Conference Session

Engineering Technology Division (ETD) Technical Session 8

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Gretchen Dietz, Western Carolina University; Jordan C Bullington-Miller; Audrey Rorrer

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology Division (ETD)

peers? a. How do first-generation engineering technology students describe their engineering identity development? 3. How do first-generation engineering technology students understand and leverage forms of capital to persist in their program as compared to their continuing-generation peers? a. How do first-generation engineering technology students describe their uses of social capital within their engineering education?In this WIP paper, we present the findings of some of the quantitative data collected at thecurrent status of the grant. We have pilot data from 136 participants that explore researchquestions 1 and 2. We have obtained survey results that look at how FG and CGS explore

Conference Session

Engineering Technology Division (ETD) Technical Session 1

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Asif Ahmed, State University of New York, Polytechnic Institute

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Technology Division (ETD)

of students’ familiarity with the topic. However, in themandatory DEI courses, the students learn about generic principles not necessarily theirconnection to engineering projects. While exact national benchmarks for familiarity with equitytopics in civil engineering are not well-documented, surveys in related areas often show lowerlevels of awareness. For example, a study by LaFave et al. (2015) [7] found that engineeringstudents nationwide reported limited exposure to social and ethical aspects of their field.However, it also highlights an opportunity to further engage the remaining 23% of students,ensuring that all graduates leave with a foundational understanding of equity in engineeringpractices.While responding to the likelihood of