Diversifying the West Texas civil and mechanical engineering workforce

Angelo State University, San Angelo TX

Investigators

Abstract

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated engineers by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students at Angelo State University (ASU), a Hispanic Serving Instruction (HSI) located in West Texas. Over its six-year duration, this project will fund scholarships to 36 unique full-time students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in civil and mechanical engineering. The program will support both first-year students admitted directly to ASU and students transferring from 2-year institutions. First year students will receive up to four-year scholarships and transfer students will receive up to two- and one-half-year scholarships. The project aims to increase student success in engineering by linking scholarships with student cohorts, mentoring "familias" of peer, faculty and industry mentors, and proven student success programs. The inclusion of industry members in the mentoring familias is designed to provide professional networking opportunities to students and ease their transition to professional practice. With the large population of first-generation, low-income students at ASU and regional 2-year institutions, the project has the potential not only to broaden the participation of this population in engineering but also to increase knowledge regarding the effectiveness of industry mentorship in transitioning students into well-paying engineering jobs after graduation. The overall goal of the project is to increase degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates in STEM fields. The project aims to diversify the West Texas engineering workforce by increasing the enrollment, retention, and graduation of low-income underrepresented students at ASU as well as to provide a pathway for students transferring from 2-year institutions. The use of cohorts and mentoring has been demonstrated to improve persistence in engineering. However, limited data exists on how industry mentoring affects student success and even less information is available on the effects of a combined industry, peer, and faculty mentor program. The data collected under this project should significantly add to the body of knowledge in engineering education research and support further research. Program data will be published in engineering education conference and journal papers. 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.