Supporting Engineering and Computing Studies Scholars through Experiential Learning, Personal Development, and Community Service

通过体验式学习、个人发展和社区服务支持工程和计算机研究学者

• 批准号: 2221052
• 负责人: Scott Steinbrink
• 金额: $ 150万
• 依托单位: Gannon University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-01-01 至 2028-12-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2221052&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Supporting; Engineering; Computing; Studies; Scholars

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 Gannon University. Gannon is a private, four-year, primarily undergraduate university located in Erie, Pennsylvania. Over its six-year duration, this project will fund scholarships to approximately 85 unique full-time students who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in engineering and computing studies, including mechanical, electrical, software, environmental, biomedical, and industrial engineering. One-year scholarships (renewable for up to four years) will be offered to selected incoming freshman students. The program provides professional and personal development activities chosen to support retention to graduation and help students thrive post-graduation. These activities include sessions geared towards building student competence in the workplace, experiential learning, personal development, and community-building activities. The project contributes to student academic success through active advising of students, peer mentoring, and development of close, personal ties to faculty members. The broader impact of the project is found in the experiential aspect, wherein local in-need charitable organizations are assisted in development of low-cost engineered solutions to specialized problems, thereby enhancing livability in the university neighborhood (which is situated in one of the poorest zip codes in the USA) and encouraging students towards community service. Intellectual merit of the project is to be found in the establishment of additional best practices in student retention and in knowledge gained about the efficacy of actions taken to provide academic aid to students struggling in fundamental math and physics courses.The overall goal of this project is to increase STEM degree completion of low-income, high-achieving undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The goals of the Scholars of Excellence in Engineering and Computing Studies (SEECS) program are to: (1) increase the number of low-income, academically talented students with demonstrated financial need, especially women (an under-represented group), enrolled in and graduating from Gannon University’s engineering and computing studies programs, (2) facilitate students’ degree attainment by providing scholarships and rigorous academic support, (3) foster professional development and assist students’ entry into careers in STEM fields and/or graduate education, and (4) study and communicate the impact of targeted interventions on retention of high academic performing students, focusing on attrition-point courses. To realize these goals, this project aims to: (1) provide 25 scholarships per year on average for eligible students, (2) achieve an average 90% freshman to sophomore retention rate for SEECS scholars, (3) provide scholars with academic and professional development preparing them for employment in a STEM field and/or graduate school, (4) develop and maintain recruitment strategies to achieve a 30% rate of women applicants, and (5) provide academic support for critical path courses. The underlying philosophy of SEECS is to help increase diversity in engineering studies by increasing access to low-income students. Further, based upon past study of attrition, it has been noted that there are two particular courses that cause academic problems, namely Calculus and Physics. This project utilizes peer mentoring and multi-level academic advising to provide additional support to bolster student success in these courses. Thus, SEECS goals both foster diversity, and support development of a strong work force by providing academic and financial assistance towards graduation. Results will be disseminated through publications in conference proceedings and journals and will be made available through the university website. 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.

该项目将有助于国家需要受过良好教育的科学家，数学家，工程师和技术人员通过支持高成就，低收入学生的保留和毕业，证明在甘农大学的经济需要。 甘农是一所私立的四年制大学，主要是本科生，位于宾夕法尼亚州的伊利。在六年的时间里，该项目将为大约85名正在攻读工程和计算研究学士学位的全日制学生提供奖学金，包括机械，电气，软件，环境，生物医学和工业工程。为期一年的奖学金（可延长至四年）将提供给选定的新生。 该计划提供专业和个人发展活动，以支持保留到毕业，并帮助学生在毕业后茁壮成长。 这些活动包括面向建立学生在工作场所的能力，体验式学习，个人发展和社区建设活动的会议。 该项目有助于学生的学术成功，通过学生的积极建议，同侪指导，并密切的发展，个人关系的教师。 该项目的更广泛影响体现在经验方面，协助当地有需要的慈善组织开发针对专门问题的低成本工程解决方案，从而提高大学社区（位于美国最贫穷的邮政编码之一）的宜居性，并鼓励学生从事社区服务。 该项目的智力价值在于建立更多的最佳实践来留住学生，并了解为基础数学和物理课程困难的学生提供学术援助的行动的有效性。该项目的总体目标是提高低收入、高成就、有经济需求的本科生完成STEM学位的机会。卓越的工程和计算研究（SEECS）计划的学者的目标是：（1）增加有经济需要的低收入、有学术才能的学生，特别是妇女的人数（一个代表性不足的群体），就读并毕业于甘农大学的工程和计算机研究项目，（2）通过提供奖学金和严格的学术支持，促进学生的学位获得，（3）促进专业发展，并帮助学生进入STEM领域和/或研究生教育的职业生涯，以及（4）研究和交流有针对性的干预措施对保留高学术表现学生的影响，重点是消耗点课程。 为实现这些目标，该项目旨在：（1）为符合条件的学生平均每年提供25个奖学金，（2）为SEECS学者实现平均90%的大一到大二留存率，（3）为学者提供学术和专业发展，为他们在STEM领域和/或研究生院就业做准备，（4）制定和维持招聘战略，以实现女性申请人占30%的目标，以及（5）为关键路径课程提供学术支持。 SEECS的基本理念是通过增加对低收入学生的访问来帮助增加工程研究的多样性。 此外，根据过去对自然减员的研究，人们注意到有两门特定的课程会导致学术问题，即微积分和物理。 该项目利用同侪指导和多层次的学术咨询，以提供额外的支持，以支持学生在这些课程中取得成功。 因此，东南欧共同体的目标既促进多样性，又通过为毕业提供学术和财政援助，支持发展一支强大的劳动力队伍。 研究结果将通过会议记录和期刊中的出版物传播，并将通过大学网站提供。 该项目由NSF的科学，技术，工程和数学奖学金计划资助，该计划旨在增加低收入学术人才的数量，这些学生表现出经济需求，并获得STEM领域的学位。它还旨在改善未来STEM工作者的教育，并产生关于低收入学生的学术成功，保留，转移，毕业和学术/职业道路的知识。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。