2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Engineering transfer students, particularly those from low-income or underrepresented backgrounds, often face significant challenges as they transition to four-year institutions. These challenges create what is commonly referred to as "transfer shock" and include adapting to different academic expectations, limited financial resources, lack of mentorship, and difficulty building social connections. In response to these issues, the EMPOWER program, a collaboration between UC San Diego, Southwestern College, and Imperial Valley College, was developed to support engineering transfer students through scholarships, mentorship, and high-impact practices aimed at easing their transitions. The program’s design is informed by Schlossberg’s Transition Theory, which emphasizes the situational, personal, and support factors that influence how individuals navigate major life changes [1]. This framework helps the EMPOWER program better understand and address the unique challenges faced by engineering transfer students.
The EMPOWER program, funded through the NSF S-STEM initiative and initially described in [2], assembles cohorts of Pell-eligible engineering transfer students and offers a structured support system, including financial assistance, faculty and alumni mentorship, cross-campus visits, cohort-building social events, and research opportunities. These activities are designed to help students navigate the transitions in, through, and out of their four-year institutions and into engineering careers.
In its third year, the program expanded its cohort of transfer students across all participating institutions and introduced enhanced mentorship activities, including incentives for one-on-one meetings between students and faculty. We also organized a range of professional development opportunities, including two cross-campus events and several workshops focused on career readiness, resume building, and industry engagement. These events provided students with valuable networking and mentorship opportunities while also building their confidence and preparedness for their future careers.
Ongoing program evaluation, including survey data from students, has demonstrated a positive impact of the EMPOWER program on students’ academic success, sense of belonging, and career development. This paper outlines these insights, detailing the design and implementation of the EMPOWER program, sharing results from Year 3, and highlighting future steps to continue supporting these diverse and ambitious students.