors

Dr. David B. Knight http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4576-2490 Virginia Tech [biography]

David Knight is a Professor in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech and also serves as Special Assistant to the Dean for Strategic Plan Implementation in the College of Engineering. His research tends to be at the macro-scale, focused on a systems-level perspective of how engineering education can become more effective, efficient, and inclusive, and considers the intersection between policy and organizational contexts. Knight currently serves as the co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Engineering Education.
Mrs. Amy Richardson, P.E. Virginia Tech [biography]

Amy Richardson is a Graduate Research Assistant at Virginia Tech in the Department of Engineering Education along with an Assistant Professor of Engineering at Northern Virginia Community College. She has been teaching math and engineering courses at com
Dr. Walter C. Lee http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5082-1411 Virginia Tech [biography]

Dr. Walter Lee is an associate professor in the Department of Engineering Education and the director for research at the Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Diversity (CEED), both at Virginia Tech.
Dr. Bevlee A. Watford Virginia Tech [biography]

Watford is Professor of Engineering Education, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Executive Director of the Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Diversity.
Mr. Hamidreza Taimoory http://orcid.org/https:// 0000-0002-3996-4750 Virginia Tech [biography]

Hamidreza is a Ph.D. student in Engineering Education and has a master's degree in industrial engineering at Virginia Tech (VT). He has worked in the industry as a research and development engineer. He is currently a data analyst in TLOS (Technology-Enhanced Learning And Online Strategies) at VT. His expertise is in quantitative research. His primary research interest is motivation, co-curricular activities, and professional development in engineering education.
Rene Alberto Hernandez Virginia Tech [biography]

René Hernandez, is a Salvadorean-American first-generation graduate student at Virginia Tech’s School of Education. He is pursuing his PhD in Higher Education with a cognate in Engineering Education. He has more than 10 years of K-12 and higher education experience which he leverages towards his pursuits of helping others find success in education. He has an evolving research agenda focused on pathways, policy, and how it shapes education and undergraduate engineering education, with specific attention to first-generation college students, low-income and immigrant populations. He loves running, books, anime, traveling, and food, especially when he gets to do it in the company of his husband Tommy and those he meets along the way!

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