2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The University College of Engineering has implemented an NSF S-STEM program focusing on the retention and success of underprepared students in engineering and Computer science at XXX. The project creates a scholarship to meet the financial needs of underprepared, low SES students for success in an engineering program (e.g., not calculus-ready and low AP coursework). This project works to fill the gap between a student’s high school academic preparation and those skills needed to be a successful engineering student. Currently, many XX state high school students are not receiving sufficient academic preparation in mathematics and study skills to be successful in engineering, particularly in “high need” / low SES regions of the state. This paper provides an overview of the program and results through the first two years.
Program goals include: (1) Use the scholarships and programs to improve scholars’ academic performance in engineering foundational courses; (2) Develop a resiliency program to increase College of Engineering (CoE) student retention by building upon a sense of community created through existing peer-based programs (Geisinger & Raman, 2013; Ikuma et al., 2019); and (3) Increase employers’ recognition of low SES students’ strengths and valuations of their employable competencies through a paid internship program.
The general objectives were established including; (1) New pathway to success. Scholars are provided a pathway to complete an engineering degree including direct education and intervention approaches for their engineering academic career (Geisinger & Raman, 2013) Scholars will be retained in the program and graduate at a statistically significant higher rate; goal 65-75%; (2) Reduce time to graduation. Underprepared BS engineering students typically require 6 to 7 years to graduate, and this program seeks to reduce the time by one year while their GPAs will statistically, significantly increase; (3) Enhance professional development. The program will improve PRISE Scholars’ professional and leadership skills through workshops, an experiential learning series, and subsidized internship/co-op. (4) Increase employer awareness. Employers who evaluate PRISE interns will receive targeted training on the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) research-based competencies.
The program has: (1) Developed academic workshops based on proactive study habits and utilizing resources; (2) Developed professional workshops based on NACE competencies, e.g. professionalism/work ethics, intercultural fluency, and communication; (3) Supported engineering bridge camp attendance; (4) Offered alternate degree pathways; (5) Provided Academic faculty and peer mentors; (6) Provided engineering freshmen course tutoring.
Thorough assessments are creating a refined, evidence-based model that can be utilized by other institutions to increase the success of underprepared engineering students with financial need. PRISE is designed to address academic climate, grades, high school preparation, career goals, self-efficacy, and confidence (Geisinger & Raman, 2013). The proposed theoretical framework comes from several evidence-based perspectives: Social Learning Theory (Bandura, 1977) and Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) (Lent et al.,1994).
To date, the program has selected two program cohorts with 15 scholars in each. Cohort 1 is in the second year, and 100 percent of the scholars were retained, and their mean first-year GPA is 3.59, which is well above the CoE mean of 2.75 (std. 0.80) and currently, 53 percent of the scholars are on track to graduate in four years. Internal and external evaluations indicate that the program is overwhelmingly positive with the workshops cited as a top strength by the scholars. The workshop pre- and post-surveys indicated about half of the first-year workshops resulted in significant gains of knowledge. Adjustments to the surveys and content were made for cohort 2 and will be compared at the end of this academic year.