Creating an Effective Retention Program

Whitney Gaskins; Dewey Burnell Clark

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Conference: 2019 FYEE Conference
Location: Penn State University , Pennsylvania
Publication Date: July 28, 2019
Start Date: July 28, 2019
End Date: July 30, 2019
Conference Session: M3C: Mentoring into the profession
Tagged Topics: Diversity and FYEE Conference - Paper Submission
Page Count: 7
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--33685
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/33685
Download Count: 319

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Paper Authors

biography

Whitney Gaskins University of Cincinnati

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Dr. Gaskins is the Assistant Dean of Inclusive Excellence and Community Engagement in the University of Cincinnati College of Engineering and Applied Science, the only African-American female currently teaching in the faculty of the College of Engineering. Whitney earned her Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering, her Masters of Business Administration in Quantitative Analysis and her Doctorate of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering/Engineering Education. In her role as Assistant Dean, Dr. Gaskins has revamped the summer bridge program to increase student support and retention as well as developed and strengthened partnerships in with local area school districts to aid in the high school to college pathway.
In 2009, she founded The Gaskins Foundation, a non-profit organization, whose mission is to educate and empower the African American community. Her foundation recently launched the Cincinnati STEMulates year round K-12 program, which is a free of charge program that will introduce more students to Math and Science. She was named the 2017 K12 Champion by the National Association of Multicultural Engineering Program Advocates (NAMEPA).

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Dewey Burnell Clark Jr

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Abstract

Creating an Effective Retention Program

The Choose Ohio First Scholarship program is designed to significantly strengthen Ohio’s competitiveness within STEMM disciplines and STEMM education. The Choose Ohio First Program is the University of Cincinnati College of Engineering and Applied Science’s retention program for first year students. There are 36 freshman engineering students currently enrolled in the cohort of STEMM students. Through the program the students receive competitive scholarship funding and professional development workshops which help prepare them to enter into the STEMM workforce.

Prior to their Freshman year, students participate in a summer bridge program. The students spend seven weeks in a real-life college environment. They live in a residence hall and are enrolled in courses such as Pre-Calculus/Calculus, Physics, Chemistry, English and Engineering Models. Upon arrival on campus for the residential program, the students take assessment examinations to determine the courses in which they will be placed in the Fall and/or Spring semesters.

At the beginning of each semester of their first year, students are enrolled in Collaborative courses for Calculus. These classes meet for one-two hours per week. The students are also required to attend monthly workshops and/or socials which are facilitated by corporate partners who provide the students with guidance on being successful in their courses and their co-op experiences.

As part of the retention program, students are required to perform fifteen (15) hours of community service each semester, complete and essay related to their experience, complete reflections after the monthly socials to share their learned experiences, meet once per semester with their Choose Ohio First Program coaches and track their progress using our e-portfolio system. We monitor the students’ experiences through surveys and self-reflections and well as through progress reports from their professors. Our results are then compared to other students in the College of Engineering.

Successes and opportunities for improvement, program compliance data and next steps will be shared in the conference paper.

Citation
Format

Gaskins, W., & Clark, D. B. (2019, July), Creating an Effective Retention Program Paper presented at 2019 FYEE Conference , Penn State University , Pennsylvania. 10.18260/1-2--33685

TY - CPAPER
AB - Creating an Effective Retention Program

The Choose Ohio First Scholarship program is designed to significantly strengthen Ohio’s competitiveness within STEMM disciplines and STEMM education.
The Choose Ohio First Program is the University of Cincinnati College of Engineering and Applied Science’s retention program for first year students. There are 36 freshman engineering students currently enrolled in the cohort of STEMM students. Through the program the students receive competitive scholarship funding and professional development workshops which help prepare them to enter into the STEMM workforce.

Prior to their Freshman year, students participate in a summer bridge program. The students spend seven weeks in a real-life college environment. They live in a residence hall and are enrolled in courses such as Pre-Calculus/Calculus, Physics, Chemistry, English and Engineering Models. Upon arrival on campus for the residential program, the students take assessment examinations to determine the courses in which they will be placed in the Fall and/or Spring semesters.

At the beginning of each semester of their first year, students are enrolled in Collaborative courses for Calculus. These classes meet for one-two hours per week. The students are also required to attend monthly workshops and/or socials which are facilitated by corporate partners who provide the students with guidance on being successful in their courses and their co-op experiences.

As part of the retention program, students are required to perform fifteen (15) hours of community service each semester, complete and essay related to their experience, complete reflections after the monthly socials to share their learned experiences, meet once per semester with their Choose Ohio First Program coaches and track their progress using our e-portfolio system. We monitor the students’ experiences through surveys and self-reflections and well as through progress reports from their professors. Our results are then compared to other students in the College of Engineering.

Successes and opportunities for improvement, program compliance data and next steps will be shared in the conference paper.

AU - Whitney Gaskins
AU - Dewey Burnell Clark Jr
CY - Penn State University , Pennsylvania
DA - 2019/07/28
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Creating an Effective Retention Program
UR - https://peer.asee.org/33685
DO - 10.18260/1-2--33685
ER -