2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This paper presents the practical framework for implementing the Civil and Mechanical Engineering (CAM) Scholarship project, using a recently received grant from the NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (NSF-S-STEM) program. This project is focused on supporting the retention and degree completion of low-income, and high-achieving students with proven financial need in the Civil and Mechanical Engineering programs at the College of Engineering and Technology (CET) at the University. The University is an open-admissions public institution of higher education with a dual mission model that aims to combine the resources and rigor of a major university yet keep the accessibility of a community college. The institution’s student body is markedly different than those at research focused institutions: 37% are first generation, 80% work while enrolled, 30% are over 25 years old, and only 48% are full-time students. These circumstances create challenges in degree completion, leading to high attrition rates at the university level. The overall retention rate is 65%, the typical 4-year undergraduate graduation rate is only 13%, and the 6-year graduation rate is 29%. Specific to the Mechanical and Civil Engineering programs, the first-year retention rate for students starting in 2020 was 64%. Students cited several reasons for leaving, with 35% reporting that they are unable to afford college. Although a 2020 Institutional Research study found that scholarships are the most effective form of financial aid to increase persistence, CET has few dedicated scholarships to award students. Furthermore, the few scholarships available in the college are based on merit and do not factor in low-income and other factors that lead to attrition. This project aims to generate knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income and high-achieving students. This project also seeks to advance understanding about the effect of evidence-based, context-specific interventions to ensure success for STEM program students in open-admissions universities. The framework of this project is to study and address several institutionally identified attrition points in the XXX that includes: (i) high attrition of first- and second-year students, (ii) slow pace of students to matriculation into the Civil and Mechanical Engineering programs, and (iii) low participation and completion rates of women, underrepresented minorities, and first-generation students. In addition to the scholarship award, several approaches have been identified for implementation to support scholarship recipients’ success: (i) Multi-layered Mentoring, (ii) Social and Academic Support via an active, collaborative, and inclusive cohorts, (iii) Professional Preparation, and (iv) High Impact Practices. This project can be used to inform other institutions with similar populations and/or concerns on impactful programs, practices, and interventions that are most impactful for students. This paper provides the framework of what will be implemented in the CAM Scholarship project.