Recruitment, Engagement, and Retention: Energizing and Supporting Students with Diverse Backgrounds in Mechanical Engineering

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With funding from the National Science Foundation's Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (S-STEM) program, this project is providing support to low-income students with demonstrated financial need and academic promise to succeed in mechanical engineering at University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). STEM industries face a looming challenge and opportunity as skilled baby boomers begin to retire and leave the workforce. Recognizing current and future needs for a diverse skilled workforce in mechanical engineering and the rising cost of higher education that acts as a barrier for many talented students with interests in engineering, this S-STEM Track 2 (Design and Development: Single Institution) project focuses resources and research on financial support coupled with curricular and co-curricular activities designed to facilitate student degree attainment, career development, and employability in STEM-related jobs. To support student efforts to earn baccalaureate degrees in mechanical engineering at UMBC, approximately forty-five academically talented undergraduate students with demonstrated financial need, including students transferring from Maryland community colleges, will receive scholarship support of up to $6,000 per year for up to four years. Scholarship recipients will participate in an integrated set of activities designed to support their success.Recognizing the potential of engineering to address societal issues, the project engages students in undergraduate research experiences that apply mechanical and bio-engineering approaches to solve human problems associated with aging. The project builds on an established partnership between the UMBC and Maryland community colleges to improve and investigate the transfer experience of community college students to four-year programs, student retention at UMBC, and job placement and pathways to graduate school and employment. A mixed-method quantitative and qualitative research study will examine the implementation and outcomes of proactive recruitment; participation in selected high impact practices, such as orientation, one-to-one faculty mentoring, peer mentoring, and community building; participation in research-focused activities, such as research seminars and undergraduate research experiences; and participation in career and professional development activities. The project will examine and compare outcomes, such as retention, graduation, and success, of students participating in project activities to the outcomes of peers not participating in project supports and activities.