(2018, June), Change Agents for Broadening Participation in Engineering:  A System Analysis of Deans, Faculty, and Engineering Student Support Center Administrators  Paper presented at 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Salt Lake City, Utah. https://peer.asee.org/30182

\bibitem{asee_peer_30182}
   (2018, June), \emph{Change Agents for Broadening Participation in Engineering:  A System Analysis of Deans, Faculty, and Engineering Student Support Center Administrators}
  Paper presented at 2018 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition , Salt Lake City, Utah.
  https://peer.asee.org/30182

.  "Change Agents for Broadening Participation in Engineering:  A System Analysis of Deans, Faculty, and Engineering Student Support Center Administrators".  2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Salt Lake City, Utah, 2018, June.  ASEE Conferences, 2018.  https://peer.asee.org/30182 Internet.  30 Apr, 2024

\bibitem{asee_peer_30182}
  .
  "Change Agents for Broadening Participation in Engineering:  A System Analysis of Deans, Faculty, and Engineering Student Support Center Administrators".
  \emph{2018 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition , Salt Lake City, Utah, 2018, June}.
  ASEE Conferences, 2018.
  https://peer.asee.org/30182 Internet.  30 Apr, 2024

@INPROCEEDINGS{asee_peer_30182
author = ""
title = "Change Agents for Broadening Participation in Engineering:  A System Analysis of Deans, Faculty, and Engineering Student Support Center Administrators"
booktitle = "2018 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition "
year = "2018"
month = "June"
address = "Salt Lake City, Utah"
publisher = "ASEE Conferences"
note = {https://peer.asee.org/30182}
}

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Higher education and the current university is a complex system and underrepresentation of minoritized
groups in engineering is a complex issue. A response to this complex issue is addressed by Diversity
Engineering Programs, or Engineering Student Support Programs for underrepresented groups are
managed and directed by administration (directors and assistant directors) that are critical to the ongoing
initiatives to broaden participation in engineering. These programs encompass initiatives such as
summer bridge programming for preparation of the first year, to peer mentoring. The programs that are
coordinated through underrepresented engineering program offices are responses to the conditions of a
university. These offices are representative of collaborative efforts among various change agents within
the university including the administrators of the offices, deans of engineering, and faculty in
engineering.
Administrators are responsible for the creation, implementation, and evaluation of programs designed to
broaden participation at various levels, from K-12 to degree completion at the undergraduate level.
Deans of engineering colleges establish, promote, and articulate a shared vision for an engineering
college in regards to diversification of faculty, students, and staff. As mid-level placements in an
academic administrative system, they facilitate between presidential initiatives, faculty governance, and
student needs; serving as a link between senior administration and faculty. Faculty play an integral role
in change agency related to broadening participation of underrepresented groups as well. Through
facilitation of inclusive pedagogy in the classroom, contact through undergraduate research and faculty
that promotes student success, through service, and participation in diversity engineering programs in K-
12 and undergraduate initiatives to recruit and retain underrepresented groups in engineering. The
agents described routinely operate in conditions of fluctuating change, dependent on political and
cultural shifts of state government, affirmative action challenges, and changing institutional values for
diversity and inclusion.
A critical look at current operational practices that affect change agents’ participation will be necessary
to respond to the diversity demand. Previous work has highlighted the successful components of
Diversity Engineering Programs, however a gap in knowledge exists regarding the experiences of
change agents actively involved in related initiatives in engineering education. Institutions are dynamic
systems that expand and retract; dependent on internal and external inputs and outputs. The process of
change in an institutional perspective involves a change to long standing missions that are indicative of
the context of the institution.
This study seeks to provide an overview of the system dynamics present in which change agents
operate. An evaluation of this kind allows for systems engineering principles to be applied to a complex
change process - broadening participation of underrepresented groups in engineering. For change agents
and stakeholders in this process, this study has the potential to provide a systems level analysis using
existing policy data as well as experiential data from individuals embedded within the system in which
the problem of underrepresentation exists. Qualitative data concerning the practices currently in place to
support and inadvertently hinder change agents will result in a deeper understanding of systemic
procedures, culture, and policies that may be working against the mission of broadening participation of
underrepresented students in engineering
CY  - Salt Lake City, Utah
DA  - 2018/06/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Change Agents for Broadening Participation in Engineering:  A System Analysis of Deans, Faculty, and Engineering Student Support Center Administrators
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/30182
ER  -