Asee peer logo

EOE First Year Interest Groups: Success in Engineering Starts Here A Progress Report on Successes & Ongoing Improvements

Download Paper |

Conference

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Vancouver, BC

Publication Date

June 26, 2011

Start Date

June 26, 2011

End Date

June 29, 2011

ISSN

2153-5965

Conference Session

Developing Young MINDS in Engineering, Part II

Tagged Division

Minorities in Engineering

Page Count

10

Page Numbers

22.634.1 - 22.634.10

DOI

10.18260/1-2--17915

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/17915

Download Count

387

Request a correction

Paper Authors

biography

Andrea M. Ogilvie University of Texas, Austin

visit author page

Andrea M. Ogilvie is the director of the Equal Opportunity in Engineering (EOE) Program at The University of Texas at Austin. Andrea came to the University as EOE director in July 2001 after six years in industry, where she had a very successful career as a structural engineer for Kellogg Brown & Root and HDR Engineering, Inc.

As EOE Director, Andrea leads Cockrell School of Engineering efforts to recruit and retain ethnically underrepresented students as well as students who have backgrounds or experiences that will contribute to the overall diversity of the School. During her term, Andrea has raised more than $2.3 million from donors to support the EOE program and its mission. Andrea provides guidance and strategic development for EOE initiatives which serve approximately 900 undergraduate engineering students and 950 pre-college students. Each year, Andrea partners with 35-45 corporations to generate funding to support the program, and to develop a support system for engineering students from diverse backgrounds. She also serves as advisor and provides guidance and training to three engineering student organizations with more than 300 members: Pi Sigma Pi Minority Academic Engineering Society, the National Society of Black Engineers, and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers.

Andrea is an active member of National Association of Multicultural Engineering Program Advocates and the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE). She has held multiple leadership positions in both organizations at the regional and national level. Currently, she serves as Chair for the Minorities in Engineering Division in ASEE. Andrea received her civil engineering degree from The University of Texas at Austin in 1995 and her Texas Professional Engineering License in 2001. She is currently studying public policy at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin.

visit author page

Download Paper |

Abstract

The Equal Opportunity in Engineering (EOE) Program invites students to become part of an exciting community that focuses on academic success and personal growth. EOE initiatives such as the Fall Kick-Off, First Year Interest Groups (FIGs), and Engineering Peer Leaders help students establish a strong academic foundation and promote the formation of a peer support network. In addition, EOE provides students with access to tutoring, undergraduate research opportunities, and professional development workshops. In partnership with Pi Sigma Pi Minority Academic Engineering Society, the National Society of Black Engineers, and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, the EOE Program builds a network that makes it easy to form study groups and meet other engineering students.

Diverse: Issues in Higher Education magazine ranked The University of Texas at Austin fourth in the nation in producing undergraduate engineering degrees for underrepresented minority groups. This success is due in large part to FIGs offered by the EOE Program. EOE FIGs serve as our most effective retention program for underrepresented minority engineering students. Since Fall 2003, 652 first year students enrolled in FIGs hosted by the EOE Program. Thus far, 75 percent of EOE FIG participants have either graduated from or are still enrolled in the Cockrell School of Engineering. The average one year retention rate in engineering for EOE FIG participants is 92 percent, 11 points above the college average. The average two year retention rate in engineering for EOE FIG participants is 78 percent, 12 points above the college average. This paper provides an overview of EOE FIGs and curriculum content for weekly seminars as well as a summary of results and ongoing improvements.

Ogilvie, A. M. (2011, June), EOE First Year Interest Groups: Success in Engineering Starts Here A Progress Report on Successes & Ongoing Improvements Paper presented at 2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Vancouver, BC. 10.18260/1-2--17915

ASEE holds the copyright on this document. It may be read by the public free of charge. Authors may archive their work on personal websites or in institutional repositories with the following citation: © 2011 American Society for Engineering Education. Other scholars may excerpt or quote from these materials with the same citation. When excerpting or quoting from Conference Proceedings, authors should, in addition to noting the ASEE copyright, list all the original authors and their institutions and name the host city of the conference. - Last updated April 1, 2015