2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Tracing Black Transfer Students' Success in Engineering: A Comparative Insight into Transfer-Student Trends at Two State Minority-Serving Institutions

Presented at Transfer issues between 2-year colleges and 4-year Engineering and Engineering Technology programs 3

There is a pressing national concern about Black students' disproportionate underrepresentation and success rates in undergraduate engineering programs. Although, nationally, community colleges (CCs) serve as the primary pathways for Black students' making attempts to earn associate degrees. Fewer Black students achieve their transfer aspirations. For Blacks that transfer, there is a lack of detailed data tracking their enrollment, retention, and graduation rates, especially when transitioning to Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs). In cases where national transfer data are available, they often lack comprehensive and adequate disaggregation by factors like the cohort entry type, race, ethnicity, or program of study. Exceptionally, the state of [redacted] education system's unique approach to tracking and publicizing data on transfer students from CCs provides an opportunity to glean insights. This paper is an offshoot of a larger funded research project that leverages the shared commitment of CCs and MSIs to optimize black engineering student pathways to success in higher education. Using a comparative case study design, the research team analyzes and synthesizes engineering transfer data of Black students who transitioned from [redacted] college system CCs to two prominent four-year MSIs in State [redacted]: one Hispanic serving institution (HSI) and one Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). We also collected data from faculty/administrative representatives from the four institutions through two focus group sessions. This study highlights the effectiveness of MSI’s tracking system in capturing Black transfer engineering students' enrollment, retention, and graduation rates. Also, the findings hold the potential to serve as a benchmark for other MSIs nationwide seeking support and tracking of Black transfer students in engineering to promote their educational attainment.

Authors

Mr. Daniel Ifeoluwa Adeniranye http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1907-9463 Florida International University [biography]

Daniel Adeniranye embarked on his academic journey with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and dual master’s degrees in petroleum engineering and project development. He further enhanced his skills with a master’s in project (Engineering) Management. Daniel is currently a Research Assistant at the School of Universal Computing, Construction, and Engineering Education at Florida International University (FIU). In the 2023-24 academic year, he was elected as the program chair and subsequently appointed interim chair of the American Society for Engineering Education's student division. Before his tenure at FIU, Daniel worked in Dubai, the United Kingdom, and Nigeria, all in engineering and STEM/engineering education capacities.
Dr. Bruk T Berhane Florida International University [biography]

Dr. Bruk T. Berhane received his bachelorâ€™s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland in 2003. He then completed a masterâ€™s degree in engineering management at George Washington University in 2007. In 2016, he earned a Ph
Mr. Joseph Ronald Sturgess Florida International University [biography]

Joseph Sturgess is a Ph.D. student in the School of Universal Computing, Construction & Engineering Education majoring in Engineering Education at Florida International University, where he also serves as a graduate research assistant contributing to various projects supporting post-traditional students and transfer students. His research interests include community college-minority serving institution partnerships, transfer students, post-traditional students, and broadening participation in engineering education. He received his B.S. in electrical engineering from Tuskegee University, an M.S in journalism from the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, an M.S. in physics from Fisk University, an M.S. in industrial engineering from the University of Central Florida and an M.Ed. in educational leadership from Texas Christian University.
Jingjing Liu Florida International University [biography]

Dr. Jingjing Liu is a postdoctoral researcher in the School of Universal Computing, Construction, and Engineering Education at Florida
International University.

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