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An Integrated Program for Recruitment, Retention, and Graduation of Academically Talented Low-Income Engineering Students: Lessons Learned and Progress Report

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Conference

2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Minneapolis, MN

Publication Date

August 23, 2022

Start Date

June 26, 2022

End Date

June 29, 2022

Conference Session

NSF Grantees Poster Session

Page Count

11

DOI

10.18260/1-2--41973

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/41973

Download Count

297

Paper Authors

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Houshang Darabi The University of Illinois at Chicago

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Dr. Houshang Darabi is a Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Darabi’s research focuses on the use of Big Data, process mining, data mining, Operations Research, high performance computing, and visualization in improving educational systems and students’ learning. Dr. Darabi’s research has been funded by federal and corporate sponsors including the National Science Foundation, and the National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety.

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Peter Nelson The University of Illinois at Chicago

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Shanon Reckinger The University of Illinois at Chicago

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Shanon Reckinger is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Computer Science Department at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). Shanon received her MS and PhD in the area of Computational Fluid Dynamics from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2010 and 2011, respectively, and her MS in Computer Science from Stanford University in 2018. Shanon’s research interests include computational fluid dynamics and computing education.

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Jeremiah Abiade

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Renata Revelo The University of Illinois at Chicago

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Renata Revelo is a first-generation college student, migrated from Ecuador to the United States as a teenager with her parents and sister. She is the first in her family to obtain a Ph.D. She is currently a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Illinois, Chicago in the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Her research focuses on shifting the culture of engineering via the study of engineering identity which centers students of color and examines systemic change.

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Anthony E. Felder The University of Illinois at Chicago Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-4533-8369

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Rezvan Nazempour The University of Illinois at Chicago

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Betul Bilgin The University of Illinois at Chicago

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Betul Bilgin is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Betul received her M.S. degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Minnesota and her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Michigan State University. Betul’s interests include engineering education, team-based learning, and biotechnology.

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Didem Ozevin The University of Illinois at Chicago

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Abstract

This paper provides the status report of an NSF S-STEM program that is currently in its fourth year in the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), a minority-serving institution. The paper also offers a list of the lessons learned during the implementation of the project. A summary of the paper materials will be presented at the National Science Foundation (NSF) Grantees Poster Session during the 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition. The objectives of this S-STEM program are to 1) enhance students’ learning by providing access to extra and co-curricular experiences, 2) create a positive student experience through mentorship, and 3) ensure successful student placement in the STEM workforce, or graduate/professional degree programs. Financial assistance is provided to the students who have been admitted to this program. The program supports three cohorts of students. Cohort I and Cohort II consist of 18 and 13 students, respectively. These students started their engineering programs as first-year. Cohort III has 19 students who transferred to the College of Engineering from various community colleges. More than 60% of the students identify as part of underrepresented groups in STEM. Several support and intervention programs have been created through this project. They include 1) a Summer Bridge Program that was taken by all the cohorts before or during their first semester at the UIC, 2) an Engineering Success Initiative course that was taken by all cohorts in their first semester, 3) a Service Learning Project course that is taken by each student in at least two consecutive semesters, and 4) an integrated mentoring program that matches each student with a faculty mentor and an industry mentor. The paper reports a summary of the support components of the program and the lessons learned from them. Out of the 50 students recruited by this S-STEM project, one student has graduated and is working in industry. At the time of this report, of the 50 students enrolled across all cohorts, one graduated to an industry position, 46 remain in school, and 3 did not continue with the program. All the continuing students have passed at least three semesters of their studies. Therefore, the project has a 94% first-year retention rate which is above the university’s first-year retention rate. The paper provides more information about the retention and performance (Grade Point Average) of the students.

Darabi, H., & Nelson, P., & Reckinger, S., & Abiade, J., & Revelo, R., & Felder, A. E., & Nazempour, R., & Bilgin, B., & Ozevin, D. (2022, August), An Integrated Program for Recruitment, Retention, and Graduation of Academically Talented Low-Income Engineering Students: Lessons Learned and Progress Report Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41973

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