2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Work in Progress: Studying How Engineering Research Internships Affect Community College Students’ Interest in and Intent to Complete Engineering Bachelor’s Degrees

Presented at Transfer Issues Between 2-Year Colleges and 4-Year Engineering and Engineering Technology Programs 1

This paper examines the findings from the pilot year of an engineering research internship program for community college students hosted by a large, research university. With funding from a federal grant, qualified community college students receive stipends to participate in 10-week, research-intensive internships either at an engineering university or industry partner. The internship program is part of a multi-year project to introduce community college students to engineering bachelor’s degree opportunities and create pathways for the students to pursue engineering careers. This research on internship impact and effectiveness will continue as the internship program grows to serve more students.

Hosted by the University of [XX], the community college internship program was introduced into an existing internship program for undergraduate university engineering students. Summer 2023 was the first time that community college students participated in the university internships. Interns were supported by an engineering faculty member’s research group and included mentoring from the professor and engineering graduate students. Peer-to-peer collaboration between university undergraduate and community college students was also an integral component of the program.

To understand the impact of the pilot program, we analyzed students’ feedback from a post-internship survey on:
• their interest in transferring to a four-year university before and after their internship experience,
• their intent to transfer into engineering,
• the correlation of their internship field and their intended major after transfer, and
• their experiences with faculty and graduate student mentors.

Using responses to open-ended questions, we also identified emerging themes about how the internship experience affected students’ self-efficacy and engineering identity.

Lastly, we share lessons learned about implementing a university-based internship program designed for community college students.

Authors

Ms. Janet Yowell http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8013-5535 University of Colorado Boulder [biography]

Janet serves as the Director of Community College STEM Initiatives for the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Colorado Boulder. In this capacity, she develops systems-level programming to improve two- to four-year transfer pathways in STEM--particularly engineering--for the college. She currently works with community colleges to better prepare developmental math students for transfer into engineering bachelor's degree programs.
Dr. Heidi G. Loshbaugh http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8163-0140 [biography]

Heidi G. Loshbaugh, Ph.D., is passionate about higher education’s role in the public good. She has taught, conducted research, and served as a college administrator with a keen focus on equity. As a community college dean, she was PI for a $3.5M US Dept. of Ed. award to transform STEM education. Her implementation of math corequisite instruction led the B & M Gates Foundation to fund an ROI study that revealed the time and cost savings for students, the cost effectiveness for the college to implement the reform, and the dramatic improvement in completing college-level math for BIPOC, first-generation, and low-in come students. She consults with states and institutions to improve student success in college, particularly with Complete College America (CCA). At University of Colorado Boulder, Heidi is a Senior Research Associate in Ethnography & Evaluation Research, a center focused on STEM education. She recently was the project lead in transforming teaching evaluation practices in the College of Arts & Sciences. A fourth-generation Coloradoan and educator, she lives in Denver with her husband, two college-aged children, and rescue dog.
Mr. Nick Stites University of Colorado Boulder [biography]

Nick Stites is the Director of the Integrated Teaching and Learning Program at CU Boulder and an instructor with the Integrated Design Engineering program. Dr. Stites is the principal investigator (PI) of the Denver-Metro Engineering Consortium, which is a partnership between local community colleges and universities to support engineering pathways for transfer students. He is also involved with ASPIRE, an NSF Engineering Research Center that is focused on developing the technology and workforce for electrifying the nation's transportation system. Dr. Stites earned degrees in Mechanical Engineering (BS Colorado State University, MS Purdue University) and Engineering Education (PhD Purdue University). His research interests include the development of novel pedagogical methods to teach core engineering courses and leveraging technology to enhance learning experiences and broaden access to engineering education. He has experience as a practicing engineer and has taught at the university and community-college levels.
Chris Anderson University of Colorado Boulder

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