Freshman-year Initiative for a Cohort of Largely Engineering Minority Students

Kamau Wright

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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: First-Year Programs: Work in Progress Postcard Session
Tagged Division: First-Year Programs
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 11
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--32860
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/32860
Download Count: 350

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biography

Kamau Wright University of Hartford

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Kamau Wright is an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Hartford. He specializes in thermo-fluids and plasma engineering. His technical research interests include applications of high voltage plasma discharges to liquids and wastewaters; plasma decomposition of carbon dioxide; fouling prevention and mitigation for heat exchangers; oxidation of organic matter in water; and inactivation of bacteria using high voltage plasmas.

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Abstract

A first-year program was developed and piloted at a private university in the New England region of the United States, with the goal of supporting and allocating resources to eligible African-American and Hispanic male students in achieving academic excellence at the institution. During this time, the demographics of the institution included between 10% and 20% self-identified African American students, and between 10% and 20% self-identified Hispanic students. Architecture, engineering, and technology students make up between 10 and 30% of the entering first year students. Students who successfully completed applications for the described first-year program, and who went on to be accepted, would be a part of a cohort of students who met with a lead instructor weekly, with the program being run as a 1-credit course with assignments, and responsibilities, and having the added benefit of having additional instructors from the student life side who could help facilitate additional activities, and plug students in to the student life aspects of college life. As part of the program, activities such as mentoring, and leadership training are used to assist in the transition process, as students adjust to college, identify and work toward goals, and endeavor to achieve academic excellence. The present paper will describe some of the programming and assignments of this pilot program, and discuss some of the related strengths, weaknesses, challenges, and successes. The program supports African-American and Hispanic male students during the fall semester of their first year, who have the potential for great success at the institution. Programming was developed with the intention of helping students maximize their academic skills; contribute to and benefit from productive university communities; offer best practices that can help students better navigate through their four years, and work individually and collectively to further promote the goals of the program. Since this wasn’t a pre-college overnight kind of experience, and instead was implemented as a 1-credit course, the paper will detail the implementation of select activities on a weekly, monthly and overall basis. Student feedback of the semester-long experience will be provided through surveys as appropriate. The nature of the program as an extra course, which could count for credit and a grade, as appropriate, and with vigorous focus not only on demonstration of learning outcomes related to study skills, professional development, and more, but also including separate incentivized challenges, and student life support, may provide a model for a wide range of retention and success programs. These types of programs may be implemented for a diverse range of affinity groups, and cohorts of students in general. The impact on engineering students may also be immense, in affecting the same campus wide goals of increased retention and success of students, beginning from early on in their college careers.

Citation
Format

Wright, K. (2019, June), Freshman-year Initiative for a Cohort of Largely Engineering Minority Students Paper presented at 2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Tampa, Florida. 10.18260/1-2--32860

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - A first-year program was developed and piloted at a private university in the New England region of the United States, with the goal of supporting and allocating resources to eligible African-American and Hispanic male students in achieving academic excellence at the institution. During this time, the demographics of the institution included between 10% and 20% self-identified African American students, and between 10% and 20% self-identified Hispanic students. Architecture, engineering, and technology students make up between 10 and 30% of the entering first year students. Students who successfully completed applications for the described first-year program, and who went on to be accepted, would be a part of a cohort of students who met with a lead instructor weekly, with the program being run as a 1-credit course with assignments, and responsibilities, and having the added benefit of having additional instructors from the student life side who could help facilitate additional activities, and plug students in to the student life aspects of college life. As part of the program, activities such as mentoring, and leadership training are used to assist in the transition process, as students adjust to college, identify and work toward goals, and endeavor to achieve academic excellence. The present paper will describe some of the programming and assignments of this pilot program, and discuss some of the related strengths, weaknesses, challenges, and successes. The program supports African-American and Hispanic male students during the fall semester of their first year, who have the potential for great success at the institution. Programming was developed with the intention of helping students maximize their academic skills; contribute to and benefit from productive university communities; offer best practices that can help students better navigate through their four years, and work individually and collectively to further promote the goals of the program. Since this wasn’t a pre-college overnight kind of experience, and instead was implemented as a 1-credit course, the paper will detail the implementation of select activities on a weekly, monthly and overall basis. Student feedback of the semester-long experience will be provided through surveys as appropriate. The nature of the program as an extra course, which could count for credit and a grade, as appropriate, and with vigorous focus not only on demonstration of learning outcomes related to study skills, professional development, and more, but also including separate incentivized challenges, and student life support, may provide a model for a wide range of retention and success programs. These types of programs may be implemented for a diverse range of affinity groups, and cohorts of students in general. The impact on engineering students may also be immense, in affecting the same campus wide goals of increased retention and success of students, beginning from early on in their college careers. 
AU  - Kamau Wright
CY  - Tampa, Florida
DA  - 2019/06/15
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Freshman-year Initiative for a Cohort of Largely Engineering Minority Students
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/32860
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--32860
ER  -