NSF Computer Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Scholarships Program

Valencia Community College, Orlando FL

Investigators

Abstract

To facilitate the development of an internationally competitive U.S. engineering workforce and to better meet the current and future workforce and educational needs of the nation, a Pre-Major for Engineering A.A. Degree program has been designed for students who plan to complete a Bachelor's Degree in Engineering. In this unique and innovative program, academically rigorous Statewide Common Course Prerequisites for engineering count as elective credits for the A.A. degree, better preparing the student for upper division study in engineering at a four-year institution. Project objectives focus on: improving academic preparation, supplementing academic and student support services, establishing higher retention and placement rates, and strengthening the institution's relationship with business and industry and other higher education institutions through their involvement in maintaining academically rigorous curriculum. Economically disadvantaged but academically talented students who are likely to receive their degree by the close of the two-year grant period will benefit from scholarships for full-time study, supplemental advisement, learning-centered curriculum and instruction, recruitment/retention intervention, and industry-based internships. Scholarships will be distributed as follows: 35 in Year One (25 new and 15 returning students) and 15 in Year Two (all returning students), for a total of 50 scholarship for full-time students pursuing the A.A. Pre-Major for Engineering. Grant-supported recruitment activities will prioritize efforts to recruit under-represented groups (e.g., targeting high schools in areas with high minority populations). Collaboration with other institutions of higher education and with business and industry will ensure that information disseminated about this model program will demonstrate the importance of partnerships in research and education.