Investigating the Impact of Engineering Graduate Student Financial Literacy on URP Entering and Staying in the Engineering Workforce.

学生贷款债务经常被讨论为对代表不足的少数族裔学生(URM)造成经济负担，导致无法完成本科生和研究生水平的工程学位。这项研究项目调查了一个框架，描述学生？对研究生院的财务选择的看法，以及这些选择如何影响进入研究生院和工程劳动力的决定。该项目的重点是利用与选定的历史上的黑人学院和大学(HBCU)、西班牙裔服务机构(HSI)和中西部以白人为主的机构(PWI)的关系，这些机构是通过实施早期的毕业生招聘计划而建立的。从参与大学的学生那里收集的数据包括与学生贷款行为有关的决定，债务的积累，影响与债务相关的职业决定的决定，以及调查学生？对未来工程专业研究生的财务选择有什么看法和认识。此外，研究人员还将调查学生在攻读工程学研究生期间对财务选择的认知、知识和使用情况，以及这些选择如何影响他们在研究生期间的决定。将采用混合方法，利用定量和定性数据从不同角度探讨这些问题。分析的预期结果和最有效地增加少数族裔学生招生、留住和毕业的方法将通过研讨会和新闻传播。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Student loan debt is frequently discussed as a creating a financial burden to underrepresented minority students (URM) leading to the lack of completing degrees at the undergraduate and graduate levels in engineering. This research project investigates a framework that describes students? perceptions about financial options for graduate school and how these options impact decisions to enter graduate school and the engineering workforce. The focus of this project is to leverage relationships with select Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) and Predominately White Institutions (PWI) in the Midwest that were established from the implementation of an earlier graduate recruitment program. The data collected from students of the participating universities includes decisions related to borrowing practices of student loans, accumulation of debt, decisions that impact career decisions related to debt, along with investigating students? perceptions and knowledge of financial options available related to their future as engineering graduate students. In addition, the researchers will investigate students, perceptions, knowledge and usage of financial options taken while they are an engineering graduate student and how these choices impact their decisions during graduate school. A mixed methods approach will be employed using quantitative and qualitative data to explore these issues from various perspectives. The expected outcomes from the analysis and the methods that are most effective at increasing the recruitment, retention and graduation of underrepresented minorities students will be disseminated through workshops and journals.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.