2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This paper outlines the progress of a five-year National Science Foundation Revolutionizing Engineering Departments (RED) project, entitled “Engineering Pathways for Access, Community, and Transfer (EPACT).” [1] The project, in its third year, connects faculty from three community colleges (CCs) and a large western land-grant university in the same state. As part of the project, a community of practice (CoP) brings together community college and university teaching faculty, who are collectively designing and delivering three required foundational second-year engineering courses online and assessment tools for CC engineering students, while engaging in professional development activities. Offering these courses online with local CC support reduces the need for early transfer to the university, helping students stay on track for graduation. By completing courses online through their CC, students save both time and money while increasing their likelihood of transferring and graduating with an engineering degree from the university.

The first course, Statics, is being delivered synchronously online in Fall 2025 with 14 students enrolled across two community colleges. Dynamics will follow in Spring 2026, and Circuits will be launched in Fall 2026. All courses are offered through a shared learning management system, meet ABET accreditation standards, and maintain the same rigor as in-person university courses. Beyond academics, evidence-based student support services (pro-active advising and career guidance) are included, and the courses are intentionally designed to foster community, strengthen engineering identity, and support a sense of belonging among transfer students.

In its third year, the CoP focused on classroom experiences and assignments that deepen community building and student belonging, while also providing faculty professional development. Topics included developing engaging classes, using a Miro board for student collaboration, connecting with students through video and written messages, use of standards based grading, and best practices for mentoring engineering students.

Each summer, the project convenes the EPACT team for symposia that build cohesion, alignment, and change. These symposia establish roles and responsibilities, clarify expectations, and address cultural, structural, and organizational changes. Participants include the CoP, principal and co-principal investigators, a change expert, two project mentors, the external evaluator, as well as the Director of Academic Success and Career Services Director at the partner university. The symposia give the EPACT team the opportunity to build relationships, exchange ideas, and connect their expertise to the program’s goals.

A mixed-methods engineering education research study is being conducted with both the CoP and CC students participating in EPACT courses. The study will draw on two validated survey instruments, established rubrics, and focus group interviews. The first set of qualitative data from focus group interviews and rubrics [2] conducted during the summer 2024 and 2025 symposia as well as quantitative data from two surveys [3, 4] conducted during the fall 2025 semester are being analyzed.

Ultimately, the project aims to demonstrate how CCs and universities can collaborate effectively to support student success in transfer programs. It highlights the power of cross-institutional faculty collaboration in helping engineering transfer students complete their degrees on time and move confidently into the workforce or graduate school.

References
1. A. Flesher, A-M. Vollstedt, D. Loranz, M. Wasala, J. Gill, J. Williams, B. Protas, J. Amos, I. Chatterjee, “NSF RED: Engineering Pathways for Access, Community, and Transfer (EPACT)”, Proceedings of the 2025 ASEE Conference & Exposition, Montreal, Quebec, June 2025

2. PULSE Vision & Change Leadership Fellows. The PULSE Vision & Change Rubrics, Version 2.0: Instruction Manual & Rubrics Packet. Partnership for Undergraduate Life Sciences Education (PULSE), 2015. Available at: https://www.ning.pulse-community.org/files/KFuMfW7V8MYZfU7LNGdOnG4MNryzUgUpC2IxdtUmucnB4QNCdLaOwWGoMoULSeKw8hF9jiFdh75tlzuv1nqtfCuM11hNPp3/PULSERubricsPacketv2_0_FINALVERSION.pdf (accessed Oct. 2, 2025).

3. K.M. Moser. Redefining transfer student success: Transfer capital and the Laanan-transfer students’ questionnaire (L-TSQ) revisited. Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, 2012

4. InIce (Intersectionality of Non-normative Identities in the Cultures of Engineering), Purdue University, School of Engineering Education, Attitudinal Profiles in Engineering Survey, personal communication from A. Kirn.