Engineering and Technology Talent Expansion Program

Southern Illinois University At Carbondale, Carbondale IL

Investigators

Abstract

The project's goal is to increase the five-year graduation rate for engineering students from the current value near 40% to over 60%, which effectively means graduating 59 more students per year based on the College of Engineering 's average freshmen class of 180. The project team is achieving these objectives through a holistic freshmen-sophomore program that includes: (1) summer bridge experience for under-prepared incoming freshmen, (2) new approaches for teaching freshman and sophomore mathematics, (3) a hands-on project-based introduction to engineering course, (4) mechanisms for mentoring by peers, faculty, and practicing engineers, (5) use of cohort groups, and (6) engineering-only residential halls resulting in extensive "living-learning communities". Undergraduate mentors, 36 in the first year and 70 in the following years, provide the primary point of contact for incoming students and facilitate their integration into the College. First-year students are assigned to their mentors at a five-to-one ratio for two years, and these mentors serve as tutor, study group leader, and classroom assistant. The administration of the project is coordinated centrally through the office of the Associate Dean of the College, and internal and external advisory committees guide the project. The evaluation effort, led by experts from educational fields, includes both formative and summative efforts. The broader impacts of this project include a special emphasis on women and underrepresented groups in their recruiting and retention efforts and the dissemination of their findings through ASEE conferences and the ASEE Journal of Engineering Education and the Journal of STEM Education.