2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This paper presents the progress of the Civil and Mechanical Engineering Scholarship (CAM) project . This is a multi-year project to enhance the degree completion of students in civil and mechanical engineering as part of a National Science Foundation Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (NSF-S-STEM) grant. The students participating in this project attend a dual-mission university that aims to provide students with the educational opportunities afforded by both a major university and a community college. The students attending this institution are markedly different than those attending a research-focused institution. Specifically, 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. Specific to the Mechanical and Civil Engineering programs, the first-year retention rate for students starting in 2020 was 64%. This paper will discuss the first-year experience in implementing the project framework which includes (i) scholarship awards, (ii) multi-layered mentoring, (iii) social and academic support via active, collaborative, and inclusive cohorts, (iv) professional preparation, and (v) high impact practices. Survey results of the current students will be presented, along with reflections from the investigators and planned improvements for the following years’ cohorts