CASCaded Mentoring And Design Experiences (CASCADE)

得克萨斯州A M大学金斯维尔，约5，300名学生的西班牙裔服务机构，正在增加学生的数量，质量和多样性，通过增加先前STEP奖的进步成功获得工程学士学位。 该项目正在土木和机械工程系开始，并正在扩大到化学和环境工程系。 这个为期5年的项目的具体目标是：（一）在工程本科课程的所有四个层次注入设计过程的概念;（二）增加第一年，第二年和第三年的工程本科生保留率分别为78%，68%和62%;第一个新的奋进是让学生在整个本科学术生涯中参与设计经验。 大一新生正在体验设计过程中的基本和结构化的方式，然后垂直对齐到他们的大二和大三的经验。 该大学的年度工程设计竞赛正在扩大，包括低年级学生的工作。 为了提高学生的保留率和毕业的坚持性，高级顶点设计经验与大学的工程创新实验室联系在一起，以获得真实的，真实的行业项目。 第二个新的奋进是一个创新的配置级联同侪指导，其中本科高年级学生指导大三学生，大三学生指导大三学生，大三学生指导大一新生。 这些同行导师，通过正式的申请程序和参加培训研讨会后，正在与学生围绕设计项目进行互动。该项目，由内部和外部顾问委员会监督，正在推进对西班牙裔工程专业学生保留的有效做法的知识。 教师们更有意识地将本科教育和实践与行业问题或关注点相关的设计经验联系起来，特别关注那些可能对该地区和德克萨斯州的西班牙裔公众产生影响的设计经验。 该项目正在进行一次彻底的评估，并在全国范围内传播其做法和调查结果。

Texas A&M University-Kingsville, a Hispanic Serving Institution of approximately 5,300 students, is increasing the quantity, quality, and diversity of students successfully earning engineering baccalaureate degrees by augmenting progress from a prior STEP award. The project is being initiated in civil and mechanical engineering departments and is expanding into the chemical and environmental engineering departments. Specific objectives of this 5-year project are: (i) infusing concepts of the design process across all four levels of the engineering undergraduate curriculum; (ii) increasing first-year, second-year, and third-year retention of engineering undergraduate students to 78%, 68%, and 62% respectively; and (iii) increasing the six-year engineering undergraduate graduation rate from 44% to 54%.The first new endeavor is engaging students in design experiences throughout their undergraduate academic careers. Freshman are experiencing the design process in a fundamental and structured way that is then aligned vertically to experiences in their sophomore and junior years. The university's annual engineering design competition is expanding to include the work of lower division students. To enhance student retention and persistence to graduation, the senior capstone design experiences are linked to the university's engineering innovation laboratory for access to authentic, real-world, industry projects. The second new endeavor is an innovative configuration of cascaded peer-mentoring, wherein undergraduate seniors are mentoring juniors, juniors are mentoring sophomores, and sophomores are mentoring freshmen. These peer mentors, after being selected via a formal application process and participating in a training workshop, are engaging with students around the design projects.The project, overseen by internal and external advisory boards, is advancing knowledge of effective practices on retention of Hispanic engineering students. Faculty are more deliberately connecting undergraduate education and practice to relevant design experiences linked to industry problems or concerns, with particular attention to those of likely impact on the largely Hispanic public of the region and state of Texas. The project is conducting a thorough assessment and is nationally disseminating their practices and findings.