A Pathway to Completion for Pursuing Engineering and Engineering Technology Degrees

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With funding from the NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program, the ?Pathway to Completion for Pursuing Engineering and Engineering Technology Degrees? project will support high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need. The project will support students in STEM disciplines at the Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology (BCET) at Old Dominion University (ODU) in Virginia. This project will fund 70 scholarships over five years for BCET students who are pursuing bachelor's degrees in engineering and engineering technology. The project will include recruitment of veterans who have exhausted their GI Bill Benefits, but have not yet completed their STEM degree. In addition to scholarships, the program will provide students with academic and mentoring support to increase academic success and workplace readiness, ensuring these students are ready to meet the demands of regional businesses near ODU.This S-STEM Track 2 project builds on several existing initiatives at Old Dominion University, and introduces additional effective student support practices targeted at areas expected to be particularly critical to student success. Through interventions and targeted support, the project aims to address the significant barriers and risk factors to degree completion of students pursuing engineering and engineering technology programs. The associated research activities will increase understanding of successful ways to support and encourage student success in STEM. This project has the potential to provide a model for how to retain student interest and participation throughout the completion of their degree. Qualitative and quantitative data will be collected to gather information about self-efficacy and the value and cost of education of participating students, especially veterans. The lessons learned in this study will be relevant to other institutions of higher learning, and military services may be able to use these findings to better prepare service members as they transition from military service to higher education.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.