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1. Establishing a Pathway to Completion for Pursuing Engineering and Engineering Technology Degrees through a Scholarship Program at Old Dominion University

   Jovanovic, Vukica ; Dean, Anthony ; Sibson, Kim ; Tomovic, Cynthia ; Landaeta, Rafael ( January 2019 , ASEE annual conference & exposition proceedings)

   There are various barriers facing adult students and veterans completing engineering degrees. Many of these student’s work part- or full-time while in college. In order to help these students, enable high retention rates, and decrease time to graduation require an in-depth understanding of specific student populations, especially ones classified as underrepresented. This paper provides an initial look into the first year of a scholarship program, funded by the National Science Foundation, and student success activities designed to support high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need pursuing bachelor's degrees in engineering and engineering technology. Support services and scholarships are for veterans who have exhausted their GI Bill Benefits, but have not yet graduated. This paper will give an overview of current academic and mentoring support to increase academic success and workplace readiness, ensuring these students are ready to meet the demands of government, industry, and business. 

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2. NSF S-STEM Project Update: A Pathway to Completion for Pursuing Engineering and Engineering Technology Degrees

   https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--35004  

   Bullington, Kim ; Tomovic, Cynthia ; Jovanovic, Vukica ; Dean, Anthony ; Landaeta, Rafael ( January 2021 , ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual On line)

   null (Ed.)

   This poster showcases the progress of students who are receiving scholarships from the National Science Foundation S-STEM project: A Pathway to Completion for Pursuing Engineering and Engineering Technology Degrees. Thus far, 20 academically high-achieving students who demonstrate financial need have participated in the project. Thirty-six scholarships have been awarded to date, in which a maximum of twelve scholarships are awarded per semester; some students have received scholarships multiple times. Students are from electrical engineering, computer engineering, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, civil engineering technology, and modeling and simulation majors. As part of this S-STEM project, students also receive academic support, mentorship related to the development of professional workforce skills, career search skills, and opportunities to participate in industry-related field trips. Role models, many of whom are practicing engineers with STEM degrees and are military veterans, serve as presenters and share their personal career pathways and answer students’ questions in the required one-hour weekly seminar. Although the students participating in this project meet the strenuous academic criteria set by the project (3.0/4.0), many of the students struggle financially, due to having expended their G.I. benefits, which can impede their academic performance and graduation. While many student success programs focus on freshman and sophomore students, what makes this project unique is its focus on enabling student success at the junior and senior years. This project provides a portfolio of different activities for the more mature student, e.g. financial aid through scholarships, community-based learning opportunities, and academic success strategies that enable stronger retention and student completion rates. Project activities are tailored to veterans and adult learners as this group of students is particularly vulnerable given their need to simultaneously juggle academic, family, and financial obligations. 

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3. Board 3: Engineering Technology Scholars-IMProving Retention and Student Success (ETS-IMPRESS): First Year Progress Repo

   Alaraje, Nasser ; Meadows, Lorelle A. ; Fiss, Laura Kasson ; Amato-Henderson, Susan L. ; Hambroff, Guy C. ; Sergeyev, Aleksandr ; Raffaelli, Kellie H. ; Irwin, John L. ( June 2019 , ASEE Annual Conference proceedings)

   Recognizing a national and regional need for a highly trained engineering technology STEM workforce with baccalaureate degrees, the Engineering Technology Scholars – IMProving Retention and Student Success (ETS-IMPRESS) project provides financial support and an ecosystem of high-impact curricular and co-curricular activities to increase the success of academically talented students. A total of 12 first-time students will be supported for four years and 36 students transferring from community colleges will be supported for two years. The goals of the project are to (1) increase the number and diversity of students pursuing degrees in engineering technology (first-generation, underrepresented students, women, and veterans); (2) add to the body of knowledge regarding best practices in Engineering Technology and promote employment; and (3) contribute to the literature on self-efficacy. The project brings together engineering technology academic programs that are offered through the School of Technology and programs in the Honors College, an inclusive and unique college designed around high-impact educational practices. The project provides a unique opportunity to engage academically talented engineering technology students in activities designed to foster leadership, technical know-how, and employability skills for technology fields that actively recruit and employ graduates from diverse backgrounds and communities. By focusing on a broad range of students, the project will investigate the relationship between student characteristics and student success through (1) a mixed methods pre/post research design that examines differences in motivation, self-efficacy and professional skills and (2) a matched cohort comparison study of transfer students that examines participation/non-participation in engineering technology programs of study with honors’ college elective programming. The paper will address first year project activities including the ETS-IMPRESS recruitment, and advertisement plan to recruit first-year and community college transfer students. The paper will address the student eligibility and selection process, the recruitment of the first cohort scholars, and finally the orientation program including the summer bridge undergraduate research experience. 

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4. Multiple Support Mechanisms for Adult and Veteran Students that Increase Academic Success in Engineering and Technology Education

   Jovanovic, Vukica ; Dean, Anthony. ; Landaeta, Rafael ; Tomovic, Cynthia ; Sibson, Kim ( October 2018 , 6th IAJC International Conference)

   Continuing education after years of technician experience can pose multiple challenges to the adult student population, such as incumbent workforce technicians and veterans. Veterans, through their active service, frequently receive training in highly skilled technical areas but may lack a theoretical background in underlying engineering principles. While STEM education is important for the maintenance of national competitiveness, it is especially critical that the nation’s veterans, who possess technical STEM training gained in the military, are enabled to pursue higher education in order to increase the quantity and quality of talent available in the STEM workforce. A program that will be presented in this paper emphasizes the importance of recruiting students to engineering and engineering technology disciplines, mentoring and supporting students through degree completion, and partnering with employers to facilitate student academic success and career placement in the STEM workforce. Enabling multiple mechanisms which support and provide guidance are especially important at universities with large veteran populations such as Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia. Advancing the field’s understanding of interventions that affect these outcomes for adult students and student veterans is important for the improvement of future support programs as well as to guide implementation across different institutions. The program presented in this paper is funded by the National Science Foundation. 

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5. Engaging Transfer Students in a College of Engineering

   Christy Wheeler West, Eric J. ( January 2023 , ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition)

   The LINK scholarship program at the University of South Alabama is funded by an NSF S-STEM grant, awarding scholarships to low-income students transferring from community colleges in the Gulf Coast region to complete degrees in chemical, civil, computer, electrical, or mechanical engineering. The program provides financial support and academic mentoring to foster student success and optimize time to degree completion after transfer. Part of that effort includes providing pre-transfer advice through interactions with faculty and advisors at the regional community colleges. A further objective is to promote transfer student integration into the college, as this is expected to enhance academic achievement and professional development. This engagement is encouraged through faculty mentorship with frequent meetings, a cohort-building academic success seminar, and expected participation in engineering-focused student organizations. Our project includes a mixed-methods study to improve our understanding of what support mechanisms effectively integrate transfer students in our college, and how students perceive that integration to enhance their academic and professional development. Early data analysis is presented here. Student surveys indicate that they believe that peers in their classes and their assigned faculty advisors have the greatest impact on their integration and academic success. For professional development, the transfer students find that internships the most importance, followed by participation in student organizations. 

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