Sustainable Bridges from Campus to Campus: Aggregate Results for Engineering Ahead Cohorts One to Three
- Conference
- Location
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Virtual On line
- Publication Date
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June 22, 2020
- Start Date
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June 22, 2020
- End Date
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June 26, 2021
- Conference Session
- Tagged Topics
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Diversity and NSF Grantees Poster Session
- Page Count
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16
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--35259
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/35259
- Download Count
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341
Paper Authors
Catherine L. Cohan Pennsylvania State University, University Park
Catherine Cohan, Ph.D. has been a research psychologist for over 20 years. Her areas of expertise include engineering education, retention of underrepresented students, measurement, and assessment. She is currently an Assistant Research Professor and coordinates the Sustainable Bridges NSF IUSE project (Peter Butler, PI). Previously, she was the project coordinator the the Toys'n MORE NSF STEP project (Renata Engel, PI).
Pradip K. Bandyopadhyay Pennsylvania State University, Berks
Professor of Physics & Division Head of Science
Penn State Berks
Reading, PA 19610
Ryan Scott Hassler Penn State University, Berks
Instructor of Mathematics
Research Interests: Algebraic Knowledge for Elementary School Teaching, Facilitating Mathematical Connection-Making Opportunities, College Calculus-Ready Predictors
MS Applied Statistics
PhD Mathematics & Science Education
Mark William Johnson Pennsylvania State University, Altoona
Mark W. Johnson is Professor of Mathematics with primary research areas in Algebraic Topology and Category Theory, as
well as an ongoing interest in preparing future engineers, especially those from under-represented groups, for the mathematical challenges inherent in their chosen degree.
Michael Kagan Pennsylvania State University, Abington
Michael (Mikhail, Mike) Kagan is an associate professor of physics at Penn State Abington. He received a Ph.D. in Physics from the Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Kagan's research interests are diverse and include Quantum Gravity and Cosmology, Physical Applications of Graph Theory, as well as Physics Education. Dr. Kagan has over twenty years of experience teaching math, physics and astronomy at middle, high school and university level. For the last several years, he has implemented Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) in his classes.
Ann Marie Schmiedekamp
Peter J. Shull Pennsylvania State University, Altoona
Dr. Peter J. Shull is an associate professor of engineering at Penn State University. He received his undergraduate degree from Bucknell University in mechanical engineering and his graduate degrees from The Johns Hopkins University in engineering science. Dr. Shull’s research has two main foci—nondestructive evaluation methods as applied to process control (NDE) and pedagogical methodology. Dr. Shull’s pedagogical efforts include meta-cognitive strategy learning to improve student academic success, an interest in women’s issues within the engineering environment, integrated, experiential techniques to improve engineering students’ social emotional development as applied to teamwork and communication, and program assessment methods that minimize stakeholders’ efforts while maximizing the effectiveness of the measurement tool.
Peter J. Butler Pennsylvania State University
Tonya L. Peeples
Pennsylvania State University
orcid.org/0000-0003-0721-9622
Professor Tonya Peeples joined the Penn State College of Engineering in August of 2018, as the Inaugural Associate Dean for Equity and Inclusion and Professor of Chemical Engineering. Prior to joining Penn State she worked at the University of Iowa and in her 23 years at UI, served to advance diversity and promote opportunities for all students to pursue education and careers in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). As an individual researcher, an administrator and as a leader in the state and national community, Dr. Peeples has made an impact on improving access to STEM careers through personal commitment, local partnerships, institutional leadership and effective collaboration.
Dr. Peeples is biochemical engineering researcher and served as Associate Director of the UI Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing and on the coordinating committee for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) training grant in biotechnology. As a Professor, she has mentored a diverse group of high school, undergraduate and graduate students including three high school students, 64 undergraduate and 13 graduate students, and three postdoctoral fellows. Several of her graduate and undergraduate student researchers have won local, regional and national awards for their work.
Dr. Peeples is influencing faculty and institutional leaders through leadership in the Aspire Alliance, an NSF INCLUDES collaborative effort. On her academic leadership roles she has implemented search committee training on implicit bias and best practices for recruiting diverse faculty. As a leader in the University Center for Exemplary Mentoring funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, she trains faculty in mentoring minority students. These activities are “game changers” in helping engineering programs enhance enrollment growth and increasing numbers of women and minority students, faculty and staff. She has established collaborations to extend a welcoming environment to all students. She has received numerous awards for service to the local state and national STEM communities, including Outstanding Service Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Minority Affairs Committee, the Collegiate Service Award from the UI CoE, the Michael J. Brody Award for Faculty Excellence in Service, the UI Diversity Catalyst Award. In 2015 she was the recipient of the Pioneers of Diversity Award from AIChE. In 2016 she was a fellow of the Executive Leadership in Academic Technology and Engineering and Sciences (ELATES) program. She is a fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering.
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of the Sustainable Bridges from Campus to Campus project (NSF IUSE #1525367, known locally as Engineering Ahead) is to establish summer bridge programs that serve Engineering students at regional campuses of The X University. Summer bridge programs for incoming Engineering students were started at the A, B, and C campuses. Recruitment focuses on enrolling racially underrepresented domestic students in Engineering (i.e., African American, Hispanic American, Native American, Pacific Islander) into the bridge programs. The project also supports an established summer bridge program for racially underrepresented incoming Engineering students at the flagship Y campus. As of this writing, we are completing Year 4 of the 5-year project. This paper presents aggregated data for the first three cohorts of Engineering Ahead participants and a sample of matched comparison students who did not participate in the program through their second year of college through the entrance-to-major process. Goals: The overarching goal of this project is to increase retention and graduation among racially underrepresented Engineering students, with a focus on students who start their University education at a regional campus. Institutional retention data indicate that retention in Engineering among students at a regional campus is nearly half that of Engineering students who start at the Y campus. Part of that difference in retention is likely related to social integration and access to academic support. Thus, an intent of this project is to implement academic and social support strategies (pre-college summer bridge program & clustered enrollment in the same first-year seminar) to improve junior-year retention among racially underrepresented Engineering students. We aim to improve retention in Engineering in the junior year by 20 percentage points. The central research question is to examine whether academic outcomes and retention in Engineering differed as a function of participation in the support strategies. To examine variation in outcomes among participants in our program, we will examine contextual factors such as whether the bridge program was residential or non-residential, whether the bridge program was located at a student’s assigned campus for the fall or at a different campus in the University system, and whether the student completed the degree at one campus or transitioned from a regional campus to the flagship campus (native vs. 2+2 students). Method: Accepted incoming Engineering students at the A, B, C, and Y campuses were encouraged to apply to a summer bridge program to support success in math and science during the first year via letter, email, and presentations at accepted student programs. The bridge programs for incoming first-year students consist of 5 summer bridge programs across 4 campuses in the University system. The total sample size is 490, with 245 participants and 245 comparison students. To assess the effectiveness of these academic and social support strategies for incoming undergraduate Engineering majors, we will examine math course grades, grade point average, entrance-to-major status (i.e., did a student enroll in an Engineering major, another STEM major, or a non-STEM major), and enrollment status (i.e., whether or not still at the University). Students were matched on gender, race, campus assignment, and SAT Math score (within 1 standard deviation). Results: Statistical analyses are being conducted currently. Conclusions: Conclusions are pending following completion of data analysis.
Cohan, C. L., & Bandyopadhyay, P. K., & Hassler, R. S., & Johnson, M. W., & Kagan, M., & Schmiedekamp, A. M., & Shull, P. J., & Butler, P. J., & Peeples, T. L. (2020, June), Sustainable Bridges from Campus to Campus: Aggregate Results for Engineering Ahead Cohorts One to Three Paper presented at 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual On line . 10.18260/1-2--35259
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