Does Women-Targeted Recruiting Successfully Matriculate More Undergraduate Women into an Engineering College?

Amanda S. Parker; Beth A. Myers; Jacquelyn F. Sullivan

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Conference: 2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Publication Date: June 15, 2014
Start Date: June 15, 2014
End Date: June 18, 2014
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: WIED: Pre-College Student Experiences
Tagged Division: Women in Engineering
Page Count: 13
Page Numbers: 24.444.1 - 24.444.13
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--20335
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/20335
Download Count: 412

Paper Authors

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Amanda S. Parker University of Colorado Boulder

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Amanda S. Parker is the Director of Access and Recruiting at the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Colorado Boulder. She holds a B.S. in chemical engineering and is a graduate student in the Engineering Management Program at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her interests are in broadening participation in engineering.

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Beth A. Myers University of Colorado Boulder

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Beth A. Myers is the engineering assessment specialist for the Integrated Teaching and Learning and BOLD Programs at the University of Colorado Boulder. She holds a B.A. in biochemistry and M.E. in engineering management and is currently a PhD student at the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Colorado Boulder. She has worked for the University of Colorado in various capacities for 15 years, including as a program manager for a small medical research center and most recently as Director of Access and Recruiting for the College of Engineering and Applied Science. Her interests are in quantitative and qualitative research and data analysis. She has been involved with the BOLD Center and the Engineering GoldShirt Program implementation since inception.

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Jacquelyn F. Sullivan University of Colorado Boulder

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Jacquelyn Sullivan is founding co-director of the Integrated Teaching and Learning Program and the General Engineering Plus degree program at the University of Colorado Boulder’s College of Engineering and Applied Science. She received her PhD in environmental health physics and toxicology from Purdue University and held leadership positions in the energy and software industries for 13 years. She founded and leads CU’s extensive K-12 engineering initiative and spearheaded the Engineering GoldShirt Program for high potential, next tier students. Sullivan led the founding of the ASEE K-12 Division in 2004, was awarded ASEE’s 2005 Lifetime Achievement Award, was conferred as an ASEE fellow member in 2011 and was awarded NAE’s 2008 Gordon Prize for Innovation in Engineering and Technology Education.

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Abstract

Does “Girly” Recruiting Successfully Matriculate More Undergraduate Women into an Engineering College?Historically, the percentage of first-year female engineering students at a large westernuniversity hovered slightly above the national average (22.8% in 2012 compared to 18.9%nationally.) Typical recruitment strategies were implemented during this time including generalcampus and engineering specific visits, daily tours of the engineering center, high school visitsand general mailings from the office of admissions and college of engineering.A survey of students from the 2012 cohort who were offered admission to the college ofengineering but declined to attend was performed, and the results from female students werepulled out. One finding from the female students was that the recruitment was not perceived aspersonal enough. Therefore, the fall 2013 recruiting strategy focused on personalizing all formsof contact with prospective female students and included hosting events that specificallyappealed to young women.The percentage of female students enrolled in the fall 2013 cohort jumped to 27.7%, a 31%increase from the previous year. During this recruiting cycle, innovative and personalizedrecruiting tactics were employed. The number of “Girls Explore Engineering Days” events wasincreased and a separate parent session was added to each of the three dates. These events allowboth students and parents to ask questions and have their fears calmed. Additionally, a fancy,dress-up “Mocktail” party was added immediately preceding the campus-wide Admitted StudentDay event as a celebration of acceptance to the college and was a “final push” to encourage themto enroll. The event was co-hosted by the college’s Society of Women Engineers chapter andallowed current female students to mingle with prospective female students. Of the youngwomen who attended the Mocktail party, 79% enrolled as first-year students. The college ofengineering partnered with the office of admissions to advertise these events in all high schoolsthey contacted.By the end of the 2013 recruiting cycle, each female admitted student received over 15 personalcontacts over the course of the cycle, these contacts including handwritten notes, phone callsfrom students and faculty, feminine mailings and event invitations, interactions with femalefaculty and staff members at events. Each female admitted student received a hooded sweatshirtbranded with the large western university and the college of engineering.A survey was performed of the fall 2013 female cohort regarding which recruiting tactics werethe most impactful and why they decided to attended the college of engineering at the largewestern university. Full results will be shared in the paper.

Citation
Format

Parker, A. S., & Myers, B. A., & Sullivan, J. F. (2014, June), Does Women-Targeted Recruiting Successfully Matriculate More Undergraduate Women into an Engineering College? Paper presented at 2014 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Indianapolis, Indiana. 10.18260/1-2--20335

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -               Does “Girly” Recruiting Successfully Matriculate More               Undergraduate Women into an Engineering College?Historically, the percentage of first-year female engineering students at a large westernuniversity hovered slightly above the national average (22.8% in 2012 compared to 18.9%nationally.) Typical recruitment strategies were implemented during this time including generalcampus and engineering specific visits, daily tours of the engineering center, high school visitsand general mailings from the office of admissions and college of engineering.A survey of students from the 2012 cohort who were offered admission to the college ofengineering but declined to attend was performed, and the results from female students werepulled out. One finding from the female students was that the recruitment was not perceived aspersonal enough. Therefore, the fall 2013 recruiting strategy focused on personalizing all formsof contact with prospective female students and included hosting events that specificallyappealed to young women.The percentage of female students enrolled in the fall 2013 cohort jumped to 27.7%, a 31%increase from the previous year. During this recruiting cycle, innovative and personalizedrecruiting tactics were employed. The number of “Girls Explore Engineering Days” events wasincreased and a separate parent session was added to each of the three dates. These events allowboth students and parents to ask questions and have their fears calmed. Additionally, a fancy,dress-up “Mocktail” party was added immediately preceding the campus-wide Admitted StudentDay event as a celebration of acceptance to the college and was a “final push” to encourage themto enroll. The event was co-hosted by the college’s Society of Women Engineers chapter andallowed current female students to mingle with prospective female students. Of the youngwomen who attended the Mocktail party, 79% enrolled as first-year students. The college ofengineering partnered with the office of admissions to advertise these events in all high schoolsthey contacted.By the end of the 2013 recruiting cycle, each female admitted student received over 15 personalcontacts over the course of the cycle, these contacts including handwritten notes, phone callsfrom students and faculty, feminine mailings and event invitations, interactions with femalefaculty and staff members at events. Each female admitted student received a hooded sweatshirtbranded with the large western university and the college of engineering.A survey was performed of the fall 2013 female cohort regarding which recruiting tactics werethe most impactful and why they decided to attended the college of engineering at the largewestern university. Full results will be shared in the paper.
AU  - Amanda S. Parker
AU  - Beth A. Myers
AU  - Jacquelyn F. Sullivan
CY  - Indianapolis, Indiana
DA  - 2014/06/15
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Does Women-Targeted Recruiting Successfully Matriculate More Undergraduate Women into an Engineering College?
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/20335
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--20335
ER  -