The Academic Community for Engineering Students (ACES)

该项目是弗吉尼亚大学（UVa）和托马斯纳尔逊社区学院（TNCC）的共同努力，其目标是增加获得工程学士学位的学生人数。 目前的重点是增加工程学专业代表性不足的人口的毕业生人数，主要是通过实施一系列旨在提高保留率的经过验证的创新活动。最低预计方案成果是增加UVa的第一至第二年保留从88%到96%，其5年毕业率从72%到80%，并增加TNCC转移和三年毕业率从50%到58%在赠款期间的过程中。 UVa一年级和转学生的项目活动包括夏桥计划，工程卓越研讨会，工程同行指导计划，转学生网络和创意工程设计课程。TNCC学生的活动包括专业发展研讨会，UVA到TNCC咨询和指导计划，以及UVA-TNCC夏季实验室研究计划。联合活动包括工程开放日/社区学院日、校园参观和工程研讨会系列。此外，这两个机构将举办社会活动，旨在促进学生和该计划的机构管理，教师和校友之间更密切的联系。项目活动还通过提供机会验证现有活动和衡量新活动的有效性，为本科工程教育研究做出了实质性贡献。 评估工作由UVa教育学院和机构评估和研究中心的一名专家进行，正在跟踪参与者的人数，他们的学术进展以及他们对项目活动的反应。 更广泛的影响包括一所主要大学和一所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的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.