Research Initiation: Effects of High Impact Engagement Activities at Land Grant Universities on Engineering Student Participation, Persistence, and Success

工程专业对创新经济至关重要。然而，尽管它提供了就业机会，但进入工程学院的本科生中有很大一部分没有完成工程学位。学生的毅力、保留率和毕业率仍然是工程教育的巨大挑战，特别是在女性、代表性不足的少数群体成员和非传统学生中。虽然学生的成功有很多因素，但有研究证据表明，当学生参与“高影响力的参与活动”时，他们更有可能坚持下去并取得成功。这些项目包括（但不限于）本科研究、创业项目、海外留学项目、服务学习机会以及创造性的合作体验。尽管有这些证据，但只有一小部分工程专业的学生利用了这些机会，而这些机会在很大程度上仍然是自愿的，对多元化或非传统的学生来说可能是无法获得的。本研究的长期目标是在工程本科学生中扩大高影响力参与活动对学生毅力和学生成功的影响，包括女性、代表性不足的少数群体成员和非传统学生。该项目的目标是：(1)确定影响工程学生参与高影响力参与活动的因素；(2)研究如何通过提高学生的性别、种族、民族、年龄和社会经济界限的意识和机会来扩大对这些活动的参与；(3)在华盛顿州立大学建立工程教育研究能力，以便更好地响应工程专业当前和未来对创新和包容性劳动力的需求。本研究的成果将包括：(1)更好地理解参与高影响力参与活动与工程专业学生的毅力和成功之间的关系（如果有的话），特别是在不同或非传统的学生中，以及影响学生参与的因素（例如，缺乏意识/兴趣，时间限制，经济或社会/家庭限制）；(2)关于如何使高影响力的参与活动更容易获得的循证建议，特别是对非传统学生，女性和代表性不足的少数群体成员。这些结果将以报告的形式传播，并通过同行评审的高等教育期刊和工程会议论文集的出版物传播。第三个成果将是在华盛顿州立大学和犹他州立大学之间建立一个积极和持续的工程教育研究项目伙伴关系，华盛顿州立大学没有正式的工程教育项目，犹他州立大学有正式的项目。该项目将特别有助于对学生参与农村土地赠款环境中高影响力参与活动的现状有新的认识。由于在农村赠地大学环境中对工程（和计算机科学）本科教育的研究有限，这项工作可能具有变革性，因为它可以为这一研究较少的环境提供新的理解。为了实现这些目标，该项目将通过调查和焦点小组访谈来检验以下内容：(1)两所农村赠地大学的工程和计算机科学专业学生在多大程度上参与了高影响力的参与活动；(2)参与这些活动与学生成绩的关系；(3)哪些因素（即个人、社会、机构、财务等）影响工程和计算机科学专业学生对这些活动的认识、兴趣和参与，特别是在农村、赠地大学；(4)个体因素（即个人、社会、机构、财务等）如何影响学生的意识、兴趣和参与率。一个两阶段，解释，顺序，混合方法的研究设计将被使用。对定性（焦点小组访谈）和定量（调查）数据的分析将使人们对如何提高工程和计算机科学专业学生在农村、土地赠款和公立大学环境中参与高影响力参与活动的方式有新的理解。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The engineering profession is crucial to the innovation economy. Yet despite the career opportunities it offers, a high proportion of undergraduate students that enter engineering colleges do not complete an engineering degree. Student perseverance, retention and graduation rates remain grand challenges in engineering education, especially among women, underrepresented minority group members, and nontraditional students. Although many factors contribute to student success, there is research evidence suggesting that students are more likely to persist and be successful when they are involved in "high impact engagement activities." These include (but are not limited to) undergraduate research, entrepreneurship programs, study abroad programs, service learning opportunities, and creative, collaborative experiences. Despite this evidence, only a fraction of engineering students take advantage of these opportunities which remain largely voluntary and potentially inaccessible for diverse or nontraditional students. The long-term goal of this research is to broaden the effects of high-impact engagement activities on student perseverance and student success among engineering undergraduate students, including women, underrepresented minority group members, and nontraditional students. The objectives of this project are to: (1) identify those factors that affect engineering student participation in high impact engagement activities; (2) examine how to broaden the participation in such activities through improved student awareness and access across gender, racial, ethnic, age, and socio-economic boundaries; and (3) build engineering education research capacity at Washington State University in order to better respond to the engineering profession's current and emerging needs for an innovative and inclusive workforce. The products of this research will include: (1) a better understanding of the relationships, if any, between participation in high impact engagement activities and engineering student perseverance and success, including specifically among diverse or nontraditional students, as well as the factors affecting student participation (e.g., lack of awareness/interest, time constraints, financial or social/family constraints); and (2) evidence-based recommendations on how to make high impact engagement activities more accessible, especially to nontraditional students, women, and underrepresented minority group members. These results will be disseminated in the form of a report and through publications in peer-reviewed higher education journals and engineering conference proceedings. The third product will be the establishment of an active and sustained engineering education research program partnership between Washington State University, which does not have a formal engineering education program, and Utah State University, which does have a formal program.This project will specifically contribute new understandings of the current status of student participation in high impact engagement activities in rural, land grant settings. Because there is limited research on engineering (and computer science) undergraduate education within rural land-grant university settings, this work is potentially transformative, as it could add new understanding about this less-well researched setting. To achieve these goals, the project will examine, through surveys and focus group interviews, the following: (1) to what extent engineering and computer science students at two rural, land grant universities participate in high impact engagement activities; (2) how participation in these activities is correlated to student outcomes; (3) what factors (i.e., personal, social, institutional, financial, etc.) affect student awareness, interest, and participation among engineering and computer science students in these activities, specifically at rural, land grant universities; and (4) how individual factors (i.e., personal, social, institutional, financial, etc.) influence student awareness, interest, and participation rates. A two-phase, explanatory, sequential, mixed-methods research design will be used. Analysis of qualitative (focus group interviews) and quantitative (survey) data will result in new understandings concerning ways to increase participation of engineering and computer science students in high impact engagement activities, within rural, land grant, public university settings.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.