Implementation Project: Blue-Shirt Program: Engineering Clinic-Based Curriculum to Enhance Retention of Underrepresented Groups at Tennessee State University

历史上的黑人学院和大学的实施项目-本科生方案为设计、实施、研究和评估全面的机构努力提供支持，以通过加强科学、技术、工程和数学教育和研究，增加学生人数和提高他们的准备质量。田纳西州立大学工程学院的这一实施项目旨在解决与非洲裔美国男子工程学入学率和毕业率下降有关的问题。该项目的目标是创建一个为期五年的试点工程项目，让学生参加为期一年的工程预科课程，并每年参与实践项目，以提高非裔美国工程专业学生的留存率和毕业率。该项目研究有助于少数民族学生，特别是非洲裔美国男性学生保留的主要因素。该项目通过形成性和总结性评估来指导和提供信息。该项目改革了传统的工程课程，允许准备不足的新生完成为期一年的工程预科课程，为四年的课程做好准备。蓝衫计划将部署工程诊所的概念，提供基于项目的学习经验。具体目标是：开发一个为期一年的试点工程准备课程，使学生能够进入正式的传统工程课程，并获得足够的证书;开发课件和实验室模块，通过真实世界的设计项目和与行业专业人士的互动，增强工程专业学生的学习体验，以进行指导和专业发展;确定和检查的心理社会属性，有助于不同的损耗率的非洲裔美国人学生在工程，特别是非洲裔美国人的男子，并建议干预策略，以提高保留率;并将蓝衫计划制度化，持续努力专注于STEM学生的成绩。该项目可以作为工程教育的典范，培养合格的工程师，确保美国工业的持续全球竞争力。

Implementation Projects in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities - Undergraduate Program provide support to design, implement, study and assess comprehensive institutional efforts to increase the numbers of students and the quality of their preparation by strengthening science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and research. This implementation project in the College of Engineering at Tennessee State University seeks to address issues related to the declining enrollment and graduation of African American men in engineering. The goal of this project is to create a five-year pilot engineering program where students participate in a one-year pre-engineering curriculum and are engaged in hands-on projects every year to enhance the retention rate and graduation rate of African American engineering students. The project studies the leading factors that contribute to retention of minority students, specifically African American males. The project is guided and informed by formative and summative evaluation.This project reforms the traditional engineering curriculum to allow less prepared incoming students to complete a one-year pre-engineering curriculum to get them prepared for the four-year program. The Blue-Shirt program will deploy the concept of engineering clinics that provide project-based learning experiences. Specific objectives are: to develop a pilot one-year engineering preparation curriculum that allows students to enter the formal traditional engineering program with adequate credentials; to develop courseware and laboratory modules to enhance the learning experience of engineering students through real-world designed projects and interaction with industry professionals for mentoring and professional development; to identify and examine the psycho-social attributes that contribute to the disparate attrition rate of African American students in engineering, with a particular focus on African American men, and to recommend intervention strategies to improve the retention rates; and to institutionalize the Blue-Shirt program with sustained efforts focused on STEM student achievement. This project can serve as a model for engineering education to train qualified engineers, who will ensure the continued global competitiveness of the U.S. industries.