NSF Scholars Program

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Interdisciplinary (99)-The overriding goal of the NSF Scholars Program at California State University, Sacramento (CSUS) is to graduate significantly more well qualified students with degrees in Engineering and Computer Science, who may not make it to graduation and into a high technology field without additional financial resources and other support structures. This goal especially identifies groups traditionally underrepresented in ECS. The program is providing a minimum of 30 scholarships per semester to low-income students in the College of Engineering and Computer Science to pay the complete cost of their full-time tuition and fees. The objective of the Program is to provide a holistic model of student support, including guidance, mentoring, peer networking, financial assistance, and professional development to ensure the students' academic success, retention, shortened time to graduation, and permanent career opportunities in engineering and computer science after degree. Intellectual MeritThe College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) at CSUS was included in the first round of NSF awards for CSEMS in the Fall of 2000, and was granted an extension for another two years. To date, 112 students have received scholarships sufficient to completely pay tuition and fees. The careful selection process, counseling, and academic support provided to the NSF Scholars produced a very high retention rate. Only 5% left the program due to failure to meet academic guidelines, resulting in an impressive over 90% retention rate over the 3-1/2 year period. Since 1999, the U.S. News and World Report has ranked the College within the top 55 colleges of engineering. The MESA Engineering Program (MEP), housed in the College of ECS, has an outstanding track record of successfully recruiting, educating, and graduating underrepresented students. Madeleine Fish, Director of MEP, was recognized in 1999 as Director of the Year and in 1990 as the Outstanding MEP Director in the Nation. The structure of the NSF Scholars Program is based on the extremely effective MEP/Project Success model (87.5% graduation rate) which implements a comprehensive plan of financial assistance combined with student support services.Broader ImpactsThe NSF Scholars Program is coupled with the MEP program at CSUS that is ranked as one of the top 50 in the nation in the graduation of underrepresented minority engineers, according to the NACME Research Letter, Vol. 1, No. 2, August 1990. Out of the total 112 students funded by the prior CSEMS award, 63% have already graduated and 70 (63%) were from ethnically underrepresented groups (African-American, Chicano-Latino, or Native American), in addition, 34 (30%) were women. The benefits of the NSF Scholars program are multi-layered and directly relevant to the needs of society today. First, talented students with economic need, and largely from groups traditionally underrepresented in engineering and computer science, are being effectively assisted through a rigorous academic program toward a timely graduation - which radically changes these students' lives forever. Further, the high technology industry is desperate for quality employees, and hiring students from this population is not only filling their technical needs, but it is also helping to diversify their workforce.