2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Understanding Low-income Engineering Students’ Backgrounds, Expectations, and Readiness for Strategic National Workforce Needs

Presented at NSF Grantees Poster Session I

Engineering talent is essential for advancing national priorities in artificial intelligence, microelectronics, cybersecurity, and infrastructure resiliency, yet projected workforce shortages, magnified by barriers faced by low, income students—pose a significant challenge. The ACCESS S‑STEM project seeks to address this gap by reducing financial, academic, and experiential constraints that hamper degree completion among talented, economically disadvantaged engineering students. To support equitable scholar selection, this study examines applicants’ background experiences, expectations, and readiness to contribute to areas of local and national strategic need. Results show strong alignment between prior experiences, declared interests, and long‑term goals, while work burdens played a minimal role. Findings highlight experience‑based, equity‑driven recruitment as a promising strategy for expanding strategic engineering workforce pathways.

Authors

Dr. Manuel A. Jimenez http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4038-7102 University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus [biography]

Dr. Jimenez is a professor at the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department in the University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez (UPRM). He earned his B.S from Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in 1986, M.S. from Univ. of Puerto Rico in 1992, and Ph.D. from Michigan State University in 1999. His current teaching and research interests include rapid systems prototyping, electronics characterization, and engineering education. He is a senior IEEE and honorary Golden Key member.
Dr. Carla Lopez Del Puerto http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0334-7208 University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus [biography]

Dr. Carla Lopez del Puerto is a professor in the Civil Engineering Department at the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez (UPRM).
Jesus Antonio Sanchez-Perez University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus
Dr. Nayda G. Santiago P.E. http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6049-8782 University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus [biography]

Nayda G. Santiago is professor at the Electrical and Computer Engineering department, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus (UPRM) where she teaches the Capstone Course in Computer Engineering. She received an BS in EE from the University of PR, Maya
Daniel Rodriguez Roman University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 21, 2026, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 24, 2026

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