Planning Grant: Engineering Research Center for Engineering Student Success Initiatives

国家科学委员会报告说，自2000年以来，授予代表人数不足的学生的工程学学位的比例几乎没有改善，甚至根本没有改善。例如，在2000年，分别有8.6%、7.3%和0.7%的工程学学位授予非裔美国人、拉丁裔和美洲原住民学生。2015年，8.7%、12.8%和0.5%的学位授予了这些学生群体。最近关于工程教育的统计数据显示，代表人数不足的学生更有可能进入少数族裔服务机构(MSI)。然而，大多数关于工程教育的研究来自以白人为主的机构(PWI)，这可能会限制研究结果对代表性不足的学生和更多样化的机构的推广。此外，研究通常是在缺乏跨学科合作的情况下进行的。如果我们要推动扩大对工程和工程劳动力发展的参与-我们的目标社会影响-我们需要一种由处于支持多样化工程未来的前沿的利益相关者领导的融合方法-MSI。在研究、管理和开发的所有方面采用基于资产的方法，如社区文化财富(CCW)，我们将开发一个由微星国际领导的工程研究中心(ERC)，以工程教育框架为基础，专注于工程学生的成功。ERC将成为发展工科学生成功研究的领导者，并将独特地将研究结果转化为政策和实践，以解决本科和研究生水平上代表不足的工科学生的成功(定义为招生、留住和毕业)。这次ERC将汇集来自大休斯顿地区及更远地区的MSI的跨学科研究人员的核心团队。该ERC的开发和执行的目标是成为MSI参与和协作的典范。由规划拨款产生的ERC提案将继续开展研究和开发工作，重点是a)与未被充分代表的学生成功相关的研究，b)旨在加强工程劳动力途径的干预措施(即，K-12、社区学院和四年制院校)，c)严格的和符合文化的项目评估，以及d)向学术界、实践者和政策制定者传播工程教育研究。这项计划拨款将利用参与的机构的邻近优势，建立一个以类似挑战和研究兴趣为中心的研究人员和倡导者社区。随后的ERC将支持以学生成功和扩大工程参与为重点的高影响力、汇聚性研究的产生。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The National Science Board reports that, since 2000, the portion of engineering degrees awarded to underrepresented students has improved very little or not at all. For example, in 2000, 8.6%, 7.3%, and 0.7% of engineering degrees were awarded to African Americans, Latinx, and Native American students, respectively. In 2015, 8.7%, 12.8%, and 0.5% of degrees were awarded to those same student groups. Recent statistics on engineering education shows that underrepresented students are more likely to attend Minority-Serving Institutions (MSI). Yet, most of the research on engineering education comes from Predominantly-White Institutions (PWIs), which may limit the generalizability of findings for underrepresented students and more diverse institutions. Furthermore, research often is done in silos with insufficient interdisciplinary collaboration. If we are going to move the needle on broadening participation in engineering and engineering workforce development—our targeted societal impact—we need a convergent approach led by stakeholders at the forefront of supporting a diverse engineering future—MSIs. Employing asset-based approaches such as Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) for all aspects of research, management, and development, we will develop an MSI-led Engineering Research Center (ERC) that focuses on Engineering Student Success founded on Engineering Education frameworks. This ERC will become a leader in the development of engineering student success research and will be uniquely positioned to translate findings into policies and practices that address the success (defined as recruitment, retention, and graduation) of underrepresented engineering students, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. This ERC will bring together a core team of interdisciplinary researchers from across MSIs in the Greater Houston area and beyond. The aim for the development and execution of this ERC is to become a model of MSI engagement and collaboration. The ERC proposal that will result from the planning grant will pursue research and development work that focuses on a) research relating to underrepresented student success, b) interventions designed to strengthen engineering workforce pathways (i.e., K-12, community college, and four-year institutions), c) rigorous and culturally responsive project evaluation, and d) dissemination of engineering education research to the academic community, practitioners, and policymakers. This planning grant will leverage the proximity of engaged institutions to build a community of researchers and advocates centered on similar challenges and research interests. The subsequent ERC will support the production of high-impact, convergent research focused on student success and broadening participation in engineering.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.