2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This is a works-in-progress submission. In engineering, the expectation is that students often have a 3.0 GPA or above to be eligible for internships and scholarships and are on track for a career in the field. The present study seeks to examine how students can use forms of community cultural wealth [1] to enhance their engineering identity and self-efficacy and increase the support of community and resources to increase their GPA performance and persistence in engineering. Using an assets-based approach to examine how students achieve academic success, this study will examine the effect participation in an academic program aimed at student success had on mid-range first-year students. Specifically, this study will look at cumulative GPAs, academic standing, and program attendance to investigate whether active participation in the program improved students' cumulative GPAs. Mid-range students were initially targeted to receive an invitation to participate in this program that provided mentorship opportunities, career readiness strategies, and study skill strategies to see if it helped to improve their academic performance. This study defined mid-range as students earning a 2.5-2.99 cumulative GPA upon admission into the intervention program. Freeman [2] noted that Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) offer nurturing and affirming environments that help students feel more academically motivated, aiding Black students' academic success. According to McGee [3], STEM environments are racialized environments for Students of Color. Thus, this preliminary study seeks to identify interventions that may help students develop a sense of belonging in STEM classes and the STEM workforce. The authors sought to answer the following question: If mid-range first- and second-year engineering students participate in an intervention program specifically designed to promote community, identity, and skills to seek support and resources, will their cumulative GPAs increase to a 3.0 by the end of their sophomore year? This study seeks to answer this question by reviewing aggregate data of first- and second-year engineering students who participated in a two year-long academic student success intervention program. This comparative quantitative study will compare their overall cumulative GPAs with engineering students who did not participate in the program. The program's participants attend the same institution, majoring in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, bioengineering, or industrial and systems engineering. Results from this preliminary study will prompt conversations regarding best practices and interventions that may aid in student success for mid-range engineering students and will provide direction regarding future more comprehensive studies regarding this intervention program.