Removing the Disparity in Success-Related Outcomes Between Academically Talented Low-Income Engineering Students and Other Engineering Students

University Of Illinois At Chicago, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at the University of Illinois Chicago, a federally designated research-intensive institution that is among the most ethnically diverse universities in the United States. Over its five-year duration, this project will fund scholarships to 51 unique full-time students, who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in engineering or computer science. First-year students and transfer students will receive four years of scholarship support. The project will leverage available programs in the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and incorporate activities, which include cohort building and nurturing throughout the undergraduate education, a three-pronged mentoring program with faculty, peers, and industry partners, a professional practicum through a guaranteed paid internship program, senior preparation course, and a design project. The direct impact of the project will be on the participating scholars and future engineers. In addition, the project has the potential to impact departmental programs and policies. UIC is in a unique position in that implementation and development of a sustainable project will model how these practices may be adopted at other institutions that are research intensive, have a significant portion of transfer students, or are minority serving institutions. The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. To achieve this goal, the team will focus on several project objectives. The first is to increase the one-year retention rate. The second objective is to increase the six-year graduation rate. The third is to increase the percentage of graduates with a major-related job offer/graduate study admission within six months of graduation. Multiple research methods will be used to advance the understanding of how high-achieving engineering students from low-income backgrounds develop their engineering identity during their time at UIC, and what are the prevalent aspects of a transfer student’s time at UIC that impact engineering identity development. In addition to providing higher financial support to Pell-eligible students, the institutionalized components of the project will have ripple effects that can impact the success of all UIC engineering students. The project consists of a diverse group of faculty members with synergistic expertise in the various engineering and computer science disciplines, education, and interdisciplinary social sciences. The team plans to evaluate the project using multiple methods including quantitative methods in the form of surveys and qualitative methods in the form of interviews. The dissemination plan ensures that results will be shared at various levels, which includes departments, college administration, national engineering education committees, conferences, journals, and the public via a dedicated website. 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.