This work in progress explores the impact of activities developed to improve students’
persistence in engineering undergraduate programs as part of a five-year NSF grant. The
Program for Engineering Access, Retention, and LIATS Success (PEARLS), has been running for one year in the College of Engineering (CoE) in our institution attempting to increase persistence, retention and graduation rates, and professional success of low-income, academically talented students (LIATS). This paper describes the design of a novel engineering learning community (ELC) introduced as part of the PEARLS project interventions. The ELC is fostered through activities included in a course designed for PEARLS first-year students. During the course, first-year and senior students engaged in different ways: through senior design and capstone projects, peer demonstrations of team projects, and lab visits. We discuss the course structure, activities, and early findings of its implementation.
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Work in Progress: Building Career Goals and Boosting Self-efficacy in Engineering Students
This work in progress presents the development and implementation of an Individual
Development Plan (IDP) for undergraduate and first-year master’s engineering students. The
IDP was designed and tailored as one of several strategies to increase retention and graduation
rates for engineering students participating in the Program for Engineering Access, Retention,
and LIATS Success (PEARLS). This program provides scholarships to low income,
academically talented students (LIATS), and promotes their academic success and on-time
graduation. We show how the IDPs, paired with a faculty mentoring component are able to
produce a powerful mechanism to boost LIATS actions, propelling them to become highly
competitive engineering students.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1833869
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10297654
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- ASEE annual conference exposition
- ISSN:
- 2153-5965
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Improving the level of success of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines has been a prevailing concern for higher education institutions for many years. To address this challenge, a pilot initiative has been implemented with engineering students at the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez, a recognized Hispanic-serving institution. Over the past four years, the Program for Engineering Access, Retention, and LIATS Success (PEARLS) has brought in an innovative intervention model that combines elements from socio-cognitive career theories and departure studies to impact students' success. PEARLS has established a comprehensive range of tools and services, including mentorship, professional readiness training, research opportunities, scholarships, and peer mentor activities. These efforts have led to impressive outcomes, including a significant increase in retention and persistence rates, increased graduation rates having quad-fold those observed in the general student population, and an impressive record of engagements in industry, research, and leadership experiences. This paper discusses the program structure and outcomes from five perspectives that include background experiences, the structure of provided services, the results of their execution, the elements of knowledge derived from its application, and the challenges experienced throughout its implementation.more » « less
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Student reflections and using individual development plans (IDPs) for mentoring have been an integral part of an NSF S-STEM project focusing on students pursuing baccalaureate degrees in Engineering Technology (ET). The Engineering Technology Scholars – IMProving Retention and Student Success (ETS-IMPRESS) project provides financial support and offers students several high-impact curricular and co-curricular activities to increase the success of academically talented students. This interdisciplinary project brings together the Electrical Engineering Technology, and Computer Network and System Administration programs in the College of Computing and the College of Engineering’s Mechanical Engineering Technology program, with programs in the Pavlis Honors College, an inclusive and unique college designed around high-impact educational practices. An IDP is commonly used in business and industry to assist employees in meeting short- and long-term goals in their professional career. This tool has been adapted for use in the educational setting in a faculty mentoring capacity. The ET program advisors assign the freshman or transfer S-STEM student scholars with faculty mentors to match their area of research interest. The faculty mentors meet with the students a minimum of three to four times a year to review their IDP, make suggestions, and provide input for reaching their goals. The goals of the IDP process are to develop a deeper more meaningful relationship between the advisor and student, reflect and develop a strategy for the scholar’s educational and career success, and manage expectations and identify opportunities. In the initial meeting there are several prompts for the student to write about their goals, strengths, weaknesses and perceived challenges. In subsequent meetings the advisor and student revisit the IDP to discuss progress towards those goals. This study will describe some outcomes of the IDP process providing specific examples from each of the ET programs. Although it is difficult to measure the effect of these relationships, it is one of the high impact practices that have been noted as increasing student engagement and retention. The consequences of COVID-19 introducing a virtual environment to the IDP process will also be examined from the viewpoint of both student and advisor. An advantage of the IDP meetings for students is that advisors may provide personal business connections for internship opportunities and/or research projects that otherwise would not be discussed in a typical office hour or classroom session. One of the innovations of the ETS-IMPRESS program was requiring participation in the Honors Pathway Program, which generally emphasizes intrinsic motivation (and does not use GPA in admissions or awarding of credentials). The honors program consists of three seminar classes and four experiential components; for all of these, students write reflections designed to promote their development of self-authorship. Preliminary survey results show no difference between ETS and other honors students in the areas of student motivation, intention to persist, and professional skill development. ETS students see a closer link between their current major and their future career than non-ETS honors students. A comparative analysis of reflections will investigate students’ perceptions of the program’s effect.more » « less
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