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1. Supporting and Understanding Undergraduates' Computing Pathways Through the Flit-GAP S-STEM Program

   Secules, S.; Kumar, N.; Weiss, M.; Georgiopoulos, M.; Sullivan, J.; Kali, M.; Bond-Trittipo, M. (June 2023, American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference: NSF Poster Session)

   The Florida IT Graduation Attainment Pathways (Flit-GAP), an NSF S-STEM, Track 3 grant effort, involves three public metropolitan institutions from Florida’s three most populous areas: Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando, and University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa. Flit-GAP supports up to 50 students per year for each of the first 3 years of the project’; recruits are juniors from Computer Science, Information Technology, Computer Engineering, and Cybersecurity, and other computing majors. The relationship among the three institutions is formalized as the Consortium of Florida Metropolitan Research Universities. The consortium is a strategic priority of each institution. In Year 1, 42 students participated in the scholarship program at the three institutions (16 FIU; 14 UCF; 11 USF). 

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2. Supporting and Understanding Undergraduates' Computing Pathways Through the Flit-GAP S-STEM Program

   Secules, S.; Kumar, N.; Weiss, M.; Georgiopoulos, M.; Sullivan, J.; Kali, M.; Bond-Trittipo, M. (June 2023, American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference: NSF Poster Session)

   The Florida IT Graduation Attainment Pathways (Flit-GAP), an NSF S-STEM, Track 3 grant effort, involves three public metropolitan institutions from Florida’s three most populous areas: Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando, and University of South Florida(USF) in Tampa. Flit-GAP supports up to 50 students per year for each of the first 3 years of the project’; recruits are juniors from Computer Science, Information Technology, Computer Engineering, and Cybersecurity, and other computing majors. The relationship among the three institutions is formalized as the Consortium of Florida Metropolitan Research Universities. The consortium is a strategic priority of each institution. In Year 1, 42 students participated in the scholarship program at the three institutions (16 FIU; 14 UCF; 11 USF). 

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3. Undergraduate Hypersonics Research: The Second Year of the REU Site HYPER

   https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2022-0932  

   Gordon, Ali; Kauffman, Jeffrey L.; Burke, Robert F. (January 2022, AIAA SciTech 2022 Forum)

   Training future engineers and scientists for the research-oriented careers necessary to deliver solutions to the challenges of hypersonic flight is important task for the aerospace community at-large. A number of programs and initiatives at the University of Central Florida (UCF) contribute to this need. Among them is the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site framed on HYpersonic, Propulsive, Energetic, and Reusable Platforms (HYPER) an program housed withing the Center for Advanced Turbomachinery Energy Research (CATER). This residential summer program convening on the UCF main campus prepares a group of undergraduate students to pursue doctoral-level degree programs in aerospace engineering and related disciplines. During the Summer 2021, the second term of the program, HYPER hosted fourteen students. Students conducted intensive research under the guidance of faculty mentors and their graduate student assistants. To support their complete development, HYPER students participated in industry tours, software training, technical seminars, and more. This paper reports the impact of the program in its second year. Data are derived from pre- and post-experience surveys, study groups, and technical assessment activities. Feedback from the first year were implemented in the second year. 

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4. Work in Progress: Institutional Context and the Implementation of the Redshirt in Engineering Model at Six Universities

   Knaphaus-Soran, Emily; Delaney, Ann; Tetrick, Katherine; Cunningham, Sonya; Cosman, Pamela; Ennis, Tanya; Myers, Beth; Milford, Jana; Llewellyn, Donna; Riskin, Eve; et al (June 2018, ASEE annual conference & exposition proceedings)

   Low-income students are underrepresented in engineering and are more likely to struggle in engineering programs. Such students may be academically talented and perform well in high school, but may have relatively weak academic preparation for college compared to students who attended better-resourced schools. Four-year engineering and computer science curricula are designed for students who are calculus-ready, but many students who are eager to become engineers or computer scientists need additional time and support to succeed. The NSF-funded Redshirt in Engineering Consortium was formed in 2016 as a collaborative effort to build on the success of three existing “academic redshirt” programs and expand the model to three new schools. The Consortium takes its name from the practice of redshirting in college athletics, with the idea of providing an extra year and support to promising engineering students from low-income backgrounds. The goal of the program is to enhance the students’ ability to successfully graduate with engineering or computer science degrees. This Work in Progress paper describes the redshirt programs at each of the six Consortium institutions, providing a variety of models for how an extra preparatory year or other intensive academic preparatory programs can be accommodated. This paper will pay particular attention to the ways that institutional context shapes the implementation of the redshirt model. For instance, what do the redshirt admissions and selection processes look like at schools with direct-to-college admissions versus schools with post-general education admissions? What substantive elements of the first-year curriculum are consistent across the consortium? Where variation in curriculum occurs, what are the institutional factors that produce this variation? How does the redshirt program fit with other pre-existing academic support services on campus, and what impact does this have on the redshirt program’s areas of focus? Program elements covered include first-year curricula, pre-matriculation summer programs, academic advising and support services, admissions and selection processes, and financial aid. Ongoing assessment efforts and research designed to investigate how the various redshirt models influence faculty and student experiences will be described. 

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5. Board 105: The Redshirt in Engineering Consortium: Progress and Early Insights

   Riskin, Eve; Milford, Jana; Callahan, Janet; Cosman, Pamela; Schneider, John; Pitts, Kevin; Knaphaus-Soran, Emily; Llewellyn, Donna; Delaney, Ann; Myers, Beth; et al (June 2018, ASEE annual conference & exposition proceedings)

   The NSF-funded Redshirt in Engineering Consortium was formed in 2016 with the goal of enhancing the ability of academically talented but underprepared students coming from low-income backgrounds to successfully graduate with engineering degrees. The Consortium takes its name from the practice of redshirting in college athletics, with the idea of providing an extra year and support to help promising engineering students complete a bachelor’s degree. The Consortium builds on the success of three existing “academic redshirt” programs and expands the model to three new schools. The Existing Redshirt Institutions (ERIs) help mentor and train the new Student Success Partners (SSP), and SSPs contribute their unique expertise to help ERIs improve existing redshirt programs. The redshirt model is comprised of seven main programmatic components aimed at improving the engagement, retention, and graduation of students underrepresented in engineering. These components include: “intrusive” academic advising and support services, an intensive first-year academic curriculum, community-building (including pre-matriculation summer programs), career awareness and vision, faculty mentorship, NSF S-STEM scholarships, and second-year support. Successful implementation of these activities is intended to produce two main long-term outcomes: a six-year graduation rate of 60%-75% for redshirt students, and increased rates of enrollment and graduation of Pell-eligible, URM, and women students in engineering at participating universities. In the first year of the grant (AY 16-17), SSPs developed their own redshirt programs, hired and trained staff, and got their programs off the ground. ERIs implemented faculty mentorship programs and expanded support to redshirt students into their sophomore year. In the second year (AY 17-18), redshirt programs were expanded at the ERIs while SSPs welcomed their first cohorts of redshirt students. This Work in Progress paper describes the redshirt programs at each of the six Consortium institutions, identifying distinctions between them in addition to highlighting common elements. First-year assessment results are presented for the ERIs based on student surveys, performance, and retention outcomes. Ongoing research into faculty experiences is investigating how participation as mentors for redshirt students changes faculty mindsets and instructional practices. Ongoing research into student experiences is investigating how the varied curricula, advising, and cohort models used across the six institutions influence student retention and sense of identity as engineering students. 

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