Conference Session

FPD5 -- Placement & Early Success

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christopher Papadopoulos; Karen Brucks, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Eric Key, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Ethan Munson, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; K Vairavan, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Tagged Divisions

First-Year Programs

of 1998. Itis administered by the National Science Foundation’s Division of Undergraduate Education(DUE). The program was modified in 2004 and is now known as the Scholarships in Science,Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) Program. The CSEMS Program supportsacademically talented students, financially needy students for study in the “targeted disciplines”of computer science, engineering, and mathematics; the S-STEM program will additionallysupport study in other natural sciences. Although metrics of financial need are established by thefederal government, participating institutions interpret thresholds for academic merit andfinancial need based on local circumstances. In addition to supporting students with financialneed, the

Conference Session

Engineering in High Schools

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Mativo, Ohio Northern University; Adam Stienecker, Ohio Northern University

Tagged Divisions

K-12 & Pre-College Engineering

educational programs throughresearch and educational activities through the year 2016. The National Science Foundation(NSF) is leading the way in initiating interdisciplinary learning methods and in particular theScience, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) areas2. Examples of the NSFprograms taking root in this area include the basic STEM learning strategies, the Scholarships inScience, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM), and the STEM -TalentExpansion Programs (STEP). State Departments of Education are also providing grants forSTEM initiatives. The Ohio Department of Education, for example, awarded several grantstowards this cause recently. A Masters in Arts in STEM has been developed by the University ofMassachusetts3

Conference Session

Student Diversity: attracting and retaining a diverse population of students

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kelly Crittenden, Louisiana Tech University; Galen Turner, Louisiana Tech University; Alicia Boudreaux, Louisiana Tech University; James Nelson, Louisiana Tech University

Tagged Divisions

Educational Research and Methods

,2003). Furthermore, Preparing Our Children (NSB, 1999) urges partnerships betweenuniversities and local schools to increase the mathematics and science abilities of high schoolgraduates. TechSTEP directly addresses these concerns.“the University”’s STEM Talent Expansion Program (TechSTEP) has two major componentsthat will yield increased numbers of graduates in engineering, mathematics, and science. Onecomponent is a high school partnership program focused on recruiting new students into ourSTEM programs, while the other component is a summer enrichment and mentoring programfocused on increased retention of first-year college students. The recruiting component is an expansion of pilot

Conference Session

Retention Programs for Women Students

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gretchen Hein, Michigan Technological University; Amy Monte, Michigan Technological University; Kerri Sleeman, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

Women in Engineering

directly to the GUIDE scholars. As mentioned previously,the undergraduate students receive scholarships up to $2,500 annually depending on theirindividual student need. The MI students receive scholarships up to $3,000 for a year of support.The current program that is described in this paper ends in October, 2007. The program advisorshave submitted a proposal to the NSF S-STEM program to continue the program and expand it toinclude upper-division students.The GUIDE program has three faculty advisors: two that manage and advise the mentoringteams, organize the seminars and manage the program; the third advisor guides and recruits thegraduate students to the program. The two advisors that manage the program do so inconjunction with their teaching

Conference Session

Learning Needs and Educational Success

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Carolyn Skurla, Baylor University; Steven Eisenbarth, Baylor University; Richard Campbell, Baylor University

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

continuing efforts to improve the freshmen engineering sequence.The impact of retention efforts that began in 2002 with the TWD grants and continue through2005 for Baylor’s engineering and computer science programs are readily discernable from table3. The two-year freshman retention rate increase of 46% for engineering and 38% for computerscience is evidence that the School’s retention efforts have been particularly effective.Recently, two of the authors received a 5-year NSF S-STEM grant to fund scholarships andmentoring activities for transfer students. These funds will provide scholarships for up tofourteen transfer students per year and mentoring activities to increase the probability that theywill graduate with a degree in engineering or

Conference Session

Recruitment and Retention

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mary Anderson-Rowland, Arizona State University; Patti Culley, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

Minorities in Engineering

(National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering) and the National Science FoundationCSEMS and S-STEM program. In addition to the scholarships, academic workshops help thestudents with time management, academics (how to learn), resources, and other challenges;especially those faced by lower division students and transfer students. The students in each ofthese programs meet at least six times per semester. The students are encouraged, beginning intheir freshman year, to go to career fairs, to consider internships, and to consider writing aproposal for a research award. For these activities, the students need a good resume.1, 2, 3 Theresume needed for an internship or research position is more demanding than the resume used inhigh school to