2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Work in Progress: Development of a Bootcamp for Freshman Student Success During COVID-19 Transition

Presented at First-Year Programs Division Technical Session 10: Curricular & Program Design

Assessment results show that passing rates in introductory courses and retention rates of first-year students in the College of Engineering and Computer Science at The University of X, a predominantly Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), significantly dropped with the onset of COVID-19. These results and trends highlight the academic preparation of incoming students, particularly the new cohort of underrepresented Hispanic students from undeserved and challenged communities in the region, who may not have the necessary skills (e.g., adaptability, persistence, and performance) for the rigor of engineering education. To address this challenge, an onboarding "boostcamp" was created for incoming and transfer students to bridge the transition from secondary education to higher education. The boostcamp primes students to overcome academic deficiencies, develop a critical skills portfolio, learn problem-solving techniques, build a sustainable community of mentoring support with faculty and students, and gain a template to sustain academic and professional success during their undergraduate education. The paper presents the boostcamp's design process steps, including curricular analysis, identification of areas for improvement, skills inventory, and blueprinting, as well as its initial implementation in the mechanical engineering program. The boostcamp was organized over a week and featured hands-on engineering activities, faculty and student talks, and engineering lab tours. It was based on a design thinking approach and structured around Challenge-based Instruction, innovation, design, and mentoring. Daily activities focused on promoting critical thinking, assertiveness in the face of adversity, informed decision-making, and task prioritization. Results indicate that the boostcamp increased student confidence and established a valuable network system among participants. Future work will focus on expanding the boostcamp to include students from other engineering and computer science departments and developing a template for other institutions with similar challenges.

Authors

Dr. Noe Vargas Hernandez The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley [biography]

Noe Vargas Hernandez researches creativity and innovation in engineering design. He studies ideation methods, journaling, smartpens, and other methods and technology to aid designers improve their creativity levels. He also applies his research to the des
Dr. Arturo A Fuentes The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley [biography]

Dr. Fuentes is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley where he has worked since 2001. He obtained his MS and Ph.D. degrees from the Rice University in 1997 and 1999, respectively. He currently serves as the Associate Chair for the Mechanical Engineering department at UTRGV. Among his research interests are engineering education, materials, stress and thermal finite element analysis, dynamic response analysis.
Dr. Javier Ortega The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley [biography]

Dr. Javier A. Ortega is an Associate Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). His research interests include Tribology, Lubrication, Biomaterials, Additive Manufacturing, and Engineering Education. Dr. Ortega has been involved in different research projects, including tribological and corrosion studies of surface-engineered biomaterials intended for hip joint replacements and developing vegetable-oil-based lubricants modified with nanoparticles as lubricant additives.
Laura Benitez The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley [biography]

Dr. Laura Benitez serves as Associate Dean for Outreach and Student Engagement in the College of Engineering and Computer Science (CECS) and is also a faculty in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. Dr. Benitez is the Associate Director and co-PI for the National Science Foundation-funded Center for Equity in Engineering (CEE). She has also engaged and led several STEM outreach and equity initiatives at UTRGV. Prior to joining UTRGV, Dr. Benitez was a Product Engineer at Texas Instruments Inc. and earned her Ph.D. degree from Texas A&M University.
Dr. Edna orozco-leonhardt http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2561-3407 The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley [biography]

Edna Orozco, MSE, EdD is currently a Lecturer II, and undergraduate coordinator, for the Department of Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering. Edna has been key for the Department of Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering in many facets. The department opened in the year of 1993 and since then the department has hired only two faculty women, Dr. Karen Lozano, who currently works in the mechanical engineering department, and Edna Orozco, who is the female who has been working the longest at the department despite of being the only female. This is important to mention because she has been able to collaborate with all tenure, tenure track, and lecturers at the department. She has led the accreditation process and undergraduate curriculum of the department and has been greatly involved in outreach not only for the department but also for the College of Engineering & Computer Science. Her contribution to the engineering college was to bring the Girl Day in Engineering, a national celebration that focuses only on female students. She is also currently the chair-elect for the UTRGV Women Faculty Network.
Edna Orozco is a former Specialist in the Texas Army National Guard and worked as an administrator in secondary education K-12 for 7 years.

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