DCL-HSI MYEE Pre-Conference on Retention and Transition

Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, College Station TX

Investigators

Abstract

This workshop proposal focuses on helping faculty, instructors, advising and student affairs staff, and other higher education administrators from 2-year and 4-year Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) to gain greater understanding of the factors that most often contribute to Hispanic students' academic success and retention at these institutional types. Efforts to improve engineering educational outcomes among Hispanic students, especially at 2-year and 4-year HSIs, are a national priority. There is a tremendous need for the STEM workforce, especially in engineering, to be reflected of the nation's population. Current data suggest that progress is slow. The proposed workshop offers important research-based information that aims to improve college outcomes for Hispanic students by increasing higher education professionals' awareness, knowledge, and skill level with working with this student group. Targeting faculty, instructors, advising and student affairs staff, and other higher education administrators from 2-year and 4-year HSIs, it offers great potential to yield important diversity and broaden participation outcomes in engineering. The project proposes to recruit engineering faculty, instructors, advising and student affairs staff, and other higher education administrators from 2-year and 4-year HSIs to attend the workshop. This project will support their attendance to a preconference of Mid Years Engineering Experience. A variety of formats is proposed to deliver the professional development content (e.g., workshop style with questions and answers, panel discussions, and networking activities). A website will be used to broadly disseminate the content from the workshop.