Improving the Academic Success and Graduation of Transfer Students in Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Programs

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This project will help meet the national need for skilled engineers by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income transfer students at Auburn University. Over its five-year duration, the project will award scholarships to 28 full-time transfer students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in mechanical or materials engineering. Two annual cohorts of Scholars will be selected from students who are entering the University in their second or third year of engineering study. The Scholars will receive up to three years of scholarship support. In addition to financial challenges, many transfer students also face challenges with acclimation to campus life, connecting with study groups, and accessing academic support programs and research/internship opportunities. This project will help Scholars navigate these challenges by combining financial support with resources and activities to help them develop relationships with other transfer students and with faculty, as well as develop skills for success as an engineer. Examples include orientation and first-semester success seminars, research experiences, career development resources, and faculty and peer mentoring. As they move through their program of study, Scholars will transition from being mentored to being a mentor, promoting their identity as a member of the Auburn University community and as an engineer. The classes, workshops, and seminars developed as part of this project will be open to all transfer students, thus increasing the project’s impact and sustainability. It is expected that this project may be a model that other institutions could replicate or adapt to improve transfer student success.The goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The specific aims are to: (1) improve the academic performance of transfer students in the Department of Mechanical Engineering; (2) improve transfer students’ acclimation to campus and engagement in campus life; (3) promote participation in research among transfer students; (4) connect transfer students with faculty and peer mentors; (5) enhance transfer students’ use of academic support services; and (6) provide professional development activities for transfer students. The project intends to achieve these objectives by increasing student engagement and sense of belonging. The project will collect and analyze data on the characteristics and benefits of a cohort experience and the differences in perception of these experiences between transfer students and students who enter the university from high school. Over the course of the proposed project, activities that contribute to or detract from a positive cohort experience will be identified. This information will enable the design of high quality, impactful cohort experiences tailored to transfer students. This project is funded by NSF’s Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who earn degrees in STEM fields. It also aims to improve the education of future STEM workers, and to generate knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income students.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.