Project-based Service Learning and Career-training to Support Graduation and Career Readiness of Engineering and Computing Science Majors

Jacksonville University, Jacksonville FL

Investigators

Abstract

This project will help meet the national need for engineers and computer scientists by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students at Jacksonville University. This University is a small private, predominantly undergraduate institution in Florida. Over its five-year duration, the project will fund scholarships to 35 full-time students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in engineering or computing science. The project will use inclusive recruitment activities to promote equitable access to the project’s scholarships and support activities. Scholars will enter in three annual cohorts and receive up to four years of scholarship support. The Scholar cohorts will include first-year through senior-year students who are enrolled or serving in curriculum-integrated project-based service-learning courses. Examples of projects include coaching K-12 robotics teams and developing applications to self-monitor health indicators. Scholars will also have access to co-curricular supports including a learning community guided by project team members, faculty mentors, and peer mentors. To support career readiness, Scholars will have opportunities to enroll in a semester-long career-training course and attend career workshops offered by the career resource center. The project also expects to strengthen connections with local industry, thus increasing internship and employment opportunities for engineers and computer scientists trained at Jacksonville University. As a result of its collective work, the project has the potential to increase the number of highly skilled, next-generation STEM professionals. The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The project has the following specific aims: 1. Increase enrollment of students in engineering and computing science majors; 2. Improve engineering and computing science education to increase retention and graduation rates; 3. Improve the Scholars’ career readiness. A longitudinal study will be conducted to explore the effects of curricular and co-curricular activities on preparing students to enter the STEM workforce. Knowledge generation will be accomplished through a mixed methods quantitative and qualitative study that investigates the effectiveness of the project’s support structures in promoting career readiness. The project team plans to work closely with industry partners to help Scholars transition from course projects to internships or full-time jobs. The project includes a robust external evaluation plan that will be conducted by a qualified evaluator from Morgan State University. This project is funded by NSF’s Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who earn degrees in STEM fields. It also aims to improve the education of future STEM workers, and to generate knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income students. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.