Alternate Pathways to Excellence: Engineering a Transfer-Friendly Experience

该项目将通过支持圣托马斯大学（UST）表现出经济需要的成绩优异的低收入学生的保留和毕业，为满足国家对受过良好教育的科学家、数学家、工程师和技术人员的需求做出贡献。UST位于明尼苏达州双子城，是一所指定的“军事友好学校”，也是公认的“第一代前沿机构”，以其高保留率（87%）和四年毕业率（68%）而闻名。该项目为期六年，将为31名攻读土木、计算机、电气或机械工程学士学位的全日制学生（包括转学生）提供奖学金。低收入的、有学术天赋的、证明有经济需要的工程专业学生将获得最多三年的奖学金。“通往卓越的替代途径”（APEX）项目将通过利用创新的指导实践，推进以工程为重点的多样性、公平性和包容性努力，以及利用UST与五所当地社区学院的合作关系，增加工程转学毕业生的数量。项目团队还希望与当地雇主建立牢固的联系，以帮助实现项目目标。针对学者的支持活动将包括一个新的夏季桥梁课程、提高技能的月度研讨会，以及教师、同行和行业指导。通过APEX项目，UST将通过解决工程项目课程、教学实践和招聘工作中常见的结构性限制，加快工程部门推进包容性文化的努力。这些策略将对工程教育以及支持和留住转校生具有广泛的意义。因此，APEX项目将培养出多样化、高素质的工程师，他们将为推动双子城地区的创新做出有意义的贡献。为了提高低收入、成绩优异的本科转学工程学生的STEM学位结业率，包括传统上在STEM课程学习中代表性不足的学生和第一代学生，项目领导将追求三个具体目标。首先是与五所社区学院合作招收转学生。二是每年保留90%的学者，三年内毕业90%的学者。第三，支持至少95%的毕业生在获得学位后4个月内从事工程工作或就读研究生学位课程。APEX的基础是机构研究和先前STEP奖项的知识，以及对转校生对留校支持的独特需求的理解，包括确定科学导师和建立归属感的需求。事实证明，社区学院工程专业的学生可以从量身定制的学术和个人支持中受益，这些支持可以解决他们面临的独特挑战。然而，需要更多的调查来了解具体的干预措施，如指导，夏季桥梁课程，加强实习或研究如何提高工程转校生的保留率。此外，对于工程学院和学生的多样性、公平性和包容性规划在多大程度上创造了一个支持转校生保留的科学社区，研究也很有限。UST将评估并促进对这些有针对性的活动在多大程度上有助于留住转学生的理解。结果将通过KEEN全国会议和网站，ASEE的两年制学院分部，以及提交给同行评审的出版物，如工程教育杂志，进行传播。该项目由美国国家科学基金会的科学、技术、工程和数学奖学金（STEM）计划资助，该计划旨在增加有经济需求的低收入学术天才学生在STEM领域获得学位的人数。它还旨在改善未来STEM工作者的教育，并为低收入学生提供有关学业成功、留校、转学、毕业和学术/职业道路的知识。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。

This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at the University of St. Thomas (UST). Located in the Twin Cities, MN, UST is a designated "Military Friendly School" as well as a recognized "First-Gen Forward Institution" and is known for its high rates of retention (87%) and graduation in four years (68%). Over its six-year duration, this project will fund scholarships to 31 unique full-time students, including transfer students, who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in civil, computer, electrical, or mechanical engineering. Low-income, academically talented engineering students who have demonstrated financial need will receive scholarships for up to three years. The Alternate Pathways to Excellence (APEX) project will increase the number of engineering transfer graduates by leveraging innovative mentoring practices, advancing engineering-focused diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, and leveraging UST’s partnerships with five local community colleges. The project team also expects to build strong connections with local employers to help achieve the project's goals. Support activities for scholars will include a new summer bridge course, monthly seminars to boost skills, and faculty, peer, and industry mentoring. Through the APEX project, UST will accelerate the Engineering Department’s efforts to advance an inclusive culture by addressing structural limitations that are common in engineering program curriculum, teaching practices, and recruitment efforts. These strategies will have significance for engineering education broadly, and for supporting and retaining transfer students. As a result, the APEX project will produce diverse, well-qualified engineers who will meaningfully contribute to fueling innovation in the Twin Cities region. To increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduate transfer engineering students, including students traditionally underrepresented in their participation in STEM courses of study and first-generation students, the project leadership will pursue three specific aims. First is to partner with five community colleges to recruit transfer students. Second is to retain 90% of scholars each year and graduate 90% of all scholars within 3 years. Third is to support at least 95% of graduates to become employed in engineering or enrolled in a graduate degree program within 4 months of degree attainment. APEX is grounded in institutional research and knowledge from prior STEP awards, as well as an understanding of transfer students’ unique needs for retention support, including needs to identify scientific mentors and establish a sense of belonging. Community college engineering students have been shown to benefit from tailored academic and personal supports that address their unique challenges. However, more investigation is needed to understand how specific interventions such as mentoring, a summer bridge course, and enhanced internships or research can improve engineering transfer student retention. In addition, there is limited research on the extent to which diversity, equity, and inclusion programming for engineering faculty and students creates a scientific community that supports transfer student retention. UST will evaluate and advance understanding of the extent to which these targeted activities contribute to retaining transfer students. Results will be disseminated via the KEEN National Conference and website, ASEE’s two-year college division, and submissions to peer-reviewed publications such as the Journal of Engineering Education. This project is funded by NSF’s Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) 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.