Engineering Technology Undergraduate Students: A Survey of Demographics and Mentoring

Anne M. Lucietto; Elizabeth Dell; Elaine M. Cooney; Liza Ann Russell; Emily Schott

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Conference: 2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Tampa, Florida
Publication Date: June 15, 2019
Start Date: June 15, 2019
End Date: June 19, 2019
Conference Session: ET Pedagogy II
Tagged Division: Engineering Technology
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 16
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--32741
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/32741
Download Count: 485

Paper Authors

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Anne M. Lucietto Purdue Polytechnic Institute orcid.org/0000-0003-0053-753X

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Dr. Lucietto has focused her research in engineering technology education and the understanding of engineering technology students. She teaches in an active learning style which engages and develops practical skills in the students. Currently she is exploring the performance and attributes of engineering technology students and using that knowledge to engage them in their studies.

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Elizabeth Dell Rochester Institute of Technology

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Professor Dell is an associate professor in the Manufacturing & Mechanical Engineering Technology department at RIT. She serves as the Faculty Associate to the Provost for Women Faculty and was a co-PI for RIT's NSF ADVANCE project. Her research interests include: characterization of biodegradable plastics and environmental consideration in materials selection for production design, and effective strategies for increasing diversity in STEM disciplines.

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Elaine M. Cooney Indiana University Purdue University, Indianapolis

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Elaine Cooney is a Professor and Program Director of Electrical Engineering Technology at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis. Elaine is a leader in the development of core competency documents for Engineering Technology for State of Indiana's Transfer Single Articulation legislation. She is also a Senior IDEAL Scholar with ABET, which means that she presents assessment workshops with other Senior IDEAL Scholars.

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Liza Ann Russell Purdue University

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Liza Russell is an Undergraduate Researcher working under Dr. Lucietto. She is a student at Purdue University, pursuing a Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering. She began working under Dr. Lucietto in the summer of 2017 as a part of Purdue's Summer Stay Scholars program and has thus far continued her work. In addition to her Mechanical Engineering coursework, Liza is pursuing minors in Physics and Anthropology. Outside of class, she serves as Treasurer of Convocations Volunteer Network (CVN) and is a Tau Beta Pi member.

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Emily Schott

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Abstract

A report published by a group of engineering technology practitioners and others interested in engineering technology called “Engineering Technology Education in the United States” was released in early 2017. The report provided recommendations of areas for further study related to engineering technology students to increase our understanding of the population. These specifically suggested focusing on the students in comparison to other students in similar and different fields of study.

Following these recommendations, a team of engineering technology education researchers has been collaborating to gather information in these areas. The team obtained institutional approval and distributed two surveys throughout the United States. The first survey was directed towards undergraduate students and the other towards those who have already completed their undergraduate degrees. This paper is focused on a high-level review of the results of the undergraduate survey, with future, in-depth publications focused on the issues identified by the report. The survey was designed to address the issues described in the report focused on matriculation, retention, and graduation from engineering technology. In this case, we are examining the demographics of undergraduate engineering technology students, mentoring, and other issues that participants self-reported, as related to their peers in other STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) majors. Later work will focus more on program (2-year vs 4-year) comparisons, socioeconomic issues, and level of preparation for the various majors categorized as STEAM. This paper is not intended to provide responses to the recommendations of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) report, but rather provide an overview of the responses to the inquiry focused on addressing this topic.

The undergraduate engineering technology student subset of the STEAM survey respondents is about 68% male and 30% female. This is as expected, recognizing that engineering technology and related disciplines tend to be male dominated. The reporting students most frequently identified as white, followed by Asian and Hispanic. Most students attended a suburban, public high school and about 47% of students reported receiving no support as they prepared to attend college.

Citation
Format

Lucietto, A. M., & Dell, E., & Cooney, E. M., & Russell, L. A., & Schott, E. (2019, June), Engineering Technology Undergraduate Students: A Survey of Demographics and Mentoring Paper presented at 2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Tampa, Florida. 10.18260/1-2--32741

TY - CPAPER
AB - A report published by a group of engineering technology practitioners and others interested in engineering technology called “Engineering Technology Education in the United States” was released in early 2017. The report provided recommendations of areas for further study related to engineering technology students to increase our understanding of the population. These specifically suggested focusing on the students in comparison to other students in similar and different fields of study.

Following these recommendations, a team of engineering technology education researchers has been collaborating to gather information in these areas. The team obtained institutional approval and distributed two surveys throughout the United States. The first survey was directed towards undergraduate students and the other towards those who have already completed their undergraduate degrees. This paper is focused on a high-level review of the results of the undergraduate survey, with future, in-depth publications focused on the issues identified by the report.

The survey was designed to address the issues described in the report focused on matriculation, retention, and graduation from engineering technology. In this case, we are examining the demographics of undergraduate engineering technology students, mentoring, and other issues that participants self-reported, as related to their peers in other STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) majors. Later work will focus more on program (2-year vs 4-year) comparisons, socioeconomic issues, and level of preparation for the various majors categorized as STEAM. This paper is not intended to provide responses to the recommendations of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) report, but rather provide an overview of the responses to the inquiry focused on addressing this topic.

The undergraduate engineering technology student subset of the STEAM survey respondents is about 68% male and 30% female. This is as expected, recognizing that engineering technology and related disciplines tend to be male dominated. The reporting students most frequently identified as white, followed by Asian and Hispanic. Most students attended a suburban, public high school and about 47% of students reported receiving no support as they prepared to attend college.

AU - Anne M. Lucietto
AU - Elizabeth Dell
AU - Elaine M. Cooney
AU - Liza Ann Russell
AU - Emily Schott
CY - Tampa, Florida
DA - 2019/06/15
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Engineering Technology Undergraduate Students: A Survey of Demographics and Mentoring
UR - https://peer.asee.org/32741
DO - 10.18260/1-2--32741
ER -