Initiation of Summer Camp Program as Outreach and Recruiting Tool

Amber L. Genau

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Conference: 2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Publication Date: June 15, 2014
Start Date: June 15, 2014
End Date: June 18, 2014
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: Potpourri
Tagged Division: New Engineering Educators
Page Count: 12
Page Numbers: 24.754.1 - 24.754.12
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--20646
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/20646
Download Count: 681

Paper Authors

biography

Amber L. Genau University of Alabama at Birmingham

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Amber Genau is an assistant professor in the Materials Science and Engineering Department at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She received her BS and MS from Iowa State University and PhD from Northwestern University, all in materials engineering. Before coming to UAB, Dr. Genau spent two years as a guest scientist at the German Aerospace Center in Cologne, Germany, working on metal solidification and microstructural characterization. She is particularly interested in broadening participation in engineering and providing international experiences and perspectives to undergraduate students.

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Abstract

Initiation of Summer Camp Program as Outreach and Recruiting Tool During the past three summers, the Materials Science and Engineering Department at ______________ University has hosted a summer camp program for area high school students. The weeklong, nonresidential program is open by application to rising high school juniors and seniors. The goals of the program are (1) to increase general awareness of the field of materials engineering among participants and the larger community, (2) to increase the awareness of students and parents of the specific opportunities available to study engineering at ____________ University, and (3) to recruit students to the materials engineering program at _____________ University. The paper will discuss the methods used to evaluate the efficacy of the program, as well as best practices and lessons learned since the program’s inception. Since the author initiated the program during her first year as a faculty member, the use of rigorous evaluation methods has been important to justifying the time and expense of the program, as well as its value in her tenure portfolio. Efficacy of the program in raising student awareness of materials engineering and student interest in _______________ University is assessed with pre-‐camp and post-‐camp surveys on the first and last day of the program, respectively, and a follow-‐up survey approximately a year after the camp has ended. The follow-‐up survey is incentivized in an attempt to increase participation. The enrollment of camp participants at _____________ University is also being tracked. Each year, more students apply for the program than can be accommodated in the 20-‐22 available slots. Participants are selected based on a personal statement, GPA, and teacher recommendation. During the camp, participants experience a variety of tours, speakers, hands-‐on activities, and field trips. A large component of the week is a group project where students design, build and launch a model rocket made from high-‐tech engineering composites. During these activities, camp participants are able to interact with faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, and representatives of local industry. Development of programming for the camp will be discussed, as well as funding sources.

Citation
Format

Genau, A. L. (2014, June), Initiation of Summer Camp Program as Outreach and Recruiting Tool Paper presented at 2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Indianapolis, Indiana. 10.18260/1-2--20646

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -                             Initiation  of  Summer  Camp  Program  as                                     Outreach  and  Recruiting  Tool      During  the  past  three  summers,  the  Materials  Science  and  Engineering  Department  at  ______________  University  has  hosted  a  summer  camp  program  for  area  high  school  students.    The  weeklong,  nonresidential  program  is  open  by  application  to  rising  high  school  juniors  and  seniors.    The  goals  of  the  program  are  (1)  to  increase  general  awareness  of  the  field  of  materials  engineering  among  participants  and  the  larger  community,  (2)  to  increase  the  awareness  of  students  and  parents  of  the  specific  opportunities  available  to  study  engineering  at  ____________  University,  and  (3)  to  recruit  students  to  the  materials  engineering  program  at  _____________  University.    The  paper  will  discuss  the  methods  used  to  evaluate  the  efficacy  of  the  program,  as  well  as  best  practices  and  lessons  learned  since  the  program’s  inception.        Since  the  author  initiated  the  program  during  her  first  year  as  a  faculty  member,  the  use  of  rigorous  evaluation  methods  has  been  important  to  justifying  the  time  and  expense  of  the  program,  as  well  as  its  value  in  her  tenure  portfolio.    Efficacy  of  the  program  in  raising  student  awareness  of  materials  engineering  and  student  interest  in  _______________  University  is  assessed  with  pre-‐camp  and  post-‐camp  surveys  on  the  first  and  last  day  of  the  program,  respectively,  and  a  follow-‐up  survey  approximately  a  year  after  the  camp  has  ended.    The  follow-‐up  survey  is  incentivized  in  an  attempt  to  increase  participation.    The  enrollment  of  camp  participants  at  _____________    University  is  also  being  tracked.    Each  year,  more  students  apply  for  the  program  than  can  be  accommodated  in  the  20-‐22  available  slots.    Participants  are  selected  based  on  a  personal  statement,  GPA,  and  teacher  recommendation.    During  the  camp,  participants  experience  a  variety  of  tours,  speakers,  hands-‐on  activities,  and  field  trips.    A  large  component  of  the  week  is  a  group  project  where  students  design,  build  and  launch  a  model  rocket  made  from  high-‐tech  engineering  composites.    During  these  activities,  camp  participants  are  able  to  interact  with  faculty,  graduate  and  undergraduate  students,  and  representatives  of  local  industry.    Development  of  programming  for  the  camp  will  be  discussed,  as  well  as  funding  sources.          
AU  - Amber L. Genau
CY  - Indianapolis, Indiana
DA  - 2014/06/15
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Initiation of Summer Camp Program as Outreach and Recruiting Tool
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/20646
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--20646
ER  -