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With a project built on the Model of Co-Curricular Support for Undergraduate Engineering Students, in collaboration with three partnering community colleges was awarded a Multi-Institutional Track 3 S-STEM Grant in January 2020. The intention of the project was to recruit 2 cohorts of scholars with 40 students each. One cohort was to start their pursuit of an engineering degree in Fall 2020 and the other in Fall 2021. Each cohort was to be comprised of 20 students who started at as freshmen and 20 students who intended to get an associate’s degree from one of the partnering community colleges and transfer to a university to complete the BS in engineering. Despite some early challenges in recruiting students and implementing planned programs due to the Covid-19 pandemic, three cohorts of low-income students have been recruited and supported by scholarships valued at up to $10,000 per year. In addition to scholarship support, various other support mechanisms have been implemented including a week-long summer bridge program for incoming students, a peer mentoring program, a textbook lending library, faculty mentoring, and various collaborative programs involving career speakers, design challenges, and professional development opportunities. With the first cohort of students now entering their senior year and several community college students having already transferred to the university, this paper discusses the recruitment and retention of scholars, details of program activities, and the progress scholars have made towards an engineering degree. This paper also draws comparisons between the scholar cohorts and all students entering the engineering program in the same semester in order to identify differences in GPA and retention.
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This content will become publicly available on June 1, 2026
BOARD # 448: SSTEM grant providing improved persistence through enhanced engineering identity
With the growing demand for engineers, there is a need to recruit high-achieving economically disadvantaged school students who may not consider attending a 4-year university and to facilitate their success. Our SSTEM (NSF 22-527) Award# 2221623 award looks to identify and recruit high-achieving low-income students who show an interest in the advanced manufacturing industry and facilitate academic success using Tonso’s socialization theory of engineering identity development. We have also found that a foundational common first year seminar course combined with peer mentoring has become powerful tools in helping to enhance engineering identity. Our recruitment strategy is to engage and recruit through local high school teachers. To assess high achievement, emphasis was placed on the teacher’s recommendations. This successful recruitment model was expanded with additional schools and teachers, which has resulted in a higher number of strong candidates for future cohorts. SSTEM students meet initially in a common first-year program and continued to meet regularly on and off campus. Students had connections with industry partners in the spring 2024, with all students engaged in co-ops over the summer. After the first year, Cohort 1 students (n=6) had 100% retention, compared to a college first-year retention average of 64.8%, with an average cumulative GPA of 3.57 compared with the college average GPA of 2.76. Through group activities, Cohort 1 students have developed into a cohesive group. Cohort 1 students were included as part of the interviews and final selection of Cohort 2 and provided valuable input. Participation in the Cohort 2 selection process improved Cohort engagement with the SSTEM program activities. Cohort 2 selected Cohort 1 students to peer mentor. These connections proved important in forming a connection to the SSTEM program and reinforcing their engineering identities. The limited data from the spring survey of Cohort 1’s perception of their SSTEM experience shows that the cohort feels a connection to their careers, and while they have an understanding of future difficulties, they have confidence that they will persist. The key findings from our initial evaluation of the SSTEM program are that involving high school teachers in the selection process has been critical for the recruiting of appropriate candidates. In addition, involving the current SSTEM scholars in the selection process of future cohorts has helped to develop a strong sense of connection between students which has enforced their peer-mentoring relationships. We anticipate that this will help to enhance their connections to the SSTEM program, engineering identity, and retention.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2221623
- PAR ID:
- 10655537
- Publisher / Repository:
- ASEE Conferences
- Date Published:
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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