Academic Intervention, Social Supports, and Scholarships for Engineering Transfer Students

从科学，技术，工程和数学（S-STEM）计划的NSF奖学金的资金，学术干预，社会支持和奖学金工程转学生项目将支持高成就，低收入的学生在田纳西大学查塔努加（UTC）证明经济需要。在这个为期五年的项目中，28名学生将获得两年的奖学金，8名学生将获得三年的奖学金。该项目旨在讨论对化学，土木，电气和机械工程师日益增长的需求。在田纳西州和其他地方，工程转学生通常会在四年制院校获得许多社区大学学分，但没有参加初级或专业特定课程所需的先决条件。因此，转学生可能需要在大学多读四年才能完成毕业所需的课程，从而降低了他们获得工程学位的可能性。该项目的目的是确保转学生在从社区学院转学后两年内完成UTC学习。该计划包括指导，夏季课程和夏季靴子营地，以确保成功过渡。一个转移学习社区将为学生提供一个同伴支持系统，帮助他们适应大学生活，克服学术挑战。地区学校的地方咨询委员会将帮助协调学校之间的课程。该项目对教师指导的强调将有助于该项目对UTC实践产生持久的影响。该项目还可能通过加强行业联系和就业机会对当地社区产生积极影响。该项目具有重要的潜力，可以找到并提供最佳实践，以指导全国四年制院校支持转学生的成功。该项目将使用混合方法研究，比较学者与非学者转学生，非转学生和匹配的非学者转学生收集的定量和定性数据。本研究将探讨五个研究问题：（1）参加夏季靴子营是否会提高转学生的学习成绩和入学可能性？(2)定期参加同伴辅导是否会提高转学生的学习成绩和入学的可能性？(3)哪些活动最能减少学者之间的“转移冲击”？(4)哪些活动最能改善毕业后的职业安排？(5)学术准备如何影响学生的保留和按时毕业的可能性？本研究的信息可能会增加对干预措施的理解，例如学习社区，与非学者相比，学者在提高学习成绩，保留率和毕业时间方面。通过社区学院咨询委员会和研究，该项目旨在为区域联盟奠定基础，促进UTC和地区社区学院之间的课程协调，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。

With funding from the NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program, the Academic Intervention, Social Supports, and Scholarships for Engineering Transfer Students project will support high-achieving, low-income students with proved financial need at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga (UTC). Over the course of this five-year project, twenty-eight students will receive two-year scholarships and eight students will receive three-year scholarships. This project aims to discuss the growing need for chemical, civil, electrical, and mechanical engineers. In Tennessee and elsewhere, engineering transfer students often arrive at four-year institutions with many community college credits, but without the prerequisites needed to take junior-level or major-specific courses. As a result, transfer students may need four more years in college to complete the classes needed for graduation, decreasing the likelihood that they will complete an engineering degree. The aim of this project is to ensure that transfer students complete their UTC studies within two years after transferring from a community college. The plan incorporates mentorship, summer coursework, and summer boot camps to ensure a successful transition. A Transfer Learning Community will provide students with a peer support system and help them adjust to university life and overcome academic challenges. A local advisory board for regional schools will help to coordinate curricula among the schools. The project's emphasis on faculty mentoring will help the project have a lasting impact on UTC practices. The project also has the potential for positive impact on the local community through strengthened industry ties and employment opportunities. This project is significant in its potential to find and give best practices to guide four-year institutions across the nation to support the success of transfer students. The project will use a mixed methods study to compare quantitative and qualitative data gathered for scholars versus non-scholar transfer students, non-transfer students, and matched non-scholar transfer students. The study will investigate five research questions: (1) Does taking part in the Summer Boot Camp improve transfer students' academic performance and likelihood of matriculation? (2) Does regular participation in peer tutoring increase transfer students' academic performance and likelihood of matriculation? (3) Which activities most reduce "transfer shock" among scholars? (4) Which activities most improve career placement following graduation? (5) How does the academic preparation affect a student's likelihood of retention and on-time graduation? Information from this research study may increase understanding of interventions, such as learning communities, in improving the academic performance, retention rates and time to graduation for scholars compared to non-scholars. Through the Community College Advisory Board and the research study, this project aims to lay a foundation for a regional alliance that can promote curricular alignment between UTC and area community colleges, supporting a seamless engineering transfer pathway that may be replicable across the state and nation.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.