The Academic Community for Engineering Students (ACES)

该项目的目标是弗吉尼亚大学（UVa）和托马斯·纳尔逊社区学院（TNCC）的共同努力，目的是增加获得工程学士学位的学生数量。重点是增加来自代表性不足的工程专业毕业生的人数，主要是通过实施一套行之有效的创新活动来提高留用率。项目的最低预期结果是将弗吉尼亚大学第一年到第二年的保留率从88%提高到96%，五年期毕业率从72%提高到80%，并在资助期间将TNCC转学率和三年毕业率从50%提高到58%。面向弗吉尼亚大学一年级学生和转学生的项目活动包括暑期桥梁项目、工程卓越研讨会、工程同伴指导项目、转学生网络和创意工程设计课程。面向TNCC学生的活动包括专业发展研讨会、弗吉尼亚大学与TNCC之间的咨询和指导项目，以及弗吉尼亚大学与TNCC之间的夏季实验室研究项目。联合活动包括工程开放日/社区大学日、校园参观和工程系列研讨会。此外，两所学院还将举办社交活动，旨在加强学生与该项目机构管理层、教师和校友之间的联系。项目活动还通过提供验证现有活动和衡量新活动有效性的机会，对本科工程教育的研究作出实质性贡献。评估工作由弗吉尼亚大学教育学院和机构评估与研究中心的一位专家执行，跟踪参与者的数量、他们的学术进步以及他们对项目活动的反应。更广泛的影响包括主要大学和社区学院的学生和教师之间的互动，以及准备充分的工程毕业生数量和多样性的增加。

The goal of the project, a joint effort between the University of Virginia (UVa) and Thomas Nelson Community College (TNCC), is to increase the number of students earning engineering baccalaureate degrees. There is an emphasis on increasing the number of graduates from underrepresented populations in engineering, primarily through the implementation of a set of proven and innovative activities designed to increase retention rates. The minimum projected program outcomes are to increase the UVa's 1st to 2nd year retention from 88% to 96% and its 5-year graduation rate from 72% to 80% and to increase TNCC transfer and three-year graduation rates from 50% to 58% over the course of the grant period. Project activities for UVa first-year and transfer students include a summer bridge program, engineering excellence workshops, an engineering peer mentoring program, a transfer student network, and a creative engineering design course. Activities for TNCC students include a professional development workshop, a UVa-to-TNCC advising and mentoring program, and a UVa-TNCC summer laboratory research program. Joint activities are an engineering open houses/community college day, campus visits, and an engineering seminar series. Also, both institutions will host social events aimed at fostering closer bonds among students and the program's institutional management, faculty, and alumni. Project activities also are making substantive contributions to research in undergraduate engineering education by providing opportunities to validate existing activities and measuring the effectiveness of new ones. The evaluation effort, which is being performed by a specialist in the UVa School of Education and Center for Institutional Assessment and Studies, is tracking the number of participants, their academic progress, and their response to the project's activities. Broader impacts include the interactions among the students and faculty members at a major university and a community college and the increase in the number and diversity of well prepared engineering graduates.