Board 387: S-STEM: Iron Range Engineering Academic Scholarships for Co-Op Based Engineering Education

Catherine McGough Spence; Emilie A Siverling; Michelle Soledad

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Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: June 26, 2024
Conference Session: NSF Grantees Poster Session
Tagged Topics: Diversity and NSF Grantees Poster Session
Page Count: 6
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--46972
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/46972
Download Count: 52

Paper Authors

biography

Catherine McGough Spence Minnesota State University, Mankato orcid.org/0000-0001-5288-8345

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Catherine Spence is an Assistant Professor at Iron Range Engineering through Minnesota State University, Mankato. She received her PhD in Engineering and Science Education in 2019 and a BS in Electrical Engineering in 2014 at Clemson University.

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Emilie A Siverling Minnesota State University, Mankato orcid.org/0000-0002-1806-7102

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Emilie A. Siverling is an Assistant Professor of Integrated Engineering and the Iron Range Engineering Program through Minnesota State University, Mankato. She has a Ph.D. in Engineering Education, an M.S.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction - Science Education, and a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering.

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Michelle Soledad Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University orcid.org/0000-0002-2491-6684

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Michelle Soledad, Ph.D. is a Collegiate Assistant Professor in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. Her research and service interests include teaching and learning experiences in fundamental engineering courses, faculty development and support initiatives – including programs for the future engineering professoriate, and leveraging institutional data to support reflective teaching practices. She has degrees in Electrical Engineering (B.S., M.Eng.) from the Ateneo de Davao University in Davao City, Philippines, where she previously held appointments as Assistant Professor and Department Chair for Electrical Engineering. She also previously served as Director for Communications and International Engagement at the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech, Lecturer at the Department of Engineering Education at The Ohio State University, and Assistant Professor at the Department of Integrated Engineering at Minnesota State University, Mankato. She holds a Ph.D. in Engineering Education from Virginia Tech.

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Abstract

Program X [X] STEM Scholars program contributes to the national need for well-educated STEM professionals by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at [blinded university]. Over its six year duration, this project will fund scholarships to 120 unique full-time students. The X STEM Scholars Program provides a financially sustainable pathway for students across the nation to graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering and up to two years of industry experience. Students typically complete their first two years of engineering coursework at community colleges across the country. Students then join X and spend one transitional semester gaining training and experience to equip them with the technical, design, and professional skills needed to succeed in the engineering workforce; it is during this semester that students receive the S-STEM scholarship. During the last two years of their education, IRE students work in paid engineering co-ops, while being supported in their technical and professional development by professors, learning facilitators, and their own peers.

The X STEM Scholars project financially supports low-income students during the transitional semester, which has two financial challenges: university tuition costs are higher than their previous community college costs, and the semester occurs before they are able to earn an engineering co-op income. In addition, the project provides personalized mentorship throughout students’ pathway to graduation, such as weekly conversations with a mentor.

The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates. As part of the scope of this project, a concurrent mixed-methods research study will be done on engineering students’ thriving, specifically their identity, belonging, motivation, and subjective wellbeing (or mental and physical health). This study will address the following research questions: How do undergraduate students’ engineering identity and belongingness develop over time in a co-op-based engineering program? How do undergraduate students’ motivation and identity connect to overall wellbeing in a co-op-based engineering program?

Currently in its second year, the project has supported 20 students, including 6 students on co-op. These six students have been interviewed on their sense of belonging in engineering during their co-op experiences, and have provided multiple survey data points describing X students’ experiences in co-op and overall sense of belonging. These STEM Scholars program participant-specific data along with survey data documenting the co-op experiences of all X students describe how co-op experiences can be used to provide a financially responsible pathway to an engineering degree for low-income, high achieving students.

Future work will utilize these values to identify ways to better support the X STEM scholars’ identity development as they move into their first co-op experiences. This project is funded by NSF’s Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who earn degrees in STEM fields. It also aims to improve the education of future STEM workers, and to generate knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income students.

Citation
Format

Spence, C. M., & Siverling, E. A., & Soledad, M. (2024, June), Board 387: S-STEM: Iron Range Engineering Academic Scholarships for Co-Op Based Engineering Education Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. 10.18260/1-2--46972

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Program X [X]  STEM Scholars program contributes to the national need for well-educated STEM professionals by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at [blinded university]. Over its six year duration, this project will fund scholarships to 120 unique full-time students. The X STEM Scholars Program provides a financially sustainable pathway for students across the nation to graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering and up to two years of industry experience. Students typically complete their first two years of engineering coursework at community colleges across the country. Students then join X and spend one transitional semester gaining training and experience to equip them with the technical, design, and professional skills needed to succeed in the engineering workforce; it is during this semester that students receive the S-STEM scholarship. During the last two years of their education, IRE students work in paid engineering co-ops, while being supported in their technical and professional development by professors, learning facilitators, and their own peers. 

The X STEM Scholars project financially supports low-income students  during the transitional semester, which has two financial challenges: university tuition costs are higher than their previous community college costs, and the semester occurs before they are able to earn an engineering co-op income. In addition, the project provides personalized mentorship throughout students’ pathway to graduation, such as weekly conversations with a mentor. 

The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates. As part of the scope of this project, a concurrent mixed-methods research study will be done on engineering students’ thriving, specifically their identity, belonging, motivation, and subjective wellbeing (or mental and physical health). This study will address the following research questions: How do undergraduate students’ engineering identity and belongingness develop over time in a co-op-based engineering program? How do undergraduate students’ motivation and identity connect to overall wellbeing in a co-op-based engineering program? 

Currently in its second year, the project has supported 20 students, including 6 students on co-op. These six students have been interviewed on their sense of belonging in engineering during their co-op experiences, and have provided multiple survey data points describing X students’ experiences in co-op and overall sense of belonging. These STEM Scholars program participant-specific data along with survey data documenting the co-op experiences of all X students describe how co-op experiences can be used to provide a financially responsible pathway to an engineering degree for low-income, high achieving students. 

Future work will utilize these values to identify ways to better support the X STEM scholars’ identity development as they move into their first co-op experiences. This project is funded by NSF’s Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who earn degrees in STEM fields. It also aims to improve the education of future STEM workers, and to generate knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income students.

AU  - Catherine McGough Spence
AU  - Emilie A Siverling
AU  - Michelle Soledad
CY  - Portland, Oregon
DA  - 2024/06/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Board 387: S-STEM: Iron Range Engineering Academic Scholarships for Co-Op Based Engineering Education
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/46972
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--46972
ER  -