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PEARLS is a structured scholarship program designed to mitigate the economic hardship associated with the cost of attendance (COA). The main goal of the program is to increase the retention and success of low-income, academically talented students (LIATS) in engineering programs at a Hispanic institution. We structured students' interventions in five stages: LIATS Background Experiences, Belonging, Formative, Growth, and Graduate Development. This full paper presents the program evaluation results that combine social cognitive career theory and attrition mitigation elements. Specifically, we conducted a formative evaluation approach guided by the following question: What were the strengths and weaknesses of PEARLS according to students and mentors? A total of 92 LIATS (40 females and 52 males) met the eligibility criteria and the selection process established by the Executive Board. Overall, 78% of student participants voluntarily completed the electronic self-report questionnaires. Also, we assigned students under the supervision of eight mentors. In terms of their mentoring process, participant students reported an overall excellent opinion about their mentors and the mentoring process provided through the program. They expressed to be very satisfied with their relationship with their mentor regarding communication, connection, professionalism, and encouragement. Few students indicated weaknesses in their mentor, including poor accessibility due to lack of time, feeling intimidated by the mentor, and inadequate counseling. From the mentors’ perspective, it was perceived that their tasks and responsibilities aligned with their expectations. We noticed a relationship between what mentors perceived as their duties and what mentees identified as strengths of the mentoring program. For instance, their commitment to serve as a student mentor by offering academic counseling, encouragement, recommendations for COOP and research experiences, and setting career goals has resulted positive to establish a good relationship with the mentee. Finally, we concluded that both students and mentors felt satisfied with their involvement in the program. Similarly, mentors agreed that the time and commitment required to fulfill the responsibilities in the program are limited due to other obligations, such as teaching, research, and service commitments. This situation reflects on the mentees who expressed concern about the time availability of their mentors due to other professional obligations. Regardless, we conclude that the goal of the mentoring program proposed to promote a sense of belonging in mentees during their years of study was accomplished. 

This paper assesses the effectiveness of an intervention model aimed at propelling low-income, academically talented (LIAT) engineering students in a Hispanic Serving Institution (HIS) into actions, immersing them into real-life contexts. The model, named the LIAT College Access and Success model (L-CAS), integrates elements from Lent’s Social Cognitive Career Theory and Tinto’s Departure model in a framework provided by a structured scholarship program designed to mitigate the economic hardship of students while also providing a multistage intervention plan to improve their success metrics. In this paper, we revisit the theoretical foundations of the L-CAS model and the academic setting where it was implemented to look at the data acquired throughout its application during three years on a pilot group of 92 students. We assess the model effectiveness for springing LIATS into actions leading to their success while reflecting on the results obtained so far. We also discuss opportunities for improvements and the projections for a scaled porting of the model to a campus-wide level. 

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.