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Session: 1793

Diversity in Engineering Technology: The Community College Perspective

Stephen J. Kuyath, Virgil Cox

UNC Charlotte, Department of Engineering Technology, Charlotte, NC / Dean, Engineering Technology, Gaston College, Dallas, NC

Abstract Women and minorities are less likely to choose careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) as noted in a report from the National Science Foundation (NSF). An NSF sponsored consortium including Gaston College, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte) and high schools in the region is coordinating an outreach project, using community college faculty who will focus on mentoring, tutoring, and encouraging underrepresented groups in engineering and engineering technology. Community college faculty will assist in developing hands-on activities, provide lectures, provide guidance in projects, tutor high school students in the preparation of competitions, talk with parents about the rewards of engineering technology careers, and provide information about community college programs and financial aid.

This year, two competitions will be held for high school engineering technology clubs. The first will be an academic and robotic competition between high schools near Gaston College. The second competition will be a combination of the TEAMS (Tests of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics and Science developed by the Junior Engineering Technical Society: JETS) test and a robotic competition between the twenty participating high schools and hosted by UNC Charlotte. The competitions are designed to encourage high school students to participate in technology clubs and to provide some experience in a hands-on approach to solving engineering technology problems.

This paper will describe the activities of the project from the unique perspective of community college faculty and staff that are directly responsible for the outcomes. We will also detail information about the high school clubs and the impact these activities have had on the students’ awareness of engineering technology disciplines and how they differ from engineering, the awareness of career opportunities for students graduating with either an Associate in Applied Science (AAS) in engineering technology or Bachelor of Science in Engineering Technology (BSET) degree, and the educational opportunities for students wanting to pursue an ET degree.

Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2004, American Society for Engineering Education

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Cox, V., & Kuyath, S. (2004, June), Diversity In Engineering Technology: The Community College Paper presented at 2004 Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--12803