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Multi-department Engineering and Engineering Technology Scholars Program

C. A. Richardson, S. K. Gupta, M. L. Valentine, R. A. Merrill and V. J. Amuso Rochester Institute of Technology

Abstract

This paper describes the objectives, strategies, assessment and evaluation, and special program features of the Rochester Institute of Technology’s (RIT) Multi-department Engineering and Engineering Technology (MEET) Scholars Program. This program began in December, 2004 and is designed to recruit, retain and graduate additional transfer students in our selected engineering and engineering technology degree programs.

The MEET Scholars Program represents a collaborative effort of five academic departments across two colleges, and the Enrollment Management and Career Services Division at RIT. All of the programs in the five participating departments are ABET-accredited, and require students to obtain one year of industry co-op experience before graduation. The MEET Scholars program builds upon our excellent infrastructure for mentoring students, and involves our mandatory cooperative education program – both of which help students address their financial needs and facilitate placement in the high technology workforce. RIT has an exceptional record in engineering student placement in industry after graduation and an excellent record for both retaining and graduating upper-division transfer students.

Introduction

In September of 2004 the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded RIT a four-year grant of $396,000 from its 2004 Computer Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Scholarships (CSEMS) program. The United States government is concerned about the shortage of qualified graduates from baccalaureate institutions with majors in computer science, engineering, and mathematics and provided funding from 1999 to 2004 to the NSF to increase substantially the number of high technology workers and to develop high-quality professionals in these fields. NSF used this funding to create the CSEMS program for scholarships for academically talented, financially needy students studying in these fields. There are currently over 400 active CSEMS projects and some of them such as the RIT MEET program will operate through 2008.

RIT is a private university with a modern 1,300 acre campus located in Rochester, New York, the third largest city in New York. RIT students can prepare for technical and professional careers in more than 200 different academic programs. Many of the academic offerings are unique or unusual: imaging science, microelectronic engineering, software engineering, printing management, and telecommunications engineering technology; the programs draw students from every state and more than 80 foreign countries. Many degree programs emphasize co-operative education where periods of formal instruction are combined with off-campus hands-on paid internships which enhance the university’s “learn by doing” philosophy. RIT is respected internationally as a world leader in career-oriented and professional education and has one of the oldest and largest co-op programs in the world, with more than 1,300 employers and 2,600 students participating in the program each year. More than 450 companies visit RIT annually to “Proceedings of the 2005 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2005, American Society for Engineering Education”

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Amuso, V., & Gupta, S., & Valentine, M., & Richardson, C., & Merrill, R. (2005, June), Multi Department Engineering And Engineering Technology Scholars Program Paper presented at 2005 Annual Conference, Portland, Oregon. 10.18260/1-2--15279