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percentage of the population in this age group attend institutes of higher education during these critical years. Hence, colleges are well positioned to provide the appropriate support structures to create a positive effect on mental health. Undiagnosed mental health issues may have long-term detrimental effects on academic, professional, and social life. This paper investigates the prevalence of one such psychological condition, Impostor Phenomenon (IP), that can have a negative impact on the overall mental wellbeing of engineering students. IP is widely experienced by people from various backgrounds and socioeconomic status. While having high levels of IP does not necessarily translate to poor work performance, it can result in anxiety, depression, and dissatisfaction with life. Even though IP prevalence has been measured in various majors via the use of surveys, the data within engineering is sparse, despite it being one of the most competitive and stressful fields. For the current study, engineering students from freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior academic levels were surveyed using the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Survey; such a wide cross-sectional study in engineering is rate in the United States. A total of 184 students completed the anonymous survey voluntarily. Results indicate that our engineering students suffer from borderline moderate to frequent IP feelings (59.8 < IP < 67.4). The data was further analyzed by academic standing and gender. There was no significant increase or decrease in IP levels across the various academic standings except for seniors. Senior students demonstrated higher IP levels than juniors. Overall, female engineering students showed a higher level of IP prevalence compared to their male counterparts. The trifactor analysis indicated that fake in comparison to the other factors (discount and luck) is the most prevalent among the students irrespective of their class standing. 

The attrition rate at the undergraduate level for STEM fields is a disappointing 48%, and this is even higher for low-income students. Approximately only 11% of students who identify as low-income earn an undergraduate degree within six years, while 58% of students from higher income backgrounds earn their undergraduate degree within the same timeframe. The high attrition rates coupled with the already existing low enrollment is adversely affecting the country’s economy as the supply of degreed professionals is not keeping up with demand. The academic persistence of a student is a critical factor in determining if a student decides to remain in a certain major or not. Researchers have concluded that enhancing the self-efficacy of a student results improves academic persistence which may positively influence retention. This study investigates the effect of autonomous, project-based learning on self-efficacy for 15 financially disadvantaged students. The learning experience was constructed such that all four sources of self-efficacy viz. mastery experience, vicarious experience, social persuasions, and physiological states were incorporated. Results indicate that the experience had a positive effect on the students’ perceived self-efficacy. Each student believed that these played a major role in the success of the project and that their success was very much deserved. 

Longitudinal analysis of nationwide single and multi-institutional data shows the positive relationship between student educational outcomes and a diverse student population. Various position papers and empirical studies have raised awareness about the importance of diversity in higher education within the academic community and policy makers over the past half century. However, lack of participation by underrepresented students in higher education remains a chronic and multidimensional problem. Mitigating any particular factor and expecting broad based impact has not worked and will not work. The U.S. Department of education suggested some proven, over-arching principles for institutions of higher education to increase diversity, viz.: institutional commitment, diversity at all levels, outreach and recruitment, support services for students, and an inclusive campus environment. While some of these principles can only be addressed at the institutional level, a department or college can adopt scaled versions of these principles and influence the policies at the institutional level. This paper discusses the journey of a school of engineering towards developing strategies for improving equity, inclusion, and diversity in the graduate programs in engineering. In the process, this group of researchers articulated some critical issues that prevent diverse and economically disadvantaged undergraduate students from seeking a graduate degree in engineering. The authors have identified the following major reasons hindering students from pursuing a graduate degree: lack of financial support and resources, fear of the unknown, imposter syndrome, and family pressure to start earning as soon as possible. Each of these areas requires a targeted approach to help diversify the graduate engineering programs. A GVSU team comprised of administrators and faculty members sought to build a comprehensive program that incorporates all of the aforementioned structures and others. This paper describes the development strategy of such a program that culminated with an NSF (National Science Foundation) award.